My back is killing me tonight because I did a 3-hour body waxing on a client this morning. While I really do love waxing, and I love making people feel better about themselves, I have to say that I do not understand some women's absolute revulsion about their own body hair!
First, I will confess about myself, because, truthfully, I'm not a lot better than some hair-haters: I am a compulsive, every-day leg shaver. The bottom half I shave EVERY day, winter or summer, and the top half, every 2-3 days religiously. If I didn't get the most horrible underarm reactions, I would shave there every day too. I had a fraught relationship with my bikini area filled with shaving irritations, ingrown hairs from waxing, and near-gymnastic moves to do my own bikini waxes on a regular basis. Two and a half months ago, I decided to do laser-hair removal which has been, next to marrying my husband, the best decision I ever made in my life! Two treatments into it and I am a hairless goddess you-know-where. I will make a disclaimer and say that I have fair skin and dark hair, which I'm told lends to the best results.
While I don't mind parting with my own leg, underarm, and the majority of my bikini hair (I do like some to hang around, mind you), I could care less about my relatively hairy arms, upper lip and thick eyebrows.
Here are my "expert" hair removal recommendations that won't kill you pain- and money-wise:
Face: eyebrow waxing / shaping every six to eight weeks from a pro - if you go to a great person, you won't have to worry about brows that are too thin; lip waxing every few months if it's blonde, more often if it's darker (or you can bleach) I've also read that Vaniqa really works but it is pricey; please don't wax your entire face - the vellus hair loses some of its softness and unless you have a real need (such as growing back after chemo, sometimes it's thick) don't start waxing your whole face.
Body: do what works for you - if you can handle shaving, it's the cheapest way to remove hair. Use a good shave cream every time and a fresh razor every week or so, and moisturize after your shower. Waxing is great for summer, you get longer time before regrowth happens and a cleaner look for your bikini area. I can also wax off that "underbutt" hair that is so hard to shave! I don't really recommend depilitories because they can be so caustic to your skin and you can easily give yourself a chemical burn. If you do start waxing, book a series of appointments every six weeks - the pain will be less each time and the hair will grow back softer. Also be prepared to deal with ingrowns - they are more prevalent with waxing because the hair is finer and has a hard time pushing through skin. I have had good results with both PFB Vanish treatment and TendSkin, but I had to use them religiously every day after waxing.
Back to my original tangent: I get clients all the time who want every last piece of hair gone from various body areas. Sometimes I even try to talk them out of it- like all the hair on the arms gone, or face. I've had clients who think they are "gross" or "hairier than everybody else" or "man-like". THAT IS NOT TRUE! We are all mammals, and we all have hair! That is one of the pre-requisites to joining the mammalia club! I don't like it when anybody I know or work with thinks they are gross or ugly in some way. It makes me sad for them because I can see from the outside how flawed their perception of their own body is. When I was waxing my client I complimented her on her petite little arms, and she wouldn't even take the compliment! I know I have done this myself many times and I vow here and now to stop and just say "Thank you" when someone tells me something good.
LADIES- You are not gross! So what if a hair is peeking out here or there, or if your legs are stubbly for a day or two? Why are we as a society so obsessed with perfection? It is not attainable - the best beauty pursuit is to feel as GOOD about yourself as you possibly can. I believe women feel self-conscious about their bodies because we usually see so little "real" naked women in our lifetimes. I do - all the time - and I know I'm no hairier or lumpier or bumpier than anyone else. We always see airbrushed, waxed, spray-tanned, made-up, and augmented women instead of our real counterparts.
An awesome website: www.theshapeofamother.com
While it focuses mainly on pregnancy photos, a lot are postpartum and these ladies are REAL and they are not afraid to show you what real boobs, butts, and stomachs look like (hairy or not)
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