Wedding Beauty – Removing Unwanted Hair

In a perfect world, we’d all have plentiful hair where we want it and none where we don’t (and eat whatever, whenever, without gaining weight, but that’s another story). Hair removal is a female rite of passage – we generally start young and spend a good part of the rest of our lives maintaining the growth on our legs, arms, face and more intimate areas.

Shaving, waxing and plucking at home are perhaps the most common ways to groom excess hair, but there are other popular in-salon treatments that are performed by professionals.

Threading

The demand for facial threading is definitely on the rise, many clients convert from waxing to treading as their preferred method of facial hair removal.

Threading gives you defined, clean, elegant eyebrows – framing the face and opening up the eye area.

Spa therapists use cotton thread to twist around individual hairs, lifting them out of the follicle by the root, and unwanted hair becomes finer and sparser over time.

Threading won’t pinch, burn or pull your skin like waxing, which can lead to premature wrinkles in the delicate eye area. Also, for those who cannot wax due to being on retin-A or accutane medication, threading will help remove facial hair without damaging or traumatizing their skin.

Threading can be used by both women and men, and it has a celeb following too – it’s popular with Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon and Salma Hayek. The pain is said to be similar to waxing as the hairs are lifted from the root.

Average Price – Starts at $15.

VPL

VPL (variable pulsed light) works by passing a pulsed light through the skin, which is absorbed by the hair pigment (colour) in the hair shaft and follicle. This pulse generates heat, which loosens the hair and disables the hair forming cells.

VPL is the newer generation of laser machines from IPL (intense pulsed light), they both do similar things but the variable settings mean that it can treat the different types of hair found all over the body, from thicker underarm hair to facial hair.

It is said to work well on the face, neck, chest , arms, back, underarms, legs, stomach and bikini line and it isn’t too painful. Most people liken the feel of it to a rubber band flicking the skin.

Post treatment, the area may be a little red, but this subsides quickly. The hair will then fall out for up to three weeks after treatment.

VPL hair removal is safe when performed by trained professionals, and is suitable for most skin types. It’s pricey, but results are permanent. A course of treatment is required, and varies for individuals and the area being treated.

Average Price – Starts at $800.

Waxing

Hot wax is applied with a spatula that is removed directly against the hair, removing it in the process. This is best used for terminal hairs in areas such as bikini and underarms.

The other type of waxing is strip wax, which is applied either with a roller or a spatula and removed with a cloth strip, also against the hair growth. This type of wax is great for larger areas such as legs, arm and backs.

The most commonly waxed areas are legs, bikini line, underarms, arms and brows, with the most popular treatment for women being the Brazilian wax and brow shape. For men it is legs, back and chest.

I won’t lie and say it is painless! However, if performed correctly and regularly the pain definitely diminishes over time as hair grows back sparser and often in some areas finer. Clients can also manage the pain with some simple tips such as taking a couple of Panadol before the treatment, avoiding caffeine or energy drinks, and making sure hair is not too long or short (especially from shaving) beforehand.

Waxing is a long-lasting result compared to many other methods as hair is removed from the root and will not grow back fully for up to six weeks post treatment. Waxing can tackle both small and large areas quickly and effectively. It is also a cost –effective method.

As for post-waxing fallout. There can be some redness, but we use a post wax process to help minimize this and a tea tree soothing solutions to help cam and protect follicles and skin.

The golden rules are for 24 hours following treatment to avoid hot showers, exercise or applying any moisturizers.

A couple of days after your treatment make sure you exfoliate skin to minimize ingrown hairs.

Average price – Legs start from $40, bikini line starts from $30, brows start from $25.