Facial Hair. Not my favorite topic to discuss, and I'm sure it isn't yours either. Regardless, there are many women living with excess unwanted facial hair. For me personally, I am naturally very hairy. I have excess hair that grows on my face, and other areas of my body. Specifically, I have hair on my arms, hands and knuckles, as well as conventional areas. To make matters worse, my hair is naturally dark, so of course my unwanted hair is dark as well, making it stand out much more. When I was younger I used to get teased for my arm hair, and I remember going to junior high school and shaving or "nair-ing" excess hair on my arms and hands. The only problem with that is once you start, it is pretty hard to stop. And of course your hair never grows back quite the same. Many times it grows back far worse. Ultimately, after junior high school I stopped shaving my arms and just let my hair grow back in.
Back on topic, sorry for the tangent, but there are many methods of hair removal in women (or men for that matter). I am specifically addressing unwanted facial hair, as for me this is my most problematic area. My facial hair is hereditary (from the women on my father's side) and worsened by my PCOS (which, as a side effect or symptom, causes excess testosterone and facial hair in some women).
Some common methods of (facial) hair removal are:
- Plucking;
- Shaving;
- Waxing;
- Threading;
- Hair Removal Creams (think Nair);
- Bleaching;
- Laser/Pulsed Light Removal;and
- Electrolysis.
Plucking is a great, quick, easy and affordable method for hair removal. But it's not really effective for large areas of unwanted hair. Plucking your eyebrows is fine, or in-between waxes, but if you've tried to pluck your mustache or full chin it's pretty time-consuming and can be a bit painful.
Shaving is pretty straight forward. Razor, shaving cream (or conditioner), caution. Shaving tends to be the least effective method for keeping hair at bay for a long period of time. In addition, for me it made my facial hair darker and it seemed to grow back even worse than when I originally shaved. This was my preferred method during high school, until I learned about waxing.
Waxing is my preferred method of hair removal. I go to a salon to get my face wax (which includes an eyebrow, lip and chin wax) maybe once a month or so. I wax in-between visits or when I'm crunched for time because its far more affordable. I usually find that I can maintain waxes on my own, and need to go to the salon every month to keep a decent eyebrow shape. Waxing gets very expensive if you go to a salon regularly. My salon charges around $43 with tax, and that doesn't include the tip. That's why I found waxing to be super affordable and not as painful as I originally imagined. In fact, once you do it regularly it becomes second nature. One day (a couple years back) I was randomly in Sally Beauty looking at nail polish and noticed they had this Gigi Honee Wax Warmer special going on. The warmer was discounted to $29.99, and for that price you also got a free tin of wax, muslin strips, spatulas and a DVD tutorial. I couldn't pass that up, especially considering for all of that it was less than the price of one wax, and came with so much stuff. I also picked up some pre-epilatory powder, collars (to keep your waxer clean) and wax remover for skin. I watched the DVD and then practiced on myself. It took a couple of tries to figure out how thin/thick to apply the wax, how to pull the strip, and how NOT to repeatedly wax the same area. I'd say I had it down within the first few waxes and to this day, I still choose this method. Keep in mind that even after waxing I would recommend some sort of cooling agent, Neosporin, or Tend Skin to aid in minimizing any bumps that might appear after waxing. Although waxing is better than shaving, it can still cause your skin to become irritated or inflamed, so it is best to use proper precautionary and sanitary methods while waxing. Always start with clean skin, open pores, and finish with your bump aid. And do not wax the same area twice. If you miss some hairs, simply pluck. Waxing the same area over and over is only likely to cause irritation and burning, as well as some ugly red burns. Speaking of burns, make sure your wax is not super hot or else you may burn your skin. I've found that the best waxes for me have been when I let my wax warm on low to medium low, for at least an hour, and kept it on low for waxing. There really isn't a need for a high setting unless you're trying to melt your wax down quickly, and even still be sure to turn it down to low for a few minutes before you actually wax. The low setting is still effective in hair removal. I don't think that the temperature causes any varying degree in effectiveness.
Threading is relatively new to the hair removal scene. It's super convenient, not more painful than plucking or waxing in the opinion of some and costs about the same as waxing. For me, personally, I have too much hair to thread and my chin hair is quite stubborn, so it takes some work and its simply not for me.
Hair removal cream is a super easy way to remove hair from your skin. For me personally, I've found that the creams don't work well for my face and that if I try to leave them on longer in an effort to remove all of my hair I actually wind up burning my skin. Also, I'm a bit wary about using these creams on your face. I know they make gentle and non-smelly versions, but ultimately they just aren't effective for me. If they do remove my hair, they only usually remove parts of my hair and I still have to go behind and wax or pluck, which only makes double work on my part.
Bleaching is great if you have fair to light skin and especially great if you only have a small amount of hair to remove. I tried bleaching back in high school (mustache) and it was okay, but with my skin and dark hair, it makes for a pretty ugly sight upon regrowth. Therefore, it has never really been much of an option for me.
Laser/Pulsed Light removal is another popular method of hair removal. In laser removal energy is sent through the hair shaft and down in the follicle to destroy the root. The hair does not immediately disappear, but over time and over multiple treatments the hair becomes weaker, ultimately falling out. I've never tried laser removal and although I'm fascinated by the concept, there are just too many cons for me. First, it is pricey. While price varies, there are anywhere from 5-10 sessions for hair removal, and each session could cost you hundreds of dollars. And there are even yearly maintenance sessions required for "upkeep". Second, it is best for fair skin. I have tan skin as I am part Korean and part African-American, and at the end of the day, my skin does not heal or scar like that of a fairer woman. My skin tends to scar dark and keloid, and that is just not something that bodes well with laser removal. I had surgery once and was left with a pretty ugly scar, despite my keeping up with prescribed creams and scar removal creams. Regardless, I just am simply not ready to make that jump. I'm also pretty scared because sometimes these things can go wrong and burn some people, and I'm not willing to take that risk.
Electrolysis is permanent, but again can have its side effects as discussed above in the laser removal section. It is also costly and time consuming, as it requires more office visits than laser removal. Also, because a needle is actually inserted into the skin at each point of hair grown, it can leave tiny scars...scars which can also turn dark from hyperpigmentation (which I have) and may cause keloids. Again, another reason why it is not for me.
SORRY this article is so long! Just wanted to let you guys know about hair removal options. I know everyone has their own preference, but I hope that maybe this is useful for some. Ultimately, I prefer to wax unwanted facial hair. I'm okay with shaving my legs and/or underarms, as that does not cause my skin any problems and the re-growth time is not too bad. Plus, waxing your underarms hurts lol. I've done it before.
