Though salons, spas and even doctor's offices offer hair removal services, removing hair at home yourself is convenient and inexpensive. Whether you want to remove hair from your face, head, legs, or elsewhere on your body, you can choose from a variety of methods that allow you to be as bare as you like, in the privacy of your own bathroom.
Shaving
Safety razors use razor blades to trim the hair off at the skin's surface. Straight razors work much the same way, but use a metal blade the user sharpens before each use. An electric razor, with orbital heads, cuts hair off at the skin's surface. Electric razors work without creams or gels and are less likely to nick the skin than blades. Shaving is inexpensive, but the effect lasts as little as a day. Some people experience ingrown hairs from shaving.
Depilatories
Depilatories chemically dissolve the hair below the surface of the skin. Because they destroy the hair below the surface, depilatories give very smooth results and the results lasts longer than shaving. You can purchase cream or lotion depilatories at grocery and drug stores and apply them yourself. Leave them on no longer than the maximum time indicated on the label and rinse off in the shower or tub. The chemicals in the depilatories may cause skin irritation or redness and the hair removal results can be uneven. Depilatories often have an unpleasant odor, are messy and may not be effective for all areas of the body.
Plucking
Pulling the hair out by the roots keeps the hair from growing back for a long period, often several weeks. You can pluck hair with tweezers, though this method is best for small areas, such as eyebrows. For the removal of larger patches of hair, you can purchase devices known as epilators for at-home use. Epilators are mechanical devices consisting of tightly coiled springs. When you rub the epilator across the surface of the skin, the hair catches in the coils of the springs and is yanked out.
Waxing is another method of removing hair by plucking. Though offered by many salons, you can also do your own waxing at home. You can purchase home waxing kits at drugstores and beauty supply houses. Paint a thin coat of wax across the skin, wait for the wax to harden, then lift off the wax, pulling the hair with it. Sugaring works the same way as waxing, using a thick sugar solution instead of wax. All of these methods work best when hair is at least 1/4-inch long, according to Kid's Health.org. Plucking is effective, but can be quite painful and doing it yourself at home can be messy.
Laser
Lasers used in medical office can destroy the hair follicle, preventing hair from growing back permanently. Several companies have developed low-power laser systems designed for home use. The user rubs the laser device back and forth across the hairy area for a specified amount of time, then moves to the next area. These lasers aren't strong enough to destroy the hair follicle. Instead, they inhibit hair regrowth for several weeks. The equipment is expensive and the process can be slow, since you can only focus the laser on a limited surface area at a time. Lasers work best on fair-skinned people with dark hair.
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