Shaving Versus Waxing Versus Depilatory

Shaving Waxing Depilatory “Shaving versus waxing versus depilatory,” is the question all young ladies face as they become adults. The question first arose in 1915 when a young male executive with the Wilkinson Sword Company took a look at the May edition of Harper's Bazaar magazine and saw a female model wearing the latest style. The wheels in his head began to churn instantly. The model wore a sleeveless evening gown that exposed, for the first time on the cover of a magazine, a woman’s bare shoulders, as well as her armpits.

That magazine cover created quite a stir in the marketing department at the Wilkinson Sword Company. What ensued was a campaign that labeled women’s hairy underarms as unfeminine, in fact, downright unhygienic. From that moment forward, women, too, began to consider their underarm hair taboo.

It’s no surprise that women’s leg hair got the boot shortly thereafter. The exact date has been boiled down to World War II. The cause: a shortage of supplies, including fabric and silk stockings. With less fabric, hemlines rose, exposing for the first time, in public, women’s bare legs. Self-conscious women turned to cosmetics, and finally to razors. Hair removal or “smoothing” as it was called back then, caught on in a big way.

It may have begun with women in the United States, but the custom of keeping legs and underarms free of hair has been gaining in popularity around the world ever since.

Methods of Hair Removal Discussed Here Include:

Shaving
Waxing
Use of Depilatories

Hair itself is touchy business. Hair follicles, tube-like structures that end beneath the surface of the skin in a bulb-shaped root, grow in cycles. In other words, about 20 percent of the hair on your body is dormant at any given moment. Therefore, none of the current methods of hair removal are 100 percent effective with one application. However, with repeated applications, it is possible to permanently remove hair on any part of the body.

Many factors come into play when discussing hair removal. Hair on different parts of the body differs in texture and growth, and gender plays a large part in hair growth, as do hormones and illness.

Shaving Facts:

Shaving is quick and inexpensive.
Stubble appears within 1-2 days.
There is risk of irritation to the skin, and accidental cuts.

Waxing Facts:

Not as irritating as shaving.
Because it removes hair from the root, it takes longer for the hair to grow out.
Hair grows in softer and the hair shaft becomes thinner with repeat waxing.
You only have to wax about once a month.
It can be done at home, but is painful. It’s much easier – though more expensive – to have hair removed by a professional.

Depilatory Facts:

Easy to apply; quick, but messy.
Harsh, often abrasive chemicals are used.
Unpleasant odor.
Hair is essentially dissolved below the skin surface, but the root is not removed.
Hair grows back anywhere from several days to two weeks.

Anything from leg and underarm hair removal to the bikini area and upper lip and/or stray, unwanted hairs that suddenly appear as a woman ages, can be removed by the methods mentioned here.

“Shaving versus waxing versus depilatory...what's best for you?”

The best way for each of us to answer that question is to educate ourselves on the pros and cons of hair removal. Take the time to learn how each method differs from the next and which method suits your lifestyle the best.

For up-to-date information regarding any of the above mentioned forms of hair removal, prepare a list of questions and then visit a professional hair removal facilities near you. Most professionals are willing to take the time to answer questions that will ensure their customers and “tentative customers” are well informed before they began any hair removal procedure.

~ Helen Kay Polaski, Staff Editor