Category: ‘Hair Removal’

Today on Better.tv, SheFinds shows you some of the newest ways to de-fuzz – plus the products that prepare your skin and sooth you afterwards, so you can enjoy your newfound smoothness by actually showing it off.

Prepare
If you’re going to be shaving, SkinMilk Shaving Milk ($5.59) will protect your legs from razor burn by forming a moisturizing barrier between your skin and that scary blade. Eos Shave Cream ($5.59) is also super moisturizing – so much so that the company claims you can use it dry. And if you’re really devoted to prepping, try Soap & Glory’s FlakeAway Scrub ($12) – all the luxury of a fancy scrub without the price tag.

De-Hair
More gentle than wax, sugaring uses a natural formula made from sugar, lemon juice and water. The Shobha Sugaring Kit ($25) includes denim strips that are machine washable and re-usable, so you can really up the eco-friendly ante. A more techy option, the no!no! ($250) uses heat technology to painlessly get rid of fuzz. It takes time to execute correctly, but there’s no razor burn and no mess. Finally, the depilatory of yore gets a much-needed update in Nair Shower Power ($7.49), with a formula that stays on legs while you shower – saving all that standing-around time – and only comes off once you rub it with the included sponge.

Repair
Shobha’s exfoliating washcloth ($15), made from all-natural fibers, will keep those waxed and shaved areas smooth and bump-free. Whish Flawless Bump Fighter ($22.50) is a completely luxurious way to deliver ingrown-hair-fighting ingredients – many of which are completely natural, like papaya extract and willow bark.

Also check out our Hair Removal Guide for more ways to get rid of the fuzz.  

I don't think being a woman is ever easy. But I will say that being a woman outside of the tortures of middle school and high school is much easier – sometimes. Kids, especially little girls, are ruthless! I can remember situations just like Rebekah where I was teased for my hairiness.  

In second grade one of my girlfriends told me I had a unibrow. I went home from school that day and asked my mom if I could start plucking my eyebrows. She said no. And I did it anyway. Now I meticulously pluck at my stray hairs EVERY morning. Lucky for me there are always plenty of little guys to grab. This little black tweezer from Revlon ($6.50) is such a miracle that I've got my mom, sister, and boyfriend hooked on it.

It didn't stop at my eyebrows. Not only did I have caveman hair on my legs but my arms as well. High school was when I really started becoming self-conscious about my arm hair, and since then I've tried everything. Shaving was not good because it grew back soooooo fast I would have a 5 o'clock arm hair shadow. I also tried Nair but my hair is just too thick for that. I bleached it for quite sometime and my favorite of all the bleaches on the market is GiGi's Gentle Bleaching Cream ($4.46).

Then for a few years I didn't just want it lighter – I wanted it gone. My best friend in high school started purring and petting my arms in class and I knew it was time to say bye-bye. But waxing was too expensive for my high school salary. After all those infomercials I had seen, I bought Nads. It’s definitely not as pain-free as they make it seem on TV but it does hurt way less than wax – keep in mind you're doing it to yourself. Get the whole Nad's Hair Removal Essentials kit for $29.99.

As for the girls who used to tease me – the one who made fun of my unibrow definitely got one herself a few years later. And, my best friend who pets my arm hair while purring – she still does and I do it right back to her because her first name is Kitty.

For more ways to keep your arm hair under control check out our products featured on better.tv and our Hair Removal Guide. 

In elementary school, I rode the bus with Andrew, a tiny green-eyed wordsmith. When he caught on to the fact that my arms were fuzzier than your average third-grader, he coined what would become my least favorite term. I was a hairy turtle on the bus, a hairy turtle on the playground, and in my fifth grade yearbook, Andrew’s only words to me on the eve of becoming a tween were: “You are a hairy turtle.”

For this reason and others (but mostly this reason), I’ve been waxing my arms forever. But it’s expensive and messy to do at home (particularly messy to wax the arm attached to your dominant hand). Here are two options well-suited to large areas of skin – and I know about these things – that are less of an ordeal than going to get waxed at 11.

If your hair is dark but not particularly thick, bleaching might be the way to go. Jolen Crème Bleach ($10) is consistently good – you can even switch it from one arm to the other (less gross than it sounds) so you don’t have to mix up a gigantic batch.

Then there’s the no!no! ($250). I was conflicted and confused about the name, but I just tried it and I promise it doesn’t hurt – skin will feel warm and you’ll smell burning hair (no!no! warns you about this), but that’s about the extent of the cons.

The device is close to the size of a cell phone but twice as thick, and it sends pulses of heat into the hair shaft to get rid of the hair. It looks and smells like you're just singeing hair off, but it's a bit more complicated than getting too close to a candle. All told, it’ll take you a lot longer to read the directions than to de-hair a forearm.

And after I went to all that trouble for a decade, Andrew sent me an inebriated text a few weeks ago: “I’m sorry I called you a hairy turtle all the time when we were little. It was because I liked you and didn't know how to properly express my emotions.” GRRRRRR.

Peruse our Hair Removal Guide for more ways to get rid of hair on your arms and other places you don't want it to be.  

What: The My First Brazilian kit from Shobha, $38

Why: So you finally took the plunge and got your first Brazilian. Since it's highly unlikely you'll want to feel that YOWZA! kind of pain again anytime soon, it behooves you to maintain your new landscaping job for as long as humanly possible.

That's where Shobha comes in. Shobha Threading is one of New York City's premiere hair removal salons, specializing in threading, waxing, and sugaring, all with the exotic and ancient Indian philosophies of beauty in mind. If you didn't make it out to SoHo for your first intimate haircut, you can still benefit from Shobha's worldly wisdom. Keep a My First Brazilian kit on hand for all your maintenance needs.

The first couple of days after your waxing, slather on 1% hydrocortisone cream to prevent yucky, irritating bumps and to tame the inevitable redness. Keep your newly-hairless area clean with Shobha's freshening cloths – gentle, cleansing cloths that calm redness and are safe for the tenderest of spots. Finally, after a few days, prevent ingrown hairs and keep your bikini line smooth by exfoliating with Shobha's all-natural cloth. It may feel rough to the touch, but after a soak in warm water and your favorite body wash, the natural-fiber cloth is ready to do all kinds of dirty work (e.g. sloughing off dead, dull skin cells) with a soft touch. Stick to this regimen and your Brazilian will last much longer—that means all gain and way less pain for you.

Get Yours: shobhathreading.com

Getting rid of unwanted hair is an obsession with many women. Whether you're looking for smoother legs and pits, a neat bikini area, or the elimination of pesky hairs on the face (I'm not just talking about eyebrows, either), there are hundreds of products that will help you shave, pluck, or yank the hair away.

I'm curious, how much hair do most women tolerate?  Are you a Shave Below The Knees Only type of gal? An Everything Below The Eyebrows person? Or an Only During The Summer/When I Have A Date? Has how much you shave and what parts you choose to shave changed over time?  Do you wax, epilate, shave, pluck, or Nair?

I'm old school, myself, and stick with razors. My current favorite is the Venus Embrace — four blades, a pivoting head, and a "Ribbon of Moisture" make for smooth, easy shaving and no nicks/cuts (so far). I use it in conjunction with Gordon's Shaving Lotion from Carol's Daughter (which works equally well for men and women).

What are your favorite hair removal products and methods?  Your suggestions may end up in a future newsletter!

Much like death and taxes, hair removal is one of life's few certainties–at least for us ladies. But when you don't have $79 (or 79 minutes) to devote to a lean-and-mean depilation at your local salon, how's a girl to maintain? Today we compare two different pre-waxed strip hair removal kits to tell you which of these tidy alternatives to hot wax will give you the salon-smooth feel. 

What: Sally Hansen Wax Strip Kit ($8.19) vs. Parissa Wax Strips ($10.29)

First things first: no pre-waxed strip will give you better results than a microwaveable hot wax kit (see our comparison of home wax kits for your best bet in that category). But as a home waxing veteran, I know that sometimes I don't have time for the goop, the mess, or the darned muslin strips that always seem to run out mid-depilation. That's when wax strips come in handy: they're quick and neat, and for last-minute touch ups or small-area removal, they really work. So recently, when I noticed some rogue hairs growing in to my impeccable bikini line, I decided to put Sally Hansen's and Parissa's versions of the all-body wax strip kits to the test.

The Winner: Parissa Wax Strips – Sensitive Formula

While neither product managed to grab 100% of those stubborn bikini buggers, Parissa pulled out more hairs per band. From there it was just a few tweezes to perfection. Plus, since the strips come in three assorted sizes, you can match width with area. In some of the trickier contours of the inner thigh, for example, the slender, shorter underarm strips actually fit better (and thus grip better) than the strips intended for the bikini. If you think outside the box, I bet even the teeny-weeny eyebrow strips could work wonders down there! Afterwards, slick your newly-sheered skin with the included azulene oil, which will soothe and soften the area.