Preparing for the your big day is not a one day affair. The beauty regime itself is already a handful, not mentioning the banquet, dresses, makeup, photography… Making sure your underarms are silky smooth requires TIME – for example, cool down time (for waxing) or testing the effectiveness and pain level if you are a newbie in this area. When doing my research, I found many women having the same questions in mind. What’s really the most effective? It varies, you have to try the different methods/ products and find the most suitable one. Here are some of my experiences and research details.
Waxing
a. Wax Strip (such as Veet)
Instruction on how to use wax strips:
- Make sure your skin is dry and free from deodorants. Use talcum powder to get rid of any moisture.
- Warm the wax strip by rubbing between your hands for about 5 seconds.
- Slowly peel the strips apart. Apply the strip to the skin and smooth the strip down in the direction of hair growth.
- Put one hand behind your head and stretch your arm back to hold your
skin taut. Your underarm hair grows in 2 directions so make sure you wax
this area in two stages against the direction of hair growth. - Very quickly, pull the strip back sharply against the direction your hair grows. The quicker, the better! Hold your skin taut to avoid discomfort.
If you are waxing for a special occasion make sure you allow 24 hours for any tell tale redness to die down. Re-use each strip until it looses its grip.
This however did not work for me. It managed to pull out too little hair and it hurt.
b. Hard Wax
Hard wax, though more expensive is excellent for use in the more sensitive areas, such as the bikini and underarms. It gets hard when it dries. We smooth on the warm wax and let it dry. As it dries it turns hard, encapsulating the hair in it’s hardness. Because it hardens, it also lifts from the skin as it dries. No strips necessary here, we just flip up the edge and pull the strip free, removing the hair beneath. It’s not sticky, causes very little, if any skin irritation. I have not tried this yet.
c. Soft Wax
Apply a small amount of baby power, smooth a thin layer of wax on your underarms in the direction of the hair growth, place a strip on top and press it in the same direction. Then rip it off in the opposite direction. Though very effective, it’s very sticky and tends to cause some skin irritation when not used properly. But it’s fairly inexpensive and allows us to wax very quickly.
Hair Removal Cream
It basically breaks down the hair above the skin’s surface, so that you can wipe it off. Do a patch test first before using, hair removal creams are a strong
product. Don’t leave on longer than suggested in directions, and take
off immediately if you feel burning. Too painful for me!
Shaving
Some ladies prefer men razors or Venus razor. I personally find shaving ineffective. I could not get rid of all hairs and got prickly underarms.
Using an Epilator
It is an electrical hair removing device with spinning tweezers that pull out multiple hairs simultaneously. This method is similar to tweezing, but it removes more hair automatically. You can get the Emjoi Soft Caress Rechargeable Epilator from Amazon.com at USD55.
Plucking with a Tweezer
It may seem overwhelming to pluck out a bush (hair by hair) but this method is really effective on baby hairs which cannot be
removed by waxing or shaving. This can be tedious, very time consuming but the result is good.
Laser Treatment
Hair can be removed permanently. If you want to get rid of your armpit hairs for good, pay the hefty price, it’s only one time deal after all. Consult an certified specialist in cosmetic surgery to get an advice first as the treatment differs from individual to individual.
Exfoliating Scrub
To have smoother underarms skin without the dark spots, scrub them with an exfoliater using loofah, say 3 times a week. Remember to apply lotion afterwards as exfoliating scrubs can cause dry skin.
Deodorant
It keeps the underarms from wetness and odor.
Ladies have recommended the Dove Visibly Smooth Deodorant. This deodorant minimizes the appearance of hair when used over time and moisturizes the underarm skin, while providing the odor and wetness protection.
Makeup
If after all the above, you still have slightly dark armpits or the result is not totally perfect, the easiest way is to slab on some underarms makeup to cover the area. It works well for me 🙂
References: www.melodramatic.com, www.veet.co.uk, http://www.chicobrazilianwaxing.com, http://hairremoval.about.com
