Men and women have wanted smooth skin for centuries. Unwanted hair is one of the most common beauty complaints and there are many ways to get rid of it. There are many reasons that people may want to remove excess hair from their bodies. Most of these reasons are cosmetic and some athletes have hair removed to increase their speed. While there are permanent hair removal procedures, temporary hair removal is still the most affordable and convenient method to remove unwanted hair for men and women.

Shaving and Tweezing
Shaving and tweezing are the most common types of hair removal and the easiest ones for you to do at home. Shaving is best for men’s facial hair and large areas such as legs and arms. For best results always use fresh razors and shaving cream or lotion to protect your skin. You may have to shave with and against the growth of your hair to get the best results. This is especially true for your underarms since the hair on this part of you body grows in many different directions. Shaving is not recommended for the bikini area as this area of your body is prone to shaving bumps which can be very uncomfortable and cause pain.

Tweezing is the easiest way to remove small amounts of unwanted facial hair such as between your eyebrows, shaping your eyebrows and on the chin. Grasp the hair firmly and with a quick action pull it out. Tweezers come in several different styles from small exact tweezers to large flat and slanted styles. You may want to experiment to find out which style you are most comfortable with. Tweezing lasts longer than shaving, but it is not usually used on large areas of hair that need to be removed.

Waxing
Waxing is another popular hair removal method and the results last much longer than shaving. Warm wax is applied to the area that has the unwanted hair with the growth pattern and then a strip of muslin fabric or paper is applied. The skin is pulled taut and the paper or cloth is then removed quickly against the growth pattern of the hair. An experienced and trained wax technician will prepare the skin with a cleansing lotion and apply a cooling gel and soothing lotion afterwards to minimize redness and swelling. Some people experience small bumps after a wax service, but these will go away in a day or two. If this happens, tell your technician and he or she can make adjustments to the type and temperature of the wax used.

Waxing is effective because it removes a large section of hair at once. Hair will grow back thinner as you continue to wax because every time you get a wax service, some of the hair is pulled out by the roots. It is important to go to a technician that is familiar with waxing since if done incorrectly damage to your skin and even injury can result. Never let a technician reapply wax to an area that has been waxed that day. Your skin will be much too sensitive and injury to your skin and infection could result.

Other Types of Temporary Hair Removal
Threading, depilatories and epilation are also temporary hair removal methods employed today. Threading is an ancient art of using a piece of thread to remove hair from the face and body. A trained threader can use a thread to quickly and expertly remove hair by twisting a thread or string around the unwanted hair. This method is usually used to shape eyebrows and to remove hair from the upper lip.

Depilatories are chemical creams or foams that break down the hair so that you can wipe if off of rinse it off in the shower. Two of the drawbacks to this method are that very coarse hair may not respond to the depilatory and you may be allergic to the chemicals and develop a rash or have an allergic reaction.

Epilation is done by the mechanical removal of hair. Typically they have a rubber or metal coil that catches the hair as it rotates and pulls the hair out by the roots. The main drawback to this method is that many women find it to be very painful. Another drawback is the removal can be sporadic and the epilator may miss sections of hair.

Hair removal has been a goal for women and men for many centuries. The current trend in the beauty industry is still for soft and smooth skin that is free of unwanted hair. Temporary methods of hair removal offer you quick, inexpensive and practical ways to achieve this. Which one you choose is dependent upon the amount of hair and the location of the hair that is to be removed.