The Chore That is: Hair Removal - Saying Farewell to The Fuzz!

Me, preparing for my waxing at the Fake Bake Boutique in Manchester.

I’ve always said that men have it easy. No periods, no child birth, no hair and makeup tasks to deal with (for most men anyway, and as much as I love hair & beauty in their entirety, they can be a bit of a chore at times with how long it takes to get ready), and… no having to religiously remove hair from almost all of their body!! The fact that those few reasons are just the main few ‘perks’ of being a bloke that came to the top of my head prove my point as I’m sure there’s plenty more to boot.

Anyway, how you remove your body hair is a personal choice to each and every one of us, but one thing that remains the same, it’s never, ever enjoyable. It is a chore, there’s no getting away from this fact, AND there is always, always a down side to each hair removal technique. I should know, I've tried most methods in a bid to say a final farewell to the fuzz.

Let’s look at the main contenders, and my view on each one:

Shaving: Well this is a quick fix, cheap, and easily done if in a rush… if the errr need to shave arises unexpectedly, you know what I am talking about girls. Sounds great, but it doesn’t last. The fact that it lasts basically no time at all, the stubble that comes shortly after (sometimes the same day, depending on how unfortunate your hair growth is for you), potential shaving cuts (ouch) and shaving rash definitely put me off using this as my regular hair removal routine – unless as part of a laser hair removal course, which I’ll move onto near the end of this post.

Hair removal creams: Yuck, I hate these. They have never really worked on my hair, so are probably only good for fine/fair hair and not much of it. They’re messy, smelly and again don’t work for long – I also find them time consuming, since you’re supposed to leave the cream on to dissolve the hair which is an arduous task, since you can’t do much else other than wait. This is even worse if you're treating a more delicate, or hidden area that may require you to hold your arms high in the air/above your head, or worse... hold your legs open for the entire time - lovely. The 'rough' stubble isn’t quite as much of an issue as shaving, since the hair isn’t cut off as bluntly, but you will still get a rapid regrowth that you will feel, since the follicle is left intact.

Waxing: This was my choice of hair removal for many years, visiting a salon religiously every 4 weeks to have my body hair ripped from the follicles. I was always happy with the smooth finish that waxing left me with, and the fact that it lasted a good few weeks before I felt like I was getting some regrowth. What I wasn’t happy with was ingrown hairs, the cost of going somewhere decent to get a Brazilian or a Hollywood and the having to leave it until there was enough regrowth to be removed for the smoothness to return. Let’s face it ladies, it’s not ideal to *have* to let your hair grow, when you want to be ‘match fit’ 100% of the time, is it?! It’s also incredibly painful, especially in sensitive areas (armpits and bikini area being the worst culprits). That being said, I did have a couple of waxing appointments (at the Fake Bake Boutique in Selfridges, Manchester) just before my holiday and just after for the immediate and long lasting 'effect' that I required, both of which I was over the moon with (no ingrown hairs etc).

Epilating: In-between waxes, I would often find myself epilating should the need to be fuzz free arise. And, I actually maintained my hair free status for quite some time using epilation. This was actually a godsend, as; with decent epilators you can remove hair as short as a grain of sand, which means you have the benefit of removing the hair from the follicle (and the longevity with the result), with no need to actually grow the hair to a length that you’re not entirely comfortable with.

The downsides to epilation is that I find it a lot more painful than waxing, as you’re ripping less hairs out in one go which is slightly more tortuous – to put it mildly, it’s not something you could do from scratch in sensitive areas (unless you’re a sadist and actually enjoy pain), and it can take a bit of time to get a good result, depending on how good your epilators is. Plus there’s a slightly larger outlay to start with when buying a decent epilator (I recommend the higher end Braun models), which I do think is worthwhile, as they do make the job easier and less painful (ish), but will pay for themselves over time!

Laser hair removal: Now this is a slightly newer kid on the block, and whilst has been done in salons and clinics for a good few years, the at home alternatives have only been around a very short time indeed. It’s not a quick fix either; treatment can take 6 months or more to be successful; however it is the longest lasting hair removal method to date. The laser attacks the hair follicle and effectively destroys it/puts it to ‘sleep’, this method is usually called ‘permanent hair removal’ but actually does require some maintenance to keep all follicles on your body asleep/dead. This upkeep is made easier (and cheaper) by the use of ‘at home’ machines such as the Philips Lumea Precision Plus, Tria, HoMedics me Pro and suchlike (although the outlay on these machines are in the hundreds, but compared to the thousands for salon treatments over large areas do offer value for money).

To prepare for laser hair removal you need to shave the area 24 hours before treatment, and then use the laser on the skin/have it used on you by a therapist (depending on whether you're having it done in clinic or at home). The sensation of laser hair removal isn't entirely painless, but depending on your pain threshold/tolerance shouldn't be too uncomfortable. I liken it to being pinged by a hot elastic band - it's totally bearable for me, anyway.  Over the course of treatments, you'll notice your hair regrowth lessening and getting finer, and patches of hair free areas increasing. This is totally satisfying to see, as you can see the treatment is doing what it's meant to. The finished effect of this is smooth skin, usually without even having little dots where the follicle is/was.

The downsides, as touched on are the cost, the length of time it takes for the treatment to work, the having to shave areas being treated (which means no longevity in hair removal until the treatment has run its course) and for some, the pain. However, all that being said, I do think it's totally worth doing in the long run.

Other methods of hair removal include Electrolysis, sugaring, no!no! Hair PRO and 'sanding hair off' with mitts such as the Silky Mitt but I haven't had as much experience (or any at all in some cases) with these, so I have left them off and focused on the main players. Nor have I spoken about threading, as on larger areas, I don’t think it would work so well and would be faaaar too time consuming.

I think, if push came to shove, and I had to choose my favourite method, I would choose to laser those follicles into submission, over the rest - purely for the longevity, even though it does take longer to get our final smooth result. However I think epilation (as maintenance after waxing) would be my second choice because it's a happy medium between the rest.

How do you prefer to de-fuzz? Do you find it a chore, do you have any tips that you might like to share?

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Be Fur Free with Ministry of Waxing & PETA!

I posted recently about Trilogy’s campaign to save the orangutans in Borneo (which you can still go and pledge your name for, by the way), and being the animal lover that I am, I’m posting yet another animal helping beauty offer that some of you may be interested in!

Being a female can be such a chore, especially when it comes to hair removal and keeping your lady bush nicely pruned, don't you think? However, it’s something we all have to do – unless of course you’re extremely lucky in that department!

If waxing is your choice of maintenance then you could turn something that is mundane and not pleasurable in the slightest into something a little more... heart-warming (what, you didn’t think I was going to say enjoyable, did you?) by having your waxing done at Ministry of Waxing, who have teamed up with PETA to help fight animal cruelty.

Unless you've been under a rock for an awfully long time, you'll have heard about the horrific acts of fur farms and how animals that are slaughtered for their fur and skin lead a miserable life and die a dreadful death (I’ve heard such horror stories and been sent links to animals being skinned alive that I can never bare to click and watch as it’s heartbreaking just to hear (and type) those words). They are often kept in cages so small that the animals in them cannot do anything that is natural and important to them, which can cause the animal to go insane.

This is so disturbing, if it was children being treated in the same way then there’d be a huge public outcry, and to me these animals are the same as children in that they can’t defend themselves, nor have they done anything to deserve such cruel treatment; yet for the most part, many people turn a blind eye... especially in the fashion world, which unfortunately appears to have done a complete u-turn on its stance on fur.

I’m all for fashion and looking your best, but honestly, does it really have to come from such suffering and pain? It just makes me so upset, especially as there are fantastic and luxurious fake furs readily available these days!

That is why I am happy to tell you that from now until the end of December, £2 from every Brazilian, Hollywood and Boyzilian at Ministry of Waxing will be donated to the PETA Organisation. It's a small amount, but every little helps and hopefully this will make a positive difference to many animals lives and their welfare! xx

P.S: I also really like their cheeky campaign image, don't you?!!

Wax On, Wax Ooof - My Thoughts On The Rio Complete Wax Kit!

Advantages: Smooth hair free skin, Save money, Convenient, Easy, works well, Easy & cheap for replacement bits

Disadvantages: A little painful (you get used to it), Have to let hair grow to wax it off  

Thinking about body hair reminded me of a fantastic piece of kit that I have owned for the last few years; it’s the Rio Complete Wax Kit and it’s for use at home. I had never heard of this until I was given it as a present a few Christmases ago because my sister had sworn by it ever since she had owned one herself and knew I would make good use of it.

The box contains a number of items that have various uses:

• 1 black and silver unit with a dial on it and a mains lead to plug it in, this is the main item that is used to heat the wax that you use (as it’s a warm wax system) and the dial enables you to control the temperature of the wax and also turn the unit off. This is quite quick to heat up, so you don’t have to spend ages sitting and waiting for your wax to even start to melt.

• 2 silver mini saucepan-type cups with black handles,  these are what hold the wax to heat it up in the unit and also are fully transportable to wherever you are waxing so that there’s less chance of wax getting stuck to everything in-between the unit and your skin. Although you should still keep the heating unit nearby as the wax does cool down if you leave it out too long and can become harder to use, not to mention more painful.

• Spatulas – a number of these (I haven’t counted, but there’s quite a few) and these are for applying the wax to your skin. I have found that whilst these are decent for most areas, they feel a bit too big for my eyebrows and I am not confident using them in that area for fear of ripping out too much hair. For this reason I went to eBay and found some smaller ones for a reasonable price.

• Wax equipment cleaner – to remove waxy residue from bits from equipment that it should not be on, or to try and help to clean any accidental spillages. It says it is effective to use on all surfaces, including plastic and natural fibres – although I haven’t really had any major spillages in the time that I have owned this product *touch wood*.

• A tub of soft wax – this is the most common kind of wax that you’re used to that gets applied with the spatula and then removed using a waxing strip. It’s decent quality and does the job; it’s cheap to replace too, which is a bonus – I’d recommend replacing it with tea tree wax when the time comes as tea tree helps to soothe the skin.

• Hard wax – This used to come in blocks that you broke into quarters but these days comes in flakes in a sealed plastic bag, this is easier to use as you don’t have to break fingers/nails to get the ‘portion’ you require into the cup so it can be heated. It doesn’t need wax strips to remove the wax from the body, but you do have to wait for it to cool down and set/get hard (which traps the hair in the wax) before you can peel the edge a little and then rip it off and the hair will come out along with it. This is said to be better for more sensitive areas and will cause less skin irritation than normal soft wax with no interference with the lymphatic flow, it’s also less sticky than soft wax. Obviously because it has to go hard and set first, it does take a little bit longer (and more patience) but it is definitely worth using.

• Waxing Strips – To remove the soft wax, along with the hair from your body; these can be folded once one side has been used and reused (all be it being a little shorter, but still very useable). This means that you don’t have to buy replacements quite so quickly; although I have found they are quite cheap to replace anyway, but it’s also more environmentally friendly to do it this way which is another incentive to do it. You can also cut the strips into smaller strips for use around the eyebrows or any other smaller/more intricate waxing areas.

• Instruction book – Pretty self explanatory really, and definitely worth reading.

• A DVD – This may or may not come with it, my sister got one and I did not – apparently this has guides for the more ‘troublesome’ areas of the body (bikini, underarms etc), but I have never thought ‘oh I could really do with a DVD to watch for this bit’ so I don’t think it is essential really.

Application of the wax is easy, dip the spatula into the wax (whichever one you’re using) and coat it with a small amount for the soft wax and enough to make a thick coat for the hard wax - make sure you don’t have any wax ready to drip as you move it away from the cup (just for neatness really) and smooth it over your skin following the direction of the hair. Another tip for neatness is to dedicate an old towel to the task and have it under the body part being waxed so if any wax does drip, it drips on something that you don’t mind getting ruined.

Removal of the wax is an easy action in itself, however the pain you anticipate will make it the most difficult thing you could think of doing to yourself. Whilst I’m not saying that it’s not painful, it isn’t anywhere near as painful as it is if you hesitate and end up pulling the skin so like they say for plasters, do it quick and in one go if you can. Pull the skin taut too as this will stop the skin being pulled as much and can help lessen the pain. The action to remove the wax is to either put the wax strip over and smooth over it and then pull AGAINST the direction of the hair (ie opposite to the way you smoothed the wax on) for the soft wax, or once the hard wax has set peel a little bit up at the edge and then rip that up in the same way as mentioned for the soft wax.

You may also find that you need help with hard to reach areas and bikini line etc, but I usually find my fella is more than happy to help on these occasions. I have saved a HUGE amount in salon costs in the time I have had mine so finding somebody help is a small price to pay.

This product is available in many places, most notably Tesco online and Amazon, priced around the £39 mark which is a fantastic price for such a brilliant product that WILL save you money if you replace your salon visits with it, and will save you the embarrassment of stubbly bits from shaving, or hairy bits from not doing anything (haha)!

Rio manufactures in the UK, which is brilliant for economy and environment alike. They have a page dedicated to their environmental actions and aims for the future here: http://www.riobeauty.com/Rio_Beauty/greener_rio.html

Body Hair - Grooming?!

So, Julia’s recently been snapped again with her (hairy) arms in the air, waving (well lifting) them like she just don’t care! I truly believe that she doesn’t care at all; because anybody who is willing to lift their arms up without having first defuzzed them is very, very brave. It's even more brave (or stupid - however you wish to look at it) when the world's paparazzi are nearby watching and taking photos. I salute her for having the guts to do it, but really could not imagine being as bold as to do it myself; in fact I will be getting mine lasered off soon.

What do you guys make of it?