A hair removal situation every few days, or perhaps every day. More likely in summer than in winter.
Because hey, you also make yourself guilty of such winter fur on your legs! So do I. Now that it is summer we have to believe in it again en masse. Smooth legs. Bikini-ready bikini lines and cuddly underarms.
I have the disadvantage that my body hair has the same texture and color as my eyebrows. Stiff, thick, and dark.
Misery! If I want to keep everything smooth with a razor, I really have to do that every day.
If I don’t, I immediately have stubble on my ankles, a gray haze under my armpits, and let’s not talk about the bikini situation that already tends to be a burkini situation.
Then we also have dark hairs on my arms and the occasional hairs that now and then suddenly appear on my upper lip. You look every day and there is nothing to see, only blonde down. Then suddenly, one day, there is the godmother of all hairs.
As a man you also have to deal with this, but women really lose out in this. And why? Cosmetic standard, that’s why.
Does it suck?
Yes, very shit. Am I going to grow fur a la Miley Cyrus or Madonna? Nope, certainly not. I’ll stick with a faux-fur jacket if you don’t mind, which is why I’ve taught myself a lot about the best hair removal methods over the years. Time to share those tips with you!
Hair Removal Options
Hair removal can be done in many ways. You choose what you like best, and that will be different for many people. The options that I use or have used myself are:
- Shave
- Resins
- Epilation
- Lasering
There are also other ways, such as depilatory creams, but I have little or no experience with that myself.
I’ll walk you through this one, with advantages, disadvantages and tips for each option!
Hair Removal Shave
Advantages:
- You can do it yourself.
- It’s fast.
- It’s beneficial.
- The result is smooth.
- Painless.
Disadvantages:
- Stubble is often visible a day after shaving.
- Every time you shave ros a protective layer of your skin and shaving every day you can get quite a bit of irritation.
- Not environmentally friendly due to the constant disposal of plastic attachments or complete razor blades.
For many people shaving is the way to go and these tips will help you get the best results:
Make sure you use a good quality razor. I like to use the basic version of Veet myself. This has several blades in a row, making the result smooth. You also have all kinds of fancy blades with soap around them, vibrations, you name it. I notice that this adds little to me, you might think otherwise.
Replace your blade regularly. Rather too often than too little. Look out for offers of new attachments to keep it cheap, but don’t save on this. A dull razor is a major cause of shaving irritation. It depends on how often I depilate, of course, but I think I replace my blade on average every 2 weeks.
Let the blade do the work for you. Pull it gently over the skin, do not push or use force. I have multiple scars in multiple (very unpleasant) places that I cannot recommend.
Make sure the hairs are soft. Avoid dry shaving, so the blade does not slide over the skin and you damage it more quickly. The hairs are also stiffer than when they have soaked for a while. So shave at the end of your shower or bath.
Use a shaving product. This can be shaving cream, but also a conditioner for your hair. I often use regular shower gel for my armpits, but a shaving product stays in place a little better and does not leak off as quickly.
Especially on your legs, it all takes a little longer before you have made the complete round and then foam is practical. Moreover, you can see where you have been.
Smooth the skin.
This probably isn’t necessary on your legs, but maybe around the ankle area. You can tighten your punani area so that you save the skin a little more and you get a smoother result.
If you take a warm shower first, the hairs will soften nicely. If you then turn the shower on cold, you will get goosebumps. This makes the hairs rise slightly, giving you an extra smooth result. Especially in summer, I use this technique on my legs.
Avoid perfume-containing body lotions on sensitive and / or freshly shaved areas. I understand that it is tempting to grease yourself after shaving, but the perfume in that delicious lotion can cause red spots if you are sensitive to it.
Myth: Shaving doesn’t thicken or darken hairs. You only cut the hair at the thickest point, so that you then look at the thickest and darkest point of the hair at a stubble. A complete hair has a thin and lighter tip, which makes it appear thinner and lighter.
Hair Removal Resins
Advantages:
- You can do it yourself.
- You can have it done.
- Hair stays away for a long time.
- Hair grows back with a thin tip making it feel softer.
Cons:
- It’s no picnic in the park ! It can be quite painful, especially down under . You get used to it after a while.
- You have to grow hairs to wax them so you have to / can (I would like to) cover these areas for a while. Like this lady does with a pineapple.
- If you have it done, it is not beneficial.
- Again, the skin can be damaged because the resin not only adheres to the hairs, but also to the skin. This will pull a protective layer off your skin. In addition, the hairs are forcibly pulled out, which can cause the skin to be red for quite a few hours. With waxing in the face (also in other areas) you sometimes see as a skin reaction the formation of some pimples or even hyperpigmentation.
- After waxing you should (preferably) avoid heat and friction for 24 to 48 hours as much as possible.
- Your hair has a growth and a resting phase, so it may be that hairs that were in a resting phase are not waxed and suddenly squeak from your body after, for example, a week. Often it is fluffy, but it is certainly not smooth. Lake.
- You are at risk of ingrown hairs.
- It can be tricky, and you have to dig into it if you want to do it yourself.
Hair Removal Tips:
With both home waxing and waxing, the hairs should have grown for 2 to 3 weeks. Therefore plan your waxing moment. Hot date? Think about when you plan this.
Vacation? Also, plan well. Don’t make an appointment too late and keep some space between the resin moment and the moment you want to shine with your bare lip/chin/leg/arm/armpit / punani / whatever. Otherwise, you really need that pineapple.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490329478186923531/Scrub before and after (after at least 3 days). It is best to do this with a scrub glove because it gives a slightly bigger result than a shower scrub. You are probably used to doing this with circular motions.
This is possible, but some hair follicles become slightly disrupted so that they no longer know which direction to grow.
This allows hair to grow earlier.
Therefore, scrub back and forth, in the direction of the hair, and back again. This stimulates the hair to grow back properly. By exfoliating, you also ensure that your horny layer does not become too thick and that hairs can easily pierce the skin with their thin tip to grow normally. Do at least once a week, up to 3 times, and sensitive areas 2 times.
If you are getting waxed, keep in mind that you are comfortable with someone seeing this area naked. Don’t worry about that either, those people see hairy boxes all day long.
If you are waxing yourself, press your hand on the area you are waxing immediately after waxing. This makes it hurt a little less. You can also ask if the resin lady / gentleman wants to do this if they are not already doing this on their own.
If you wax yourself, find out how to do this. Do not go to work unprepared. I will not give a complete tutorial now, there are also enough.
Leave the skin alone after waxing. No smearing, no excessive washing, just let the skin heal itself. Keep in mind that just after waxing you will have a little burning sensation and the skin will be red. Wear clothes that do not rub or scald.
Funny side notes: I thought I was watching a waxing tutorial and I was really paying close attention to what they were doing. After all, I wanted to learn it well myself.
Hair Removal Epilation
Advantages:
- You can do it at home.
- Hair stays away for a long time.
- It is not expensive in the long run, it lasts a long time and you do not need to buy new parts.
- It is (er) environmentally friendly (to a certain extent) because you have no disposable parts.
- It’s easy, anyone can do it.
- Hair doesn’t have to be super long, just a few millimeters.
- You really only grab the hairs and do not disturb the skin barrier.
Cons:
- It is very painful at first, but you get used to it.
- You are at risk of ingrown hairs.
- Hair should have grown a few millimeters, which takes about 5 days for me.
- Did I mention it was painful?
- The result is not super smooth to the touch, but to the eye it is.
Hair Removal Tips:
- The preparation for epilation is basically the same as for waxing. Scrub beforehand so that hairs stand up well, and keep scrubbing weekly with the technique I also mentioned for waxing.
- Buy an epilator that can also be used underwater. It’s really less painful in the shower or bath.
- Get used to the pain, so really give it a few times before giving up.
- Start with your legs or arms, and don’t hit your whistle right away because you won’t survive that.
I will take the legs as an example with this tip. What I did to get used to the pain is the following: I shaved my legs and after 2 days I went over with the epilator. After 2 days, some hairs were long enough, but many were not yet. This allows you to slowly pull some hairs out of your leg each day that follows instead of all at once.
In the shower hairs are a bit smoother, so you don’t get everything, that’s why I often start in the shower and then dry it for a while.
If I really want a very smooth result, then I shave after epilation.
Super super smooth!
Keep it up every week, because as I mentioned before, hairs have a growth and a resting phase. You also keep it in such a way that you do not grab all the hair at once and it therefore hurts less each time.
By shaving occasionally, you keep the skin a bit thinner, so that ingrown hairs have a little less chance.
Unfounded tip: There are also products on the market that should reduce ingrown hairs. I haven’t tested it myself yet so don’t want to mention it as a tip. However, I am going to study it further because even after all precautions I unfortunately sometimes suffer from ingrown hairs.
Hair Removal Lasering
You can have your hair lasered, or you can do this at home. I therefore mix up the tips.
Advantages:
- Hair really stays away after a number of treatments.
- Laser at home hardly hurts.
- Lasering is always done on shaved skin, so hairs don’t have to grow long.
Cons:
- Laser can really hurt.
- If you have blonde hair or dark skin then you cannot laser. This is only possible with dark hair and light skin.
- A home appliance is expensive, but having it lasered is a lot more expensive. Not everyone will be able to afford that, especially for your entire body.
- It takes a very long time and a lot of appointments before you get rid of your hair. There are often 6 to 8 weeks between treatments and you generally need at least 6 treatments.
- You have to keep up or the hair can slowly come back. With a few it really always stays away.
Hair Removal Tips:
- Lasering does give a better, more lasting result.
- Make sure your skin is really smooth, otherwise the hairs above the skin will burn and that will hurt more.
- Ask for an anesthetic cream if you have it done at a clinic.
- Make sure the skin is clean and dry.
- Be consistent with your laser moments for the best results.
- My hair removal rituals
Now that we have gone through everything, I would like to share with you what I now prefer and how I do this.
I used to shave alone and had to keep this up every day in the summer. I had my armpits lasered in 2010, and after 7 treatments the hair really seemed gone.
Unfortunately, this slowly came back after a year. I should have kept up with an annual appointment, probably. Perhaps the techniques have improved again, or I should have had more treatments, but for me, it was a waste of my money at that time. I would like to try it ‘good’ again.
Then I tried to get my armpits waxed. I’ve always found waxing myself too much hassle. Unfortunately, after a week I had come down again and I was still shaving.
Hair Removal Shaving
Then I started to study epilation. I bought an epilator and started with my legs. I still remember that I thought it was really painful but persisted. The result was smooth to the eye, but I still felt tiny hairs with my hands.
I threw it aside and didn’t start epilating again until I received the Braun Silk Epil Wet & dry for testing. From then on I am really committed to my epilation moments.
After my legs, I started carefully with my bikini line, stomach (below your navel), and later also feet, hands, and arms. Because this epilator could also be used in the shower, I could get used to the pain a little better.
Now I have an epilating moment every week. I go over my feet (I have a few hairs on my toes) and legs, over my bikini line and Venus mound (further down really hurts me), and my hands and arms. I also find my armpits too painful. This is because I cannot stretch the skin here.
Since I update this weekly, there are not many hairs and it doesn’t hurt that much. If I want it to feel really smooth to the touch, I go over it again with a razor blade. Then it feels super smooth! The shaved hairs will of course become stubble again.
I shave my armpits, but I also laser twice a week with a home laser from Braun, the Silk-expert IPL.
This makes my armpit hair thinner and I have to shave less often.
Now once every 3 days. When I stop lasering, it quickly becomes a bit more and it doesn’t stay away completely. So it is not a panacea for me, that laser. I do it because it slows down my shaves and because it makes my hair thinner. Because of this, I don’t have such a dark haze under my armpits, which I otherwise have a bit.
After epilation and/or shaving, I don’t put anything on the skin so that it can repair itself. Sometimes I cool. The next day I can smear honey as a mask, and I scrub about 2 times a week with an exfoliating glove with the technique I explained during waxing.
I don’t depilate my face, I just pluck my eyebrows and occasionally pull dark hair from my upper lip or chin. I don’t mind blond fluffy facial hair myself, but there are plenty of people who think otherwise.
Hair Removal General tips:
- Honey can remedy razor burn. When I have epilated my bikini line it can sometimes be red the next day. So I sometimes rub honey on my bikini line and wash it off after fifteen minutes with lukewarm water. In my opinion, the redness will disappear a little faster.
- Cooling after waxing or epilation is pleasant but can also help against redness. An ice pack in your freezer is good for it!
What are your techniques?
Do you have any tips that are not listed here?
