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Hair Removal: Which Strategy is Best?
Whether you're a woman who likes to have smooth legs or a man who shaves his face every morning, hair removal can start to make you feel like Sisyphus: The second you finish, it seems like it's time to start all over! Though there are no quick fixes, choosing the right shaving or depilatory method can make the burden easier.
Keep reading to discover how to keep skin smooth, silky and undamaged by learning which hair-removal method is right for you.
A razor cuts hair at an angle, leaving a sharp edge. If the hair is curly, it will fold over toward the skin as it grows out, and that razor-sharp edge will pierce the skin. The result is an ingrown hair. Ingrown hairs are most common in men with curly facial hair and in women's bikini areas. If you have curly hair, wet shaving is probably not the best method for you - we'll talk more about that later.
To help prevent ingrown hairs, gently buff the area in question with a clean loofah, Clarisonic Facial Brush or other exfoliator every time you bathe, and keep the area well-moisturized. Using a salicylic acid containing cleanser such as Neutrogena Acne Wash or an SA-containing lotion such as Tend Skin can help prevent ingrown hairs as well.
How can we make sure to do it properly?
We all know wet shaving is the easiest option - it's fast, cheap and easy to do at home. Wet shaving also leaves skin hair-free, exfoliated and feeling smooth, so many people feel it provides more rewards than either waxing or depilatories. Unfortunately, wet shaving can also leave us with nicks, razor burn and ingrown hairs. For a close shave that doesn't damage the skin, it's important to start out with a razor that's nice and sharp - you're actually more likely to cut yourself with a blade that's dull. For women, I don't recommend shaving any areas except the legs, armpits and bikini area because the sharp hairs can become ingrown.
The best time to shave is during or just after a bath or shower when the hair has had time to soften. The tensile strength meaning the measurement of stress required to reach the breaking point of a material - of a saturated hair is a third to half of dry hair. In other words: wet hair is weaker and easier to cut. Don't use foaming soap to shave, as it can steal lipids from the skin and leave it dry. Look for products made for shaving, such as shaving cream or moisturizing soaps that will clean, lather and moisturize while you shave. For a clean shave, drag the razor against the hair growth - shaving in the direction of hair growth can minimize the chance of ingrown hairs (a great trick in the bikini area), but you don't really get a close shave that way.
There are three general categories of wet shaver design; the system, the disposable and the all-in-one. Each is specifically designed for different female consumer needs.
- The system is a non-disposable handle with replaceable cartridges. This shaver offers the solid feel of an ergonomically designed handle and has an overall high performance.
- The disposable's main feature is reduced cost but it also addresses some hygiene issues by allowing the user to toss it when desired. Most disposables use the same cartridges that are found in the system shaver.
- The all-in-one is an innovative shave system that recognizes convenience while providing added skin conditioning. All-in-ones, such as the Schick Intuition, lather and moisturizes as you shave. No other preparation, such as applying shaving cream or gel, is required.
As far as all razors go-If you look closely at some blade cartridges, you will see a fine piece of wire wrapped around the blade. This feature helps prevent nicks and cuts and many feel this addition gives them greater comfort and confidence in their shave.
Men's shaver designs pretty much follow along the same lines. There are systems and disposables, but guys also can choose between powered shavers and systems with an integrated powered trimmer.
In many clinical tests, moisture or lubrication strips are very much preferred, particularly by men, over non-lubricated surfaces. These strips enhance the glide properties of the cartridge over the skin, offering a smoother and more comfortable shave.
In some cases, a single or twin-bladed system is desirable, like for edging (doing the edge of side burns for example) or for areas of less dense hair. But when mowing down a forest full of hair follicles, a multi-bladed shaver is much more efficient and provides a closer shave. It bears repeating that it's important to take the time to prepare for your shave by heating and hydrating the hair to soften it up.
Electric (aka "dry") shavers work differently than wet shavers in that they tend to fracture and abrade the hair away with the use of high speed cutters located under a thin metal foil screen. This gives the cut hairs ragged appearance instead of the clean, sliced effect you get with a razor blade. The cutting action always takes place a foil's thickness away from the skin so the shave obtained is generally not as close as that of a wet razor.
There are some differences between men's and women's shavers. With some products, the manner in which the blades are positioned is different between men's and women's wet shavers. Those shaves therefore deliver a "less aggressive" shave. There are also differences in the lubrication strips on some of the women's shavers verses the guys' systems. As noted previously, the all-in one is an entirely unique women's product and is noticeably different than other women's shavers.
Many people love waxing because they can do it and forget about pesky re-growth for weeks, and waxing can result in fewer ingrown hairs than shaving so it's great for the bikini line. Even better, if you wax for years the benefits become more pronounced because waxing will slowly damage the hair follicle and minimize re-growth. Oddly, the first time you wax the hair is actually stimulated to enter a growth (anagen) phase and hair growth speeds up. But don't worry - with time, hair will grow back thinner in areas that are regularly waxed.
There are a few downsides to waxing, especially if you have a skin type that is prone to hyperpigmentation, which happens when more melanin is produced in some places than others and results in dark blotches on the skin. Take, for example, dark patches on the upper lip, which are a common complaint among people prone to hyperpigmentation. Unfortunately, the heat from hot wax further stimulates melanocytes, the skin cells where pigment is produced, to make melanin. This means that those dark patches can be made worse by waxing.
Always see a skilled professional if you're interested in waxing. Even if you don't need to worry about hyperpigmentation, hot wax can result in plain old burns if used incorrectly. A cold wax such as Bliss Poetic Brow Shaping Sugar Wax is an option that does not involve heat.
If you are using Retin-A or another retinoid, waxing is not a good idea. Retinoids leave skin more delicate and prone to burning - a thin layer can even rip right off with the wax. If you must wax, you need to stop using all retinoids in the areas to be waxed at least 10 days before treatment. If you go to a professional for waxing, tell them if you are using any alpha hydroxyl acid or retinoid products. They may choose to lower the temperature of the wax.
Threading was popularized in India and uses a thin thread to remove hairs one by one. The threader wraps the thread around her fingers and holds the other end between her teeth, then glides the twisted thread over the hair, gently pulling it out. It doesn't sound like it should work, but it does! Obviously, because the threader must hold her face so close to you, it's a method that's not used for more intimate areas.
Threading is my favorite facial hair removal method because it doesn't involve any potentially damaging heat. And since it's very precise, it's great for eyebrows. It also doesn't pull at the skin as much as waxing, so it's nice if you're worried about wrinkles.
It's also particularly effective when used in conjunction with laser treatments (see below for more on those!) - threading offers instant gratification, while the laser provides a long-term solution. You see, after laser hair removal, the hair remains in the hair follicle for a week or more. Threading the day of or the day after a laser treatment will remove these hairs, giving a smoother look. However, one must wait three to four weeks after threading to before having a laser hair removal session. For this reason, best results are obtained when a laser hair removal center offers threading services on the premises.
These cream- or gel-based products contain strong chemicals that essentially "dissolve" hair. As you might imagine, they are not good for those with sensitive skin, and even those without sensitive skin should follow the product's directions carefully, as depilatories can cause chemical burns. Clients often ask me if these products are safe in the long run, and the truth is we don't know - there are no long-term studies on the safety of depilatories. However, they seem to be safe for those who don't experience immediate irritation. These products are very irritating to people with sensitive skin. For this reason, the product should be applied in a test spot on the wrist 24 hours prior to use.
Yes! Vaniqa is the first prescription cream proven to minimize facial hair growth in women. Apply it twice a day, and after eight weeks your hair will grow slower. But it's not a hair removal product, and therefore must be combined with another method (for example, splurge on a laser treatment, then follow it up with waxing or threading and Vaniqa, and you'll dramatically reduce hair growth in both the short- and long-term). It's pricey (around $65 a tube), so this is another method that's best saved for the face, the area for which it's intended.
This method is highly effective for dark hair, but does not work on light hair. That's because the melanin in hair absorbs the laser's energy, allowing it to do its thing - the darker the hair, the more melanin it contains. Without that darkness, though, it's like the laser doesn't "see" the hair.
It used to be that you could only use lasers if you had fair skin, but these days there are many types of hair-removal lasers that can be used in all skin types. The Cool Glide laser, for example, can be used even on the darkest skin. It should be said, though, that the best results are still achieved on people with fair skin and dark hair. And if you have a tan, the laser will be less effective and more likely to cause scarring.
Right after treatment with a laser, hairs remain in the skin, so don't expect instant gratification; the hair slowly falls out three to five days after treatment. Laser hair removal is not permanent. Hair will grow back, but it will be thinner, lighter and more sparse.
For optimal results, you'll typically need treatment every month for three to six months, and costs vary by the size of the area treated (usually $100 for 15 minutes). This is not a cost-effective method for all areas - it could take hours to cover legs, for example - but treating the bikini area, underarms and face is quick and really worth the money!
Wishing you great skin!
Dr. Leslie Baumann
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