About Sugaring Hair Removal

Written by on November 21, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Sugaring hair removal (aka sugar waxing) sounds like it will be a painless little process which would be sweet indeed. To be sure, it is a bit less painful than waxing and, if you do it yourself at home, a bit less messy too (because sugar wax dissolves quite easily in water) but it certainly isn’t painless.

You can buy sugar wax kits in the shops (many of the usual hair removal ranges will have what you need or you can look at the sugaring products produced by those who specialize in natural beauty items) or if you prefer to make your own, here’s a sugar wax recipe:-

Just use regular sugar, for sugar waxing

Just use regular sugar, for sugar waxing

Making Sugar Wax

Sugar Wax Ingredients

2 cups of regular granulated sugar
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of lemon juice

Method

Gently heat all the ingredients in a saucepan until the mixture starts to bubble and then use a sugar thermometer to continue heating until the mixture reaches 250 degrees Fahrenheit then pour it into a jar and allow it to cool enough so that it doesn’t burn your skin before using.

If you think it is about right you can test a small piece on the inside of your arm so that you know if it is oK to use or not before you go slapping it all over your legs or face.

If you decide to buy your sugar wax rather than make it (probably a good idea in the beginning until you get the hang of things) carefully follow the instructions in your sugaring wax kit to heat up the product. It is very important not to apply the wax to your skin when it is too hot. (Anyone who has been burned when making toffee or fudge will tell you that for nothing). Similarly (as mentioned above) if you make your own sugar wax make sure it is not too hot.

How to Apply Sugar wax

You apply the concoction just like any other wax, smoothing it on in the direction of hair growth with a wooden spatula then applying a fabric strip to the wax before pulling it off in one quick movement against the direction of hair growth and as close to the surface of your your skin as you can. If making your own kit make sure the fabric strips are not stretchy and can be easily pulled without tearing. Plain cotton from old sheets is ideal.

Then you repeat the whole painful operation until your whole leg or whatever is done.

You will get extremely sticky with either waxing or sugaring but with a sugaring wax you can wash any sticky residue off yourself (and even carpets and furniture) much more easily. The sugar dissolves in water whereas wax needs a specialist product to remove it. Nevertheless I would start any sugar hair removal without putting down plenty of old towels across all surfaces.

One thing which strikes me as strange is that sugaring hair removal is not used more in beauty salons. You’d think someone could do a marketing job on it or something and give it a trendy name and we would all be going for sugaring rather than waxing in the blink of an eye.

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Best Hair Removal Products

Written by on November 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I thought about doing one of those award ceremonies for the best hair removal products of this year but then I don’t quite have the resources to make a splash about it like the Oscars so I’ll just make a quiet blog post instead. If you have ideas about anything you love to use then feel free to nominate your best hair removal product in the comments.

A few products have poked their heads above the parapet this year which I had not seen before. With some of them time will tell whether they are good or great or just scams or also rans but the signs are quite promising for some.

Best Hair Removal Products 2009!

Best Hair Removal Products 2009!

One newcomer I’d like to nominate is the Silk’n laser hair removal system. As all such systems it has mixed reviews but more positives than you might expect for such a tricky, patience needed home hair removal procedure so I nominate that as the Best Laser Hair Removal product this year.

On the electrolysis front there has been nothing to beat the One Touch for many years and I nominate that again. It’s still annoyingly slow and tricky but at least this electrolysis machine does work once you get the knack of it. More patience and practice required I’m afraid.

As for the best hair removal products for men I have to nominate the electric back shaver for men the Mangroomer (see it here) because never before has it been possible for a man to shave his own back. Full marks for ingenuity. And although these have been out for a while I like that the traditional hair removal companies have their products in male packaging. We don’t want our poor men to get traumatized buying stuff in pink tubes do we? So Veet for Men and Nair Hair Removal for Men get half a vote each.

When it comes to the best hair removal cream, I haven’t a clue at the moment – so please nominate your fave. It’s the summer since I tried to use hair removal cream on my bikini line. It was a generic drugstore brand (which will remain suitably nameless) and nothing happened. Probably because I’ve had the stuff in my closet for over year. That will teach me to do those “Buy Two Get One Free” offers!

As for the best facial hair removal products as usual there are scams aplenty and too numerous to list here but I do like that little REM spring face hair remover tool that I just noticed this year. A bit like threading without having to learn how or twiddle with bits of cotton.

Finally no award post would be complete without a mention of my favorite hair removal product of all. My trusty epilator, a kind of easy hair plucker machine. I’d be lost without it and leg hair removal would take up so much more of my time. The models here don’t include the one I have as I have had mine for many years but they are essentially the same product. Years and years of smooth legs is just so worth it – and you get used to the sensation of pulling out the hair if you persevere.

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Emjoi Tweeze – Worth Buying?

Written by on November 19, 2009 · Leave a Comment

The Emjoi Tweeze (or officially the Emjoi AP 9T tweeze tweezer) is the baby of the Emjoi epilator range. It is a small epilator that runs on batteries and works (in theory at least) on one hair at a time. You run it in a circular motion over your unwanted hair and it traps the hairs and plucks them out one at a time as it goes. As the hair is removed from the root it does not grow back as quickly as it would if you shaved or used a depilatory cream, both of which cut hair off at the surface.

Like any method which pulls hair from the root it can be painful and by dealing with one hair at a time you can prolong the agony a bit but one hair at a time may be all you can live with especially if you use it (as most people do) as a precision epilator for your face.

Emjoi Tweeze Hair Remover

Emjoi Tweeze
CLICK image for details

I have to say I am very fond of my usual epilator, which I have had for years – it keeps my legs smooth all year round no trouble at all but I would never put it anywhere near my face as it is both too big and I got rid of any facial hair a long time ago with electrolysis. But I can see the advantages of having a mini version of the hair plucker machine if you want to deal with your unwanted facial hair like that and Emjoi epilators are well respected in the industry. Just don’t buy an Emjoi tweerzer contraption for your legs as you will take forever and a day to go over them.

The Emjoi Tweeze reviews I have seen are a mixed bunch. They range from those who are very happy with the product and would hate to be without it and those who think it is a waste of time and you might as well pluck with tweezers. It has to be said that is usually the way with hair removal products because there are so many differences in hair toughness and pain threshold as well as differing expectations. I do think this is a particularly good device if you struggle to grasp the odd hair on your face with tweezers. It can be very tricky to grasp the little devils especially if you have poor eyesight.

Rather than regurgitate all the reviews here I’ll send you to where you can see over 100 of them in one place and make up your own mind based on your own requirements. There are also quite a few tips there about how to make the most of your Tweeze epilator should you buy one. My view is that if your budget is not too limited and you’re not ready to opt for electrolysis it’s probably worth trying this or the REM Spring facial hair remover we talked about already (or both) to see how you get on because you might find your answer with them for just a few dollars.

See Emjoi Tweeze Automatic Tweezer System reviews here. If you’re interested in the REM Spring you can read reviews here.

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Threading Hair Removal

Written by on November 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Threading is a method of hair removal which involves rolling twisted cotton threads over unwanted hair. The hairs get trapped between the threads and are pulled out by the root. This is a temporary method of hair removal most used on the face especially the brows. It is great for trapping and removing all the fine hair above the brows as well as below and leaves a very clean look (at least it does with an experienced practitioner!)

History of Thread Hair Removal

Threading is an ancient art which has been used for centuries in the Middle east and Asia and is thought to have originated in Turkey. It was used for removing all hair from the face including the eyebrows, sideburns, upper lip, hairline and cheeks at one time giving a very smooth look.

Can You Do It Yourself?

threading using ordinary thread

Threading uses ordinary cotton thread - cheap and cheerful

Girls in the parts of the world where hair threading is commonly used learn at their mother’s knew but if you are just starting out at the age of 23 you would need a lot of practice to do it well. My advice is to go to a skilled practitioner. If you want to have a go, visit a salon first to get a idea how the professionals do it and then practice on a part of your body which is less sensitive than your face and where the results won’t distress you. It can be quite painful if you don’t have the skill.

Hair threading removal just for faces?

It’s most commonly practiced on facial hair in the West but experienced practitioners can use threading to remove hair anywhere from your waist to your toes too. I just can’t imagine a Brazilian threading somehow but no doubt it can be done if you have the skill!

What’s Good About Threading?

It’s a very quick and inexpensive method of removing hair and it is less painful than many other methods although hair is pulled right from the roots. It seems that because threading is so fast and a whole row of hairs is removed at one time you don’t feel so much pain as you do with something like tweezing where hairs are pulled individually and the skin does not react as badly. As the top layer of skin is not removed with the hair, it is less likely to cause irritation or ingrown hairs. With facial threading you may find that some hair follicles become permanently damaged and the hair does not regrow so much but you can’t bet on this. Threading is quite long lasting in any case and you’ll be smooth for anything from 2 weeks to a month. You can pop into a threading salon and have your eyebrows done in just 15 minutes and in some place it costs just $5 or $10 – an easy lunch time job. As a result city center threading salons are spring up all over the place in recent years.

What’s Not So good?

Threading works best on flat areas of skin so it can be tricky to perform on some parts of the body (such as that Brazilian I was talking about). Like any method of hair removal which pulls hair from the roots you can get a bacterial infection called folliculitis but it is not very common. It’s also not great for skin with acne or other irritation but that is true of many methods of hair removal. Redness may occur after treatment to sensitive areas so it is not a good idea to have threading upper lip treatment or other face threading and then to go straight out on a hot date!

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Veet for Men Hair Removal

Written by on November 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Veet for men is just like Veet hair removal for women except it comes in more masculine packaging and with a more masculine smell. Just as well too because no man wants to buy hair removal cream in a pink tube decorated with flowers and end up smelling of roses in a effort to get a smooth back.

Luckily Veet is being stocked among the men’s products at the drugstore so that helps as well or you can easily buy online.

Veet for Men Products

The products are fairly limited just now but you’ll find everything you need. Actually I’m not sure why there are so many different Veet for women products. It’s like the marketing department have to dream up something new every few months, so that’s what they do without it being strictly necessary. Anyway in the Veet hair removal for men range you can get :-

Veet for men

Veet For Men
CLICK IMAGE for details

1. Veet for Men Hair Removal Gel Cream

After the obligatory patch test (don’t forget in case your skin is over-sensitive to the chemicals) you smear Veet hair removal gel cream onto your skin with your hand or the spatula provided, without rubbing in and leave for a few minutes then remove with the spatula (the spatula helps break off the hair) and rinse off the residue (in the shower if you like). Simple! And much better than stubbly regrowth and razor rash.

There are just a few things to remember. You should use this only on your back, chest, legs and shoulders – it’s not for the sensitive bikini area – only the area outside your speedos! Although depilatory products are fine for female facial hair, the male beard is far too tough for using chemicals so don’t try this.

Also do not apply Veet gel cream to every area at once. Try it in one place and see how you get on first before going wild with the cream. And don’t leave it on your skin longer than the time indicated on the packaging. This is not the time to answer the phone! Also it can be quite difficult to apply to your back and shoulders so you should ask for help for these hard to reach places.

The other disadvantage for hairy back removal or even chest removal is how much of the cream you will need if you use it on a regular basis. It is fine for a special occasion or if you have a small patch of hair you want to remove but if you want to stay smooth you will need to use it every few days and the cost will get prohibitive. Even the cost of laser hair removal will seem low if you do a comparison over the years.

2. Veet for Men Ready to Use Wax Strips

Waxing is very effective at removing hair and keeping you smooth for weeks on end but it can be inconvenient and expensive going to the salon regularly. Home waxing kits are cheap and effective but they can be messy and time consuming too. Veet wax strips are ready to use in an instant however and there’s nothing to clean up afterwards.

You take a strip, peel off the backing and smooth it onto your unwanted hair, wait a couple of seconds and then whisk it off in one quick movement against the direction of hair growth and as close to the skin as possible. Don’t yank upwards! The hair comes away with the strip.

Of course, it’s like removing a sticking plaster – a bit painful but any pain quickly disappears and redness goes within an hour or two. You can apply a cold compress after waxing and it also helps to run your hand over your skin immediately after removing each strip.

You do have to wait a little for hair to regrow before the wax has something to grip but the strips are quite effective even on very short hair which has just dared to show its face. The strips do have the same drawback as the cream in that you can’t wax hard to reach places without help. Also Veet advise that they are not used on your chest (although salon waxing IS suitable for chest hair removal).

Veet for Men Reviews

The Veet for Men reviews I have seen are pretty much the same as for hair removal products for women. If it works for you, you love the product. If you skin is sensitive to the product then you hate it. These products are inexpensive so it’s worth having a try and seeing whether they offer a good option for you.

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