Hair removal procedures — which is best?

WORD has it that as far back as 51 BC, Cleopatra was using the sugaring method to remove her body hair, evidence that from time immemorial women have been seeking the best methods for removal of unwanted hair.

Nowadays women have more options than the tweezers, shears and pumice stones of time past, and the hair removal industry is a billion dollar one. But what works best, what is just advertising, and what method do women gravitate towards more? We polled some women, and had aesthetician Nicola Meredith comment on the pros and cons of each method.

Waxing

“Every four to six weeks I go to the spa for a Brazilian, underarm and leg hair removal,” shared Victoria L. “This way I am hair-free for weeks and I never have to worry about having to shave. I feel cleaner, my fiancé loves how I look and feel, and the tiny bit of pain is worth the results.”

Said Meredith: “The pros of waxing are longer time [periods] between treatment, a smoother finish, and you also get some amount of exfoliation. The cons include pain and there may be some soreness at the site. You also need to choose a good waxer who knows his or her work so you don’t end up with irritation issues.”

Grade: Waxing gets an 8/10.

Shaving

“I don’t like pain so I invest in good razors, shears and shaving cream, and for the parts that I can’t reach, my boyfriend gets them for me,” shared Denise P.

Meredith says shaving is one of the cheapest hair removal methods, but one of the least effective.

“Some people have regrowth in as little as a day, and then there may be issues with ingrown hair,” she said. “The pros? It’s quick and easy. The cons? You have to repeat too often, you risk ingrowns, and you also risk nicking yourself and not really getting at much of the hair, especially in your under-parts.”

Grade: Shaving gets a 4/10

Depilatory cream

“I use the sensitive cream for my face, and regular for the rest of my body,” Samantha V said. “It has an awful smell, and the wait time after application is forever, but it lasts longer than shaving.”

Said Meredith: “The pros of this is indeed that it lasts longer than shaving, but the big con is that it can cause skin irritation, even in those women who have used it often. Sometimes it can also cause chemical burns.”

Grade: 5/10

Shaving powder

“I discovered how good this was by accident, and since then I haven’t stopped using it,” said Nadine C. “My boyfriend uses it, and one time I didn’t have [a] razor and figured, ‘Why not use this?’ It got rid of my ingrown hairs and even made some of the pigmentation I disliked disappear.”

“Just like with the depilatories, this can irritate the skin,” Meredith said. “It was also not formulated for women so we should keep that in mind when considering how often we use it on our more delicate skin.”

Grade: 4/10

Threading

“I use this mainly for my eyebrows, and I find that it’s less painful than waxing,” said Lori F. “The hair also grows back thinner, and I don’t have the irritation that I did with waxing.”

Meredith said she would give threading a thumbs up, even though it may be time consuming to use the method on large areas.

Grade: 8/10

Tweezing

“Nothing works best at getting rid of chin hair, not even waxing,” said Jenipher T. “I have a special tweezer that I use for these little annoyances, and one yank and they’re gone.”

“Tweezing is quick, painless and cheap, and can get rid of hair in small areas effectively,” Meredith said. “However, it can be very time consuming, and the hair has to be a certain length for the tweezer to grab it.”

Grade: 2/10

Laser removal

“I started the process and it’s been good so far,” Amelia R said. “I can’t wait to never see hair under my armpits again.”

“This is the most long-term method,” said Meredith. “However, it may cause scarring and discolouration as well as irritation and burning, so you should make sure that you choose a knowledgeable professional to perform your service,” she said.

Grade: 9/10