Waxing vs Shaving vs Epilating

When it comes to leg hair removal, I am a sufferer of the following things:

• Sensitive skin. Like, SUPER sensitive, to the point where if I scratch my leg a rash will break out.
• Pale, pale skin. Think blindingly white.
• Dark, dark hair. Think jet black. ¹
• Thick and/or coarse hair. (This one is pretty self-explanatory.)

Waxing: It works okay on my legs, except I’m not willing to shell out the money needed to see a professional regularly. Therefore, my experiences with waxing are those kits designed for you to use at home that you can buy at any good drugstore. I like the longer lasting effects of waxing, but since I’m not a professional, I don’t always rip the hair out at the root, which means I don’t get to enjoy one of the best benefits of waxing.

Shaving: Shaving is just… ugh, horrible. I don’t like the cuts and nicks, I don’t like the fact that hair grows back faster and thicker and I hate the feeling of stubble on my legs. To top it all off, my legs had a tendency to break out in a rash whenever I shaved, so it was just awful all-around. I could only shave once every two weeks, tops, because of my skin’s reaction to shaving, and because the hair grew back so fast I’d only be able to wear skirts or shorts for about two days. Definitely not worth all the trouble.

Epilating: I tried out epilating for the first time several nights ago. It’s an “electrical device used to remove hair by mechanically grasping multiple hairs simultaneously and pulling them out.” Basically, it’s most similar to waxing, minus the messy wax part. Hair takes about an estimated four weeks to grow back in and you don’t need to wait for it to grow out the length that waxing requires. Because there’s no blade, there are no burns or cuts. Yeah, epilating is going to be more painful than shaving, but I have a high pain tolerance so the pain didn’t bother me. The pain is also supposed to diminish with regular epilation.

Verdict: With the help of a little witch hazel, exfoliating body scrub and moisturizer, epilating is my favorite type of hair removal (already!). The best part? You can also use it on most areas of the body that require hair removal, so I’m only going to need my epilator and nothing else. Talk about convenience and saving money² while enjoying long-lasting hair removal!

1. Disclaimer: I do not look like a goth, despite my pale skin and dark hair. It’s just the result of my mixed heritage and which set of genes won out over the other in the looks department! [↩]
2. The epilator doesn’t need any replacement parts (e.g. you don’t need to replace the epilator head) so while the cost is higher up front, you save money with repeated use. No more need to shell out for professional waxing appointments, do-it-at-home wax kits, razors and/or shaving cream! [↩]

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.