It’s summertime once again, and that can mean one thing: swimsuit season! Before packing your bags, and your skimpiest string bikini, to jet off on your sunny holidays it’s important to do some post-winter hair removal. There a variety of ways to remove hair from your bikini line, but it all depends on how much time and money you’re willing to invest, your pain threshold, and what is going to make you feel the most confident and sexy while wearing your swimsuit or short shorts.
Popular Methods
Shaving – Convenient, easy and economical, shaving at home gives you flexibility to work around your own schedule and privacy if you’re body-conscious. This tends to be time-consuming, requires frequent upkeep, and itchy stubble can be a problem. Tip: use hair conditioner instead of shave cream to achieve a smoother bikini line.
Depilatory Creams – These work well, but are not for the fidgety and impatient, since you can’t do much till the cream comes off. However, it’s an inexpensive and painless way to remove unwanted hair without the threat of cutting yourself. If you’ve never used hair removal cream on your bikini area before, start with a sensitive skin formula and do a patch test before slathering it on.
Waxing – Either at home or a salon, waxing is an efficient way to get amazing looks-like-you-never-even-had-hair results. On the downside, it’s more expensive than shaving or creams, and spreading a mess of hot wax on your skin while yanking up linen strips of hair can hurt like hell. So, unless you’re already skilled at this technique, it’s best to leave the pain-giving and the cleanup to the pros.
Tweezing – First of all…ouch! Yet, if there aren’t many wayward hairs to pluck, there really is no need to bother with other methods. In order to make the tweezing process as painless as possible, only attempt itafter a hot shower and before toweling off. The heat and water relax the follicles, making hairs easier to pull out. To combat irritation afterward, pat the area dry (never rub!) and apply some soothing aftershave balm with aloe and tea tree oil, which is a natural antiseptic.
Laser/ Electrolysis – If you’re not achieving the results you want at home, and have a bit of money to burn for repetitive treatments, seek professional help. Effects can last longer than most methods, and some even eliminate hair regrowth.
Whatever method you choose, do it for the right reasons and do it with proper care. If you want to wear a low cut or ultra-revealing swimsuit on your next holiday and don’t want stray hairs ruining your sleek new look, that’s fine. However, getting a Brazilian wax simply because your friends have done it probably isn’t the best idea. Finally, if you’ve maintained your bikini area a particular way for years and want to see if changing things up works better, do a trial run about 2 to 3 weeks before sporting your bikini-clad self in public. Any irritation, ingrown hairs or adverse reactions to treatments will have calmed down in that time frame.
This article was written by the experienced beauty therapist, Monica Dwyer who has over 5 years experience in hair removal and waxing. Monica Dwyer writes on behalf of www.urbana.ie.