A deep dive into hair removal options

We’ve all been there. Whether it’s tensing (or even crying) in pain as the wax attached to the pubic hair on your labia is ripped away by an efficient professional; staring at your rusty razor wondering how it’s ever going to make its way through the swathes of winter hair you’ve accrued on your legs; or frantically trying to tweeze away the stubble on your underarms before a big night out, hair removal can often be way more hassle than it’s worth.

So if you feel happier and more positive in yourself when you’ve got a Hollywood wax on your vagina, smooth hairless legs or eyebrows that have been waxed, tweezed and trimmed into the shape you want them: we’ve got some hair removal options that could just be a game-changer for your purse, time and pain threshold. 

Epiwand

Let’s kick things off from the top down — starting with the Epiwand. It lives up to its name: it’s a magical tool that can remove facial hair in a matter of minutes, saving you having to pay for getting a cheek or lip wax and catching those tiny hairs that even a pair of tweezers can’t always manage.

Essentially, it acts like an epilator. You can bend the wand into a semi-circle, and press the bendy part against the part of your face you’d like to epilate. As you twist the handles away from your face, the spring will roll gently across the skin — catching those wayward hairs as it does so.

Q&A: Which of the following applies to epilating?

A.) It removes skin cells together with hair

B.) Hair grows back thicker and stronger

C.) It acts like tweezing, but much faster

Answer: C. Epilating is essentially tweezing: and it also spares your skin cells and ensures your hair grows back lighter and finer. What’s not to love?

Conditioner

This seems like a pretty basic one — but it can do wonders for your skin. Have you been shaving with soap, shower gel and/or shaving foam all this time?

Well, we’d recommend switching things up and applying a small amount of conditioner to the area you want to shave. It’ll help your razor glide effortlessly across your skin; it’ll coat the hair, minimising any pain as the razor removes it; and it’ll do wonders for your razor-ravaged skin. Even when hair removal is the priority, skincare should never be far behind.

Q&A: Which of the following should you NOT do when you’re shaving?

A.) Shave the same area twice

B.) Share someone’s razor

C.) Shave without water

Answer: all! These are all no-go areas when it comes to shaving: they risk irritation and infection, and are best avoided.

Sugar waxing

It’s another at-home waxing option (saving you all those pounds you may have spent on getting those wisps of hair waxed off professionally). Cosmopolitan UK has a useful deep dive on sugar waxing but in short, all you need is sugar, lemon juice and water.

The best way to use it is: make the sugar scrub, apply it to the area you want to wax and pull away via the strip technique, just like your classic strip waxing — but if you’re just starting out on your sugary journey, we’d recommend starting off somewhere safe (like the legs) before you get any more adventurous.

Q&A: When you’re sugar waxing, in which direction should you pull the wax away?

A.) Upwards towards the ceiling

B.) The direction the hair grows in

C.) The opposite direction that the hair grows in

Answer: B. Usually, you’d pull a wax strip off in the opposite direction to the way the hair grows — but not when sugar is involved!

And of course, you’ve always got the option to book in a waxing session with a professional. If you’ve never attempted to remove the hair from any given area (particularly an area you can’t always fully see, like the vagina), it might be best to book in for a wax so you can get an idea of what you’d like your end result to look like in future. Just make sure to book the right option for you…

Q&A: Which of the below is correct?

A.) Hollywood = complete removal of all pubic hair

B.) Bikini = removing the hair around your pubic bone

C.) Brazilian = removal of all hair except a small ‘landing strip’ or triangle over the pubic bone

Answer: all! Those are definitions of what end result to expect if you book in for any of the above waxes.