Hair removal at home might be something that you are putting some serious consideration into. Home waxing certainly isn’t for the faint hearted. Having attempted this myself in the distant past and bearing in mind I’m a ‘professional’, carefully angled mirrors and a bottle of vodka do not help. But don’t let my personal experience put you off. I blame both the strong red hair on my dads side, with a contributing factor my hair is visibly dark, thanks mum!
So if like me it isn’t just the bikini hair that’s starting to make itself known: Eyebrows are starting to look a little ‘feathery’ and something a friend of mine fondly refer to as the ‘Selleck’ is also making an appearance. What are the options open to you for hair removal at home? This little guide might help you with some hints and tips for ‘hair relief’. Failing that maybe a giggle at least whilst we remain in lockdown.
Hair Removal At Home: Brows
A couple of ways to tackle this, the obvious one being tweezers. The only thing that you may come a cropper on is the brow… If you’re one of my regular clients please don’t ruin my hard work 😉 you know who you are!! If you’re unsure of where you should be plucking please don’t hesitate to give me a nudge, we can do a personalised brow lesson.
As a rule of thumb the image below shows you how to measure. A) Anything inward from the line of inner eye to nose can be removed. C) Anything outer of the line from the outer eye to nose can be removed, and D) drawing a line straight across from the base of the brow you can remove below this… This last bit isn’t going to give you an arch. That is down to B) but from my experience, many of my clients who are potentially going to try that bit are usually a bit ‘tweezer happy’, ha ha! Let them grow!!
Hair Removal At Home: Lips & Chins
Lips & Chin hair removal is usually tackled in between wax & electrolysis appointments with either a quick snip with scissors (electrolysis) or tweezed (if we’ve seen it). The other option could be Jolene cream bleach to lighten the hair or if your feeling a little daring the veet facial wax strips.
Now before you rush out and stick a bunch of veet facial wax strips to your face there are a few things you really need to know. If you’re using Vitamin A (retinol) or E45 creams on your face your skin is going to be weaker. If you’ve been sunbathing your skin is going to be more sensitive. If you’re susceptible to cold sores, the trauma to the skin (I know it’s just a strip but it can happen) can cause a cold sore.
If your using Vit A make sure you stop using it 4 days prior to the wax. If you using E45 or a cortisone cream don’t do it, you could take your skin off.
Now prior to attempting any waxing hair removal at home, you do need to make sure your hands are clean (happy birthday to you, happy birthday…) you also need to make sure your skin has been thoroughly cleansed to. You may recall from your salon treatments I also use pre-wax oil, this softens and hydrates the follicles. I also take any excess off with a tissue so the wax sticks to the hairs. This oil also acts a protective barrier for the skin to help prevent the wax sticking to the skin too much, as this could make it sore and/or cause excessive redness.
With waxing hair removal you also want to make sure you’re pressing the strip down in the direction of the hair and lifting away. Prior to lifting you want to get another couple of fingers as close to the end of the strip (the side you’re removing from) to stretch, making the skin as tight as possible. Not doing this can cause bruising. You also want to keep the strip as close to the skin as possible during removal, as again it could cause bruising or removal of the skin.
Over the counter hair creams for hair removal at home are a quick fix, however there is always a bit of risk with these. Firstly make sure you patch test yourself first! The last thing you want is a large scabby moustache or worst an extremely swollen head that could need a trip to A&E. With everything going on at the moment, something we definitely should all want to avoid. If you have highly sensitive skin, step away from this idea, don’t even think about it! Be aware though if you do choose this route, stay out of the sun for 24/48 hours and avoid exfoliants, you will also want to avoid your retinols, just like you would with waxing.
Sugaring has been mentioned to me on a message. If you haven’t heard of this, this is a delightful Middle Eastern hair removal alternative to waxing. It uses natural sugar paste to remove hair from the root, good for sensitive skins, but it isn’t pain free and if your not a trained professional it can get super messy! I’d be unsure if you would be able to get hold of this in the shops, you could make it yourself, but again careful with your pulling direction etc, same rules apply but if your not getting the angles correct you could end up snapping the hairs at the base which can lead to in growing hairs.
My mum has one of these, she doesn’t use it much now but when I was younger it was a sound I was definitely familiar with. Now mum did advise me that it didn’t hurt and it was super easy to use… As we established earlier my body hair is very different to my mum and she was called a LIAR! Ha ha!!
I did get one with a cooling attachment that was supposed to numb the skin whilst epilating. Personally I didn’t think that it worked and still fondly refer to mine as the hair removing devil machine. However for some of you it may be something you’d like to try, ha ha!
Again make sure your hands are clean (happy birthday to you, happy birthday….) and you have cleansed your skin. I little trick is once you’ve stretched the skin and removed an area, apply a slight pressure on the same are to add a different sensation. It can potentially confuse the nerve endings and ease the winch… that’s the theory any way!
Now epilators can be used over larger areas of the body and my crazy mum (she’s got super fine body hair) used to use it on areas of her bikini line, not a Brazilian mind! So what can we do for hair removal at home ‘down there’?
Well the obvious is to get the razor out and risk the inevitable when we meet again, with both us on pain killers. You for the waxing and me from the arm squeezes. Keeping the skin hydrated and soft will definitely help with a future wax appointment, but you could also use trimmers.
Bikini trimmers are inexpensive and super easy for beginners. Brilliant for tackling those intimate areas when tackling hair removal at home. They are a good option if you want to minimise hair without too much weeding. You’re also not shaving so there is less risk of irritation from grow back, reduced risk of ingrowing hairs and virtually no risk of damaging the follicle.
Hair Removal At Home After Care
Now depending on your chosen ‘activity’ I do have some key products that could help you in your quest.
My all-time fave is Bush Balm. This creamy balm feels beautiful on the skin. You can apply it as a thick layer, a bit like a masque, to calm and hydrate tender areas. It also contains panthenol, this helps improve wound healing, making it a fantastic product for repairing damaged hair follicles… So if you’re an ingrowing hair picker, this would be the perfect product to prevent the ingrower reappearing in the same place. The added moisturising properties also make it a great product to prevent ingrowing hairs in the first place by softening the hair follicles. It’s a double thumbs up product!
If you wanting something that isn’t as rich then the alternative would be the Outback Organics Hand & Body Lotion. Still very hydrating and soothing but a light easily absorbed moisturiser that has also antiseptic properties to help in the prevention and treatment of post-wax/shave pimples.
If you’re not a fan of a cream then there are a couple of brilliant alternatives. Aloe Gel is a refreshing easily absorbed gel that cools, calms and hydrates the skin, also brilliant on sun burn and prickly heat. The other, a popular one with the guys, Post-Wax Spray. Can also be used immediately after waxing or shaving, to soothe irritation on the chest, back, legs or arms. Contains cooling aloe, cucumber, bush mint and menthol. Along with antibacterial lemon myrtle oil to prevent and treat post-wax pimple. The spray bottle makes it really easy to use.
If however you do end up waxing or just end up with a seriously naughty ingrowing hair and you’ve tried ‘digging for gold’ to get it out. Then the go to is the Ingrown Hair Serum. A dual action product that prevents and treats the naughties. Betaine and salicylate work within the pore to gently free the trapped hairs. It’s antibacterial, helps reduce inflammation and heals any ‘imperfections’ … and it’s suitable on all parts of the body and face – if you’re unlucky enough to get one in you ‘Selleck’ 😉
If you need some extra help or additional guidance with your weapon of choice for hair removal at home. Or you’ve experienced a defeat and need some help you can always drop us a line. However on a serious note, if your thinking ‘this could go badly wrong’ then the current climate really isn’t worth the trip to A&E, the NHS really don’t need a waxing disaster to deal with… Get yourself a trimmer, pop on some bush balm and I will make you a priority when all this is over.
Stay home, stay safe, save the NHS. Sending you all lots of love, Jen
