5 Ways To Keep Fuzz Free

1. Shave It Off

On a tight budget? Shaving might be the way to go – all you need for a smooth and painless shave is a good razor and shaving cream. Shaving simply rids hair from the surface of the skin and not from the root, so you can do this from the comfort of your home, and for most areas of the body – from legs and underarms to the bikini line.

A common myth is that shaving makes hair grow back thicker and faster. However, the truth is that it only appears so because shaving does not remove hair from the follicle, so the hair takes a shorter time to regrow.

For a smoother experience, take a hot shower before you shave to soften the skin and relax the hair follicles, and exfoliate to rid your skin of dead skin cells. Rinse skin thoroughly after a shave, and apply a light unscented lotion to moisturise and keep the skin supple.

2. Pluck Up The Courage

As it involves removing hair from its follicles one by one, plucking is frequently adopted when removing facial hair, or hair from small areas of the body. This method is relatively inexpensive and with enough practice, can be done by yourself without seeking professional help, as long as you are armed with a good pair of tweezers.

That said, plucking hairs gets tedious and painful, especially around more sensitive areas of the body. Improper plucking or tweezing can result in ingrown hair, redness and even discoloured pigmentation on the skin. As a precaution, always disinfect your tweezers before you begin, pull hairs one at a time and in the direction of the hair’s natural growth.

3. Waxing Lyrical

Waxing is a semi-permanent technique of extracting hair from below the skin’s surface, easily detaching it from the follicles. It banishes hair from all over the body, from pesky facial hair to the full Brazilian wax experience. You can easily tailor the treatment to suit different budgets too, as prices vary depending on how much hair you want removed.

The great thing about waxing is that its effects are relatively long-lasting because hair is removed directly from the root, meaning you would likely only visit the waxing parlour one or twice a month, on average. However, if not properly done, waxing can give rise to skin irritation or cause ingrown hairs to develop.

4. Chemically Speaking

Chemical removers refer to hair removal creams, gels or aerosols which, when applied on the skin, break down the chemical bonds holding the protein structure of the hair – known as keratin – together.

Once the keratin is broken down, the hair becomes weak and falls off with ease. Common ingredients in these depilatory products include calcium thioglycolate and sodium hydroxide. It should be noted that when using depilatory products, ensure that products are not left on the skin longer than 10 minutes as the ingredients in them can cause skin to burn if left for too long!

As a precaution, apply a topical amount on a small patch of skin to test for any possible skin irritation. If you have sensitive skin, it is best to consult a dermatologist before using such treatments at home.

5. Beam Me Up, Scotty

Perhaps the most expensive method of hair removal, lasers involve using a concentrated beam of light directed at the pigment in hair follicles, damaging the follicle and inhibiting hair growth.

You have to shave your unwanted hair before a treatment—but remember not to wax it. As the laser targets hair pigments, you need to have a small stump of hair follicle present in order for it to work. Laser treatments do work better on darker hair as the laser is attracted to the melanin or darker pigments in the hair follicles – which is good news for us Asians!

That said, as these treatments take four to six sessions to see lasting results, the costs can add up to thousands of dollars. You might also experience redness of swelling right after the sessions, so treat your skin tenderly and avoid sun exposure, tight clothing or perfumed products.