Beauty Questions I've always wanted to ask...

[deXavia]

So this is a thread for all my questions I've been to embarrassed to ask before - the ones everyone else seems to know the answers too...

So leg waxing - I live in a hot country with legs pretty much on show 10 months of the year. I always shave but am pondering going for waxing - but don't you have to walk around with hairy legs for a few weeks to get them long enough to be waxed? Does that not the defeat the purpose of having other weeks fuzz free? I have very fair hair so I understand the laser zapping would do little for me - am I best to just keep shaving?

And then those red pimply spots you get on the back of your upper arms - any way to actually get rid of those?

Sure there will be more to come - but also feel free to jump in....

Bumps on back of arms - flexitol, or a cream with urea. Soap and glory clean on me shower gel seems to keep mine down
No idea on waxing, I shave

Waxing you're right ime. Can also lead to pimply lumps. Don't got there.

Bumpy arms exfoliate well and get some sunshine on them but not much else you can do.

Epilators might work well for you if you are fair? You need to exfoliate your arms and use a good moisturizer.

Thanks so much
So arms exfoliate, cream and sunshine - all good
Hairy legs - hmm I did use an Eplilator once for about an inch of my right leg [need a sobbing emoticon] before I gave up - do you get use to it over time? Or I may stick to shaving....

Epilators are really good and you do get used to the feeling. Best to use them just after a shower/bath, when your pores are open so it's less uncomfortable.

Philips lumea home laser treatment, it's amazing and you just keep shaving until you get the results you want.

The bumpy arms are probably keratosis pilaris. The urea cream thing works best after exfoliating - it's basically an excess of keratin and the urea helps dissolve it.

The same thing works on legs if you wax. I wax, the regrowth is initially blonde so you can't really see it. I don't think super-shiny totally bald legs are ideal anyway, from an aesthetic point of view but I know I'm in the minority! And if you keep up with waxing less hair grows back after a few years.

I have a question for people who "do" their hair. When you first started to "do" it (curl, straighten, whatever) how long did it take and how often did it go badly wrong? I'm trying to decide if making more of an effort is warranted!

Hair removal cream works best for me. Shaving makes me itch once the hair starts growing again.

I used to have my legs waxed about every 6 weeks to coincide with my hair appt, ( same place) but that was decades back. As you say, the hair has to be a few mms long to wax so you do end up with a hairy leg stage in between. I can't self wax as find it too painful.
I think the hair growing less the more you wax is a bit of a beauticians myth to drum up business- had legs waxed for years and never found the hair got any less.

I think the only benefit of waxing is if you are going on hols etc for 2 weeks, showing off your legs and then the waxing would just about last.

I wax every 3 weeks approximately. I do sometimes do a mid-wax shave if I need to show my legs, and wear trousers a lot near the end.

It's not really a myth, after waxing for decades I barely have any hair left on my legs. But I have never had much under arm hair (it's so fine and light in colour that it's practically invisible so I never had to do anything with it), so it could be because I have fine body hair.

Actually, it's not really decades now that I calculate it properly, but almost
I use epilators now and it's fabulous because you don't have to have that in between hair that is not long enough for waxing, but is long enough to be visible. And they hurt less than waxing (IME)

Thanks so much for everyone's responses..
So I'm going to ignore the waxing - can you talk more about the Epilators? Which ones do you recommend?
Blue Marra you sound like me - I have practically nothing under my arms and very fine fair hair on my legs unfortunately living in a hot country my legs are on show pretty much all the time!

whereishe - just spotted no one answered your question.. have to say I don't do my hair much but then the times that I do I realize how much better it looks - amazing difference - and then I promise myself I'll do it more often, which lasts about 2 weeks before I drift again..... So maybe it is worth the effort (I just haven't summoned up enough of the effort yet!!)

Ooh I have a question if I may?

Ive started using veet cream the last couple of years. Qu: why is the regrowth speed so different on different parts of my legs? Some bits are still hair free whilst my ankles have 5mm of regrowth!

I started blow drying my hair properly about two years ago - it makes a huge difference to how I look (mid length fine hair) I wish if started years ago.

It took a few goes to get the hang of it to it and I've now moved on to the big hair which has revolutionized my life

I also use an epilator - you get used to it

Ooh thanks! I really should make the effort I think. But how to stop hair getting damaged?

I don't get on with waxing (bumps, ingrowns, red dots, pain) I do get great results with sugaring though. Not sure why as it's the same principle, i.e. ripping out hair from roots. I get a much better/thorough finish, to me it's less painful and it can be done on shorter hairs.