Secondary school was always going to be an awkward experience. We were 12, didn’t really know what was happening or had found our feet yet, and to top it all off; we were entering…puberty! It was at this age when I asked my mum for my first razor. It wasn’t that I was particularly hairy; no more than your average 12 year-old but when you’re having to get changed and shower with all the other girls after sports, anyone would feel slightly self-conscious.
It was year 9 when all the girls in my school started plucking and shaping their eyebrows (I don’t know whether growing up in Essex affected us; or if this was the norm) but for some reason I didn’t bother until sixth form; but once I’d started I didn’t stop. Now; aged 19 I wax, shave, epilate, pluck, have had laser and use an IPL machine at home. Actually when I write all of that down it’s quite overwhelming. Where did society’s obsession with hair removal come from?
When Julia Roberts showed off her hairy armpits at the premiere of Notting Hill in 1999 there was national uproar; women shouldn’t be hairy, it’s not sexy, it’s unhygienic! Women in the UK spend over £280m a year on hair removal – why? In 1915 Harpers Bazaar published a photo of a model bearing shaven underarms; that same year the first razors for women were introduced. Poor Miss Roberts; if she’d attended that premiere 85 years earlier, nobody would have even batted an eyelid, but in the 21stcentury not shaving has become a crime.
I started shaving because it was the thing to do. It’s as if society demands that once you get to a certain age you start shaving. Nobody ever told me to start shaving; it was as though my brain was pre-wired to start this habit. Suddenly not only did you have to be hair free but you had to be stubble free. This is where my obsession with waxing began. Fast forwards a couple of years; I was 17 and read an article on laser hair removal. So, I saved up and begged my mum to take me. It was…an interesting experience to say the least. It was relatively pain-free (apart from a couple of pricks) but what I remember most is the overwhelming smell of burning. I went for two sessions then stopped. The laser was amazing; it removed 80% of hair and it was permanent. However, it was such a chore to not shave/wax and trek up to London to get the treatment each time. It was just after my 18th birthday that I’d saved up enough to buy an IPL (Intense Pulse Light) machine. It’s a weaker form of laser; so the machine is safe-ish to use at home and it removes about 80% of hair permanently with continued use, (whereas it’s claimed laser treatment removes 100% in the end). I used it religiously every week on my legs, underarms (even my arms and face; don’t ask, the obsession had spiralled out of control by this point) and by the time university came round I genuinely had hardly any hair left. Unfortunately I can’t bring the machine to uni as it cost a small fortune, so instead I have returned to shaving every now and again ( as you’re not allowed to wax when you use IPL).
Nowadays, I have very little hair left to remove so my obsession has turned to maintaining my eyebrows, changing my hairstyle regularly and makeup in general. It seems that obsessions don’t ever end; they’re just replaced with new ones. Unfortunately, none of my friends were as obsessed as me when it came to hair removal; but I did manage to convert one friend to epilating. She did squirm (and shed the odd tear) the first time she tried it, but in the end she’d say how good the results were; and swore off shaving for life. I recommend you give it a try – you might just be surprised!
Having been through a LOT of experiences with hair removal I sometimes do think to myself; where did my obsession start and why did I put myself through so much for something so trivial? I started researching different hair removal methods during my free periods at school when I didn’t have anything to do; so maybe my obsession came about because of boredom. I know I started waxing and epilating because I hated stubble, so maybe that sparked something. I asked my female housemates and friends why they shave… The answers were unanimous; because we’re girls. So it seems that it has become wired into us that girls must shave. So, who’s to blame for this? On this occasion I do believe that men are responsible. When the first image of a shaven model was published the editor of Harpers Bazaar was infact… male. It’s that photo that sparked our modern obsession with hair removal. Yes, people have removed hair before; in ancient Greece, Rome and the Middle East, having body hair (for women) and facial hair (for men and women) was seen as being uncivilised; only the working class would dare to have unwanted hair. The idea of hair removal was around long before Harpers Bazaar, but for modern women I believe our obsession, our mother’s obsession; and her mother’s obsession stems from that photo published nearly a century ago.
So now that we’ve gotten an idea of why we shave so religiously; are we going to stop? It seems so bizarre that before the 20th century women didn’t care about shaving and if a woman had hair on her body nobody cared (in Europe at least). However, I think we all know we’re not going to stop shaving; especially with the party season right around the corner. So, to end this rant of mine I’ll give you my top five hair removal methods and what I think of them so you can get ready for the party season (and did we forget, the SSB?)
- IPL – A cheaper alternative to laser, it removes up to 80% of body hair permanently. You’re only allowed to shave between sessions, and about 10-12 sessions are required. It works best on pale skin with darker hair. Most salons now offer this treatment; or if you have £500 lying around you can invest in your own kit from Phillips
- Laser – Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, the treatment room smells a bit like a BBQ. The results however, speak for themselves. After just two treatments, around 80% of my hair was removed permanently; and the other 20% was silky soft. This again, works better on pale skin and dark hair with doctors suggesting between 6-10 treatments depending on the area.
- Epilating – It’s a small electric or battery operated piece of kit that basically pulls out any hair long enough to get caught in it as it turns round: like a rotating set of tweezers. The best brand is, in my opinion Braun and you can get it quite cheaply these days (it’s a lot cheaper than IPL and Laser). It does hurt but after a couple of goes you only feel a light tickle. The downside is that you have to let the hairs grow out so they’re long enough to become caught.
- Waxing – The traditional method of hair removal; it’s cheap (you can even make your own with sugar and water), effective and easy. Over time it will reduce the amount of hair you have and you will get used to the pain. Just be careful you don’t burn yourself…maybe go for ready to use strips the first couple of times while you get the hang of things.
- Shaving – I don’t really like shaving because you get stubble, but it’s just so easy. You can have a quick two minute shave in the morning. Also, if you’re having IPL or Laser treatment, shaving is the only option between sessions. It’s also painless; unless you cut yourself so do be careful!
Picture credits: http://ukhairbeauty.com/services-directory/hair-removal/ http://spacecoastmassage.com/blog/ladies-dont-shave-it-wax-it-unsightly-facial-hair/, thisthatandeverything.com, treatmentsaver.com