If you have unwanted hair on your arms, legs, eyebrows, bikini line, hairline or underarms, don’t despair. There are a variety of methods you can use to rid yourself of unwanted hair. Generally these methods can be divided into two categories: epilation versus depilation. Epilation is a form of hair removal that includes removing the entire hair, including the part of the hair that is under the skin. Depilation is a form of hair removal that only removes the hair that is above the surface of the skin.
Waxing, epilation devices, threading, tweezing, sugaring, plucking, electrolysis and laser are all forms of epilation. Shaving and trimming are forms of depilation. Each method has its own pros and cons associated with it.
If you have sensitive skin, then depilation is probably the best way for you to go, as shaving and trimming as less likely to irritate the skin. When shaving, you can choose to either use a razor or an electric shaver. If you use a razor, you will get a smoother shave, but you need to wet your skin and use a shaving cream, which can be inconvenient if you need to shave in a hurry. Also, razors can nick the skin and draw blood. They can be rather messy as well, leaving bits of hair and foam all over the place.
If you use an electric shaver, you won’t cut yourself and you don’t need to wet your skin – you can use it quickly without any preparation. Although an electric shaver doesn’t shave as smoothly as a razor, if you have sharp blades it does a pretty good job. Cleaning up after shaving with an electric shaver is easy – all you need to do is open the shaver and empty the hair from it.
If you use depilation to remove unwanted hair, the hair will grow back faster and the skin won’t be as smooth since you aren’t removing all of the hair. Due to these reasons, lots of people prefer to use epilation to remove hair. Hair removed by epilation stays gone longer, but it can hurt and irritate the skin.
Waxing is good at removing unwanted hair, but it can be really painful, especially if you do it in certain highly sensitive areas. If you only need to remove a few individual hairs, try tweezing, which doesn’t hurt much since you’re taking one hair out at a time. The best thing about tweezing and waxing is that you if you don’t want to go to a professional, you can do them at home for cheap prices and do a great job.
Another popular depilation method is threading, which started out in Persian, Asian and Arab countries. Threading can really hurt since you’re removing many hairs at once, but it can also be a great method since it creates a straight line. The biggest downside to threading, and its cousins waxing and tweezing is that it may cause ingrown hairs.
Another form of hair removal is known as sugaring, and it is similar to waxing. In fact, it is commonly referred to as Persian waxing or sugar waxing. Since the substance used in sugaring doesn’t stick to the skin, it hurts less than waxing.
Jenna Pacht is a board certified electrologist in Lone Tree with over twenty years of experience. Visit A Beautiful Look by Jenna Electrolysis to learn more about removing hair permanently.