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What You Need To Know About At Home Hair Removal

There’s an ample number of ways to get rid of unwanted hair on store shelves today- so no need to stick to that pink razor and shaving cream. The hardest part seems to be figuring out which at-home hair product is the best for you. There are so many new products popping up it’s hard to keep track of (did you know that you could laser by yourself at home?). For ladies who are not yet self-proclaimed experts on hair removal without a trip to the salon, collegiettes can find the 411 on at home hair removal below.

At home waxing is nothing new, but the wide range of options is! No need to buy an entire kit to heat, melt, and apply the wax to strips yourself, now you can just buy pre-made strips. Veet Strips offer a hassle-free and no mess way to get the job done. Simply, In addition, the strips tend to be less painful than traditional waxing. The downside to preformed strips is that they are sometimes ineffective and leave spotty patches of hair across the waxed areas. Be sure to read the reviews for the products before purchasing. You may have to try a few before you find the one that works best for you.

The pros of waxing? It removes the entire hair from the skin, including the follicle, so it will take longer for the hair to grow back. In addition, after repeated waxing the hair may eventually become damaged and not grow back at all. The downside is that (outside of being painful), it can lead to ingrown hairs and more irritated skin when compared to shaving, and you have to get a little “hairy” before trying to remove hair via this method.

The creams and salves that remove hair, now available in quite an abundance, are known as depilatories. They work by dissolving the protein compounds that make up the hair. They are usually the cheapest at home hair removal product to use in terms of the number of times users can apply it. They leave hairs with rounded and soft, unlike shaving with leaves sharp and blunt-edged hairs that grow back as stubborn stubble. The downside to depilatories? There are so many out there you have to be careful which ones you use. Some are ineffective and can leave your skin red hot and irritated, so be sure you do your research before trying anyone in particular. Check out Amazon’s list of the top rated products.

The newest addition to the arsenal of at home hair removal options, is laser hair technology. While some report a burning pain or a stinging sensation, laser is usually described as less painful than waxing, and for many leads to permanent results. A favorite among shoppers is the take-home Tria system. Many described no stubble or fuzz, just after 6 months of using the laser. The one caveat has been that laser is not effective for people of all skin tones. Often, those with a darker skin tone are more challenged to find an effective (and affordable) laser hair removal option. A new take home tool, the Me Smooth, may just change that though. The Me Smooth has been coveted to be the first at home laser hair removal system that works across skin types.

Unfortunately there is not yet an at home permanent hair removal option. The one hair removal option coveted as permanent, electrolysis, is still only available from with a doctor’s office, but we will not be surprised if we see one hit the shelves soon looking at the latest additions to the beauty store shelf.

 

Images courtesy of: Beautysage.com and med-op.com.

Simmone Seymour is a current student at Tufts University studying Political Science, Economics, and Communications. She is interested in films, fashion, art, design, marketing, advertising, PR, blogging, new trends and the DIY movement. She is now the Campus Correspondent for the Tufts University Chapter of Her Campus and blogs for the Beauty School Blog. She aspires to get involved in marketing and has worked at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Hungry Fish Media, Jack Morton Worldwide, Argopoint LLP, the Tufts Daily, the HC headquarters as a Marketing & Sales Associate, and at Leo Burnett Worldwide.In her spare time (which is far and in between) she freelance writes for publications, maintains a blog, learns about graphic design and coding, and explores which ever city she may be in. Her idols are Chelsea handler, Sheryl Sandberg, and Marissa Meyer.Got something fashion or beauty-related you think is amazing? Contact Simmone at SimmoneSeymour@hercampus.com to discuss article inquiries.