From expert tips to best hair removal products.
No matter the time of year, many people want the look and feel of silky-smooth skin. But when it comes to hair removal, there are different products and techniques for all the areas of your body, the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab has found: underarm fuzz, coarse arm hair, leg stubble, the bikini area and more. Here’s everything you need to know to stay fuzz-free.
How to Remove Hair From Your Bikini Line
If you want to feel extra-smooth around your bikini line, you’ve got a few options. First, shaving: While it’s not a particularly long-lasting method, it’s typically pain-free, and you can do it in the comfort of your own home. To avoid the dreaded razor burn that plagues so many who shave, waiting until your skin is hydrated from the shower or bath.
Soften first with shaving cream, foam, or oil (like our GH Beauty Award winner below) to guard skin and improve glide, rinse the razor’s blades often to unclog, and replace them about every two weeks for maximum safety and efficacy, the GH Beauty Lab recommends. Dr. Kim also suggests applying Tend Skin skin-calming treatment if you tend to get ingrown hairs or razor bumps easily.
Waxing is another option for your bikini line. “The hair in the bikini area tends to be coarse and thick, which is ideal for waxing,” says Katherine Goldman, owner of Strip Bar Wax in San Francisco. “And since the hair is pulled out from the root, it grows back thinner over time.” There are multiple types of wax, including strip wax (applied hot and removed with cloth or paper sheets) and hard wax (applied hot, then removed after cooling and hardening).
If a long-lasting method is #1 on your priority list, a bikini wax may be your best option. “It lasts around three to six weeks,” says Noemi Grupenmager, founder of Uni K Wax. The GH Beauty Lab advises making sure skin is completely dry before waxing (try soaking up moisture with baby powder if needed).
How to Remove Hair From Your Legs
The most common method for removing leg hair is, of course, shaving. If you don’t mind dedicating a bit of time to it every few days (depending on how quickly your hair grows), this is a great option. Using a sharp razor as well as a moisturizing foam, cream, or gel, like her pick below.
“Exfoliating with a body scrub twice during the week or up to two days prior to any form of hair removal will help” prevent ingrown hair and bumps, says Grupenmager. Just be sure to avoid exfoliating directly after you shave, when your skin is most sensitive.
Another hair-removal method many know and love: depilatory cream. You may recall the potent-smelling formulas of years past, but new-and-improved concoctions promise to be less irritating and more nose-friendly, like the GH Beauty Lab’s top-tested pick by GiGi below.
“Depilatory creams use chemicals such as calcium thioglycolate or potassium thioglycolate, which break disulfide bonds in keratin, thereby weakening the hair,” Dr. Kim explains. Just be sure to do a patch test before applying one of these to your skin, and don’t leave it on for longer than the instructions direct, the Beauty Lab recommends.
If you have a higher pain tolerance and prefer to keep regrowth at bay, consider waxing, as it normally lasts between three and six weeks.
