The Ultimate Hair Removal Guide

from bath and body

Waxing is my favourite method of hair removal for the upper lip, chin, and eyebrows. (It's also great for legs, bikini lines, and underarms—if you can bear it—because a couple of waxes will get you through an entire season.) After waxing, the hair grows back finer, because, unlike shaving, waxing pulls the hair out below the surface of the skin. It also requires less maintenance, because regrowth takes from three to five weeks. Before you try it on your own, however, have it done at a salon at least once so that you know what it feels like and what to expect. It does hurt when the hair is pulled out, but you get used to it. If the cost or inconvenience is off-putting— depending on where you live, a lip wax can cost from $10 to $25—it's easy to do the upper lip yourself and give yourself little touch-ups whenever you need them. Salons use hot wax, but cold wax is better when you do it yourself at home. Waxing your eyebrows lasts longer than plucking, and you get a beautifully clean line. Don't ever wax your eyebrows yourself, though, because you'll make a mess of it. You can't get the same angle on your face as an aesthetician can. She has a magnifying mirror to help her ferret out and eradicate all the tiny hairs. Besides, the skin around the eyes is very thin, and you can really irritate it if you don't know what you're doing.

If you want to wax facial hair yourself, there are lots of concoctions available at the beauty supply stores. The best I've found are Elle and Moojan cold wax strips ($10 for 12 applications). They look like translucent Band-Aids, are completely natural with no chemical additives, and they're a total no-brainer to use. Warm them between your palms for a few seconds to loosen the wax, peel the strips apart, place one on your upper lip, and pat in the direction of the hair growth. Then hold your skin taut and quickly pull the strip across the lip in the opposite direction. You can repeat this couple of times until you get most of the hair, but don't go too crazy or you can irritate the skin. After you've waxed, apply aloe gel, eye gel. or a face oil—but first check out the ingredients, and make sure never to apply any product with alpha- or beta-hydroxyl acid to freshly waxed skin.

Sugaring is a less painful, gentler salon alternative to waxing. Instead of wax, the depilatory is a mixture of sugar and honey, which is less irritating because it's not hot. The treatment generally takes longer than waxing, and it's more expensive.

Depilatory Creams

Depilatory creams literally melt away the hair with substances like calcium or sodium thioglycolate, or sulfides in a paste like form. These are the same ingredients used in permanents and hair straighteners, but they're much more concentrated in depilatories and they actually remove the hair.

The problem with these alkaline products is that they are so concentrated, they can burn the skin, especially if you make the mistake of leaving them on too long. (They should be on for at least five minutes but no longer than eight, depending on the coarseness of your hair.) Another downside is that depilatories, unlike waxing, remove hair only on the surface, not at the root, which means that the hair grows back within a few days. Most depilatories with sulfides also have a strong, unpleasant smell.

There are lots of depilatories available at drugstores, and they're cheap, but you do need to use them frequently, so it adds up! Make sure you use one made specifically for the face. Any respectable cosmetologist would recommend Surgi-Cream for the Face, one of the oldest depilatories around—and so would I. (Most cream depilatories, including Nair, haven't changed much in the past 40 years.) If you depilate the lip, make sure to remove the cream a minute or two before you're supposed to, in order not to burn your skin. Never use depilatories around the eyes or on broken skin, and never in conjunction with a facial peel, Retin-A, or Renova.

Bleaching

If you have dark hair but it isn't thick and coarse, try bleaching. The hair won't go away, but it will become less noticeable—unless you have dark skin or a tan, in which case it will be more noticeable. Most bleaches are still formulated with peroxide, which turns the hair yellowish blond. It works best on small areas of skin, such as the upper lip, but you can also use it on your arms. Follow the directions carefully, and don't leave it on too long—it, too, can burn the skin. One of the oldest—Jolen Creme Bleach—is still one of the cheapest and best.

Electrolysis

Electrolysis was invented in 1875, when Dr. Charles Michel, a St. Louis ophthalmologist, first used an electric needle to treat ingrown eyelashes. Since then, it has remained the only permanent method of hair removal, although laser technology is advancing at the speed of light. (It won't be long, I'm sure, before lasers become a safe and painless alternative. At the moment, laser hair removal is available, but it is not yet permanent. Stay tuned.)

Electrolysis uses an electric current to kill hair at its source—the cluster of capillaries called papillae that feed the hair at its root. A sterile needle is inserted into the hair follicle and given a jolt of electricity, which destroys the hair's ability to regenerate. In effect, the electricity that courses through the electrologist's needle cuts off the hair's food supply and destroys the root, thereby preventing new growth. Sometimes you need three or four treatments until a single hair is removed permanently, and sometimes it works on the first try.

So far, electrolysis is the only depilatory to cut the growth at its source. Some electrologists use disposable needles, while others sterilize and reuse their needles. In the latter case, they are required to follow strict guidelines developed by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Any reputable electrologist will offer a free consultation, and that is the time to ask whether he or she uses disposable needles and, if not, what sterilization procedures are followed.

The number of treatments needed varies depending on things like the rate of your hair growth, the amount of hair, and the coarseness of its texture. Electrolysis can be expensive (about $30 for 15 minutes) and painful (which is why most sessions are limited to 15 minutes)

After a treatment, your skin may be red or slightly swollen for a few hours. Depending on your skin type, your electrologist will recommend a lotion for the irritation. Occasionally, a whitehead or small scab may form at the site, but it goes away after a short time. Since it's neither cheap nor painless, electrolysis is best confined to small areas. The most common are the chin, bridge of the nose, upper or lower lip, cheeks, eyebrows, and hairline.

Finding a good, qualified electrologist is essential. If your practitioner is not competent, the hair can grow back, because the needle doesn't always reach the root. In the wrong hands, electrolysis can also cause scarring or infection. (For this reason, never try to do it yourself with one of those electric 'pens'' advertised in the back of magazines.)