Beauty feature: what’s the best way to get your legs (and other parts) permanently hair-free?
Feature by: Alexa Williamson
Like most women, I like smooth, hairless legs – and other parts. But what’s the best way to keep them hairless? After years of experimenting, here’s what I’ve found to be the best ways (listed in order of effectiveness) of making yourself permanently hair free…
1. Epillating: this method of hair removal is done with a device that looks like a man’s electric shaver. However, instead of a blade, it has several rows of tweezers that whizz around and pull out the hairs on your legs by the roots.
Good points:
a) you get more hairs out, permanently, with an epillator than with waxing
b) hair regrowth takes longer than with waxing
c) it barely hurts if you’ve been doing waxing for awhile. My mom and I both use the Philips Satinelle Ice Premium Epilator, which as the title states, has an ice feature that also numbs the pain – and according to my mom, who uses it for Brazilians/Hollywoods, it doesn’t hurt at all. After years of use, my mother is now hair-free all over her body. This is the best permanent hair removal treatment (that I’ve tried) for the cost/effectiveness.
d) The Philips Epilator I use costs about £62, however you can get a brand new one on Ebay from about £25 upwards.
Bad points: the only drawback is that the hairs that do grow back are fairly thick as you’ve tweezed them instead of waxed them. Hair growth with waxing is finer.
2. Intensed pulsed light/laser hair removal: either of these is used to burn the hair down to the follicle, killing it and preventing its regrowth.
Good points: my hairdresser recommended the intensed pulse light, saying it was the best money she’d ever spent as she was hair free (of course you’ll get a few stragglers), particularly in her bikini area, and she didn’t have to wax anymore. She had a course of about 10 treatments, over 10 months, at £60 a time.
Bad points: the cost. Also, lasers can be painful.
3. Waxing*: this involves either yourself or someone else applying wax to your skin, then ripping the hair out.
Good points:
a) it removes a lot of your body hair permanently
b) regrowth is fine and after a few treatments, you’ll only want to get waxed about once a month – or less
c) if someone else does it for you, it can be very fast
Bad points:
a) the cost
b) it hurts
4. Shaving: most women know about this from an early age, you buy a razor at the shop and attack your legs, armpits, elsewhere.
Good points: quick to do and quite cheap
Bad points:
a) hair regrowth is very fast
b) shaving encourages the hair to grow back much thicker
c) you can cut yourself easily
d) razor bumps
5. Dilapitory (hair removal) creams: these are chemical based creams, like Nair, that dissolve the hairs.
Bad points: frankly, I can’t think of any good points as these creams use nasty chemicals that get into your blood stream through your skin and can also give you a rash. Sure, they might be ‘quick’, but shaving is just as quick.
6. Natural hair removal sprays and gels: you spray/rub these on to remove the hair on your body. One of the most popular ones is Nads (which you have to rip off like wax – but it’s not hot). Have never used these so can’t attest to whether they’re any good or not.
* tip for waxing/making it less painful: women, never go right before your period as your pain threshold goes down 40%
