With Spring Break season and warmer weather flourishing, I thought it would be a great time to talk about body hair removal. I understand body hair and removal of it is a controversial topic. It is a topic completely based on personal preferences, hygiene decisions, and opinions. I personally prefer to be fairly hairless, because it is what makes me feel the cleanest. In my opinion, there are few things more satisfying than a freshly shaved and moisturized body in fresh pajamas and sheets. While shaving is probably the most basic and simple form of hair removal, waxing and laser are two alternative hair removal options. In this article, I will discuss my personal experiences with shaving, waxing, and laser hair removal.
I am someone with dark features all around. I started shaving in middle school, because the hair was simply annoying to feel and look at, especially as an athlete. When I started shaving, I loved doing it and found it fun rather than a force. Throughout high school, my hair began to grow faster, but was still not much of an issue. In my early college years, I became familiar with what is like the Olympic Games of shaving, better known as the experience of shaving in a dorm bathroom. I probably became the most flexible I have ever been in my first two years of college, because of the shaving techniques required in the showers in my dorm. If you’ve never had to shower in a dorm bathroom, let me set the scene. After walking down a cold public hallway in a towel, you enter an even colder bathroom. On top of being cold, there are typically various personal businesses happening in the bathroom simultaneously. If you happen to get the bathroom to yourself, you can pick the shower stall of your choice. Maybe you choose the one that has a shower head instead of a spout, a puddle on the floor instead of a pool, and a creek of light instead of almost complete darkness! Also remember that the showers are typically less half as wide as one’s arm span. Now that the scene is set, you can understand the skills that may be required to shave in a dorm bathroom. While I eventually perfected the poses and techniques required, there was nothing I could do about the goose bumps I would get while trying to shave because of the small shower stream and frigid bathroom. This general shaving experience led me to dread shaving on its own, but it wasn’t just the experience, it was also the consequences of it. Shaving with goosebumps blessed me with terrible razor burns and itchy rashes that followed me for days after. After nearly a year of different creams and exfoliation with no reliefs, I decided to wax.
The word waxing used to make me shiver at the sound and thought of it. But my discomfort and annoyance with shaving and razor burn surpassed my fear of waxing. After speaking with friends who waxed regularly, I thought it would be a bright idea to do it. Even though I hadn’t waxed my eyebrows in roughly 4 years due to the pain, I scheduled an appointment for a Brazilian. Let me tell you, that is one way to go zero to 100. I have a high pain tolerance due to being clumsy and rather unlucky, and I truly do not believe anything can prepare you for your first Brazilian wax. The worst part is there isn’t even a way to properly describe the awkwardness, pain, and agitation I felt! Therefore, I can’t properly inform or warn anyone about what they will experience during it. Luckily, a Brazilian wax is not time consuming, nor is the recovery time. Although the first session was torture, the lasting effects were a persuasive bonus. As a result, I continued to wax for a few months. One downside of waxing that I feel no one prepared me for was the obstacle of the stubborn hair growth cycle. Apparently, mine had a mind of its own, which made waxing very costly, because I had to go often. With that, I never truly had the same results as I did the first time, even though each time hurt less and less. This eventually became irritating, because shaving in between sessions is a no go, and I did not appreciate having to grow out my hair.
While the price and pain that comes with waxing are something I could overcome, the ingrown hairs were NOT. After a few months of waxing, the infamous risk of waxing made an appearance. Ingrown hairs are not to be taken lightly and are challenging to ignore, because they are typically painful and unsightly. I do want to mention that I followed all the instructed steps to prevent ingrown hairs while waxing, but it was a battle I unfortunately lost. With that, I continued to do what I could to avoid them and get rid of them, but I continued to lose. Eventually, I had to accept my losses, stop waxing, and go back to shaving. After another year, my ingrown hairs were still repeat offenders. Sometimes they were so bad I had to go on antibiotics. After seeing a dermatologist, I was recommended for laser hair removal.
This recommendation was recent which is what led me to my first laser hair removal treatment last week. Some would think I would have learned my lesson from waxing, and done research before jumping into a new hair removal method, but they would be wrong. I essentially showed up to my appointment shaved and hoped for the best. Throughout the years, I had heard mixed reviews about whether laser hair removal was painful, but I felt like I could handle pretty much anything after waxing. Luckily, the session was about 10 minutes total, which is less than waxing. It was also less awkward and hurt WAY less. Unlike the pain of a Brazilian wax, laser hair removal felt exactly how one would picture. Which going into it, I couldn’t fully understand, but during the treatment it all made sense. The laser feels exactly how I imagined a laser would feel; a small pinpointed, slightly warm, and tingly sensation. I remember hearing lasers feel like the snap of a rubber band against the skin. This description isn’t totally inaccurate in my option, but think explaining that the snapping is in a tiny spot and only for a fraction of a second would do more justice. With that, I will be continuing to receive laser hair removal treatments, because not only does it get rid of ingrown hairs, the results are almost permanent.
Again, it is my choice and preference to remove my body hair, and I do not have any negative opinions towards people who choose to rock their body hair. This is just some insight into my experiences with body hair removal. Hopefully, my journey and experiences with body hair removal will be relatable to some and at least interesting to others. Most importantly, if there is one thing I want anyone to take away from this article, it’s that body hair removal is a marathon, not a sprint. I respect everyone’s preferences, and maybe this will influence some people to seek out the body hair removal options I discussed, or completely sway people in the other direction. Who knows, maybe by next Spring Break laser hair removal or waxing will be on everyone’s to do list. If so, learn from me and do your research FIRST. Either way, since I’ve already shared, wish me luck in this next journey, and maybe I’ll keep you posted!