Waxing or Shaving: Hair Removal Methods

Do you wax or shave? How about going high tech with laser hair removal? With so many advancements in hair removal, there is no excuse to walk around with hairy legs, armpits, or unwanted facial fur -- unless, of course, you choose to go au naturale! If you're stumped about which method is best for you, read up on some of the most popular ways to rid yourself of unwanted hair.

1. Shaving - The classic hair removal method. Men do it and women do it too, but let's just say us ladies should stick to only shaving our legs and underarms, other areas really deserve better treatment wouldn't you say? Nicks and razor burn should be a thing of the past with the lotions, potions, creams, and things popping up on the market to rid you of these irritating issues. Let's dish about the best products to keep your gams smooth and sexy all year long.
* A good quality razor - my absolute favorite? Schick Intuition Razor ($9.99 Drugstore.com) for sensitive skin. This razor is surrounded by moisturizers so you don't need to use a foam to shave with. Remember at the first sign of dullness switch up your razor.
* Try lubing up with oil first - If I take the time to lube up each leg prior to shaving with oil and then shave in small sections making sure to thoroughly rinse out the razor in between each pass, I get a much closer shave resulting in a few extra days of not having to shave. Good 'ol Johnson's Baby Oil will do the trick, but something like Dermatologic Shave Oil ($20.00, Amazon.com) is even better
* Moisturize - After shaving it's so important to moisturize the skin, because the razor actually shaves off more than you think. Shaving is considered a form of exfoliating so after exfoliating any area it's important to moisturize to prevent dry itchy skin.

2. Waxing - One of the more painful of the hair removal methods, but extremely effective none the less. Waxing involves smoothing a thin layer of wax over the hair then pulling it off quickly to remove the hair, resulting in the root of the hair being removed so the results last far longer than shaving. Best areas to wax: bikini line and underarms. Areas to skin: eyebrows and face. I know some of you ladies are gasping at the thought of not waxing your eyebrows, but seriously that practice is brutal, dangerous, and dare I say it ... old school! Check out the section on Threading and it just might change your brow situation for life. Things to remember before waxing:
* The hair must be 1/4 of an inch in length, so that means you have to grow out the hair first
* Always protect your skin but applying a little powder to the area first
* Never wax an area treated with Retinoids - they make the skin thinner so you are more likely to remove hair and skin

3. Threading - if you're not up on threading yet, my dear you are very tardy for the party! Threading is the method of choice for getting fabulous brows a la Kim Kardashian. The lines are much more precise and it's less painful and brutal than waxing that area. It lasts just as long as waxing, because the root is removed as well. Threading can be done over the entire face, so if your 'stach is out of hand, or your side burns are too pronounced that can all be taken care of.

4. Laser Hair Removal - Definitely more expensive and more permanent. The days of laser hair removal being only for fair skinned women with dark hair a la Angelia Jolie, the more recent technologies in the types of laser allow for women of color to get lasered without the scarring and sub par results. The pain of the procedure falls somewhere between tweezing each hair one by one and waxing, in other words it's really not as bad as you might think. A quick rundown on how it works: laser targets and kills the hair root and over several treatments (usually 6-8 treatments) the hair will stop growing.

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