facial hair - what do you do?

[jeangenie]

(not sure style is the right place but can't think of anything better)
What is the best thing to use to get rid of goddamn stubborn hairs on chin? Have always had these, though they seem to be getting a bit more tenacious/plentiful in recent years. Am VERY tired of plucking (my eyesight just ain't up to it anymore, I keep finding stray ones I've missed ). Recently tried hot wax and fabric strips on my legs and although it was awfully messy the regrowth seems much lighter, would the same happen on my chinny chin chin? I looked in Boots today and they have lots of different facial waxes, including some that you don't use paper or cloth strips with. Anyone know if these are any good?

i dont know about the creams or waxes but what about bleaching the hairs? you can buy stuff for this in boots. would save them growing back

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) is effective on dark hairs on light skin. Expensive, though, and no good for white hairs.

thanks guys

am not keen on bleaching because a)you can still kind of see the hairs, although thay are white (which is of course a lot better) and b) you can still feel the coarser ones - I find the feel of these things when I touch my face most unsettling.

Had thought about laser and IPL but unfortunately the purse strings stretch more to a (small!) pot of wax at boots than expensive light treatment, for the moment at least

anyone used wax? with or without strips?

No I havn't waxes but I regularly use Boots own face cream, just smooth it on, wait 4 minutes and wash off. Face as smooth as a baby's butt after and it stays like that for quite a while.

i go and get it waxed- bloody kills but worth it.

have tried an equivalent cream (last weekend in fact) but it was back within two days, course and stubby (Yeuch) which is what has driven me to contemplate alternatives

swifterella - I asked before about waxing when I was having legs done (the one time I've had them done professionally) and she didn't want to do it for some reason. Not sure why (I don't have a full Santa Clause style beard I hasten to add, just a few too many irritating little buggers)

Hi.. I agree, IPL is very effective (if you have the money!!!) I'm a beauty therapist and would say the next best thing is to go to a salon and get a professional hot wax done. You'll get about 3-4 weeks between appointments once you get going. I use hot wax on my own face (upper lip.) and it works wonders. Using wax strips will end up giving your face a shiny effect. Hot wax (which is like lilquid toffee which can be peeled off) doesn't stick to the skin and doesn't cause the shiny effect in the long run.

Hope this helps

Like you, I used to pluck but can't be bothered/don't have time now. Tried wax strips - just ended up with gooey bits on my face and once ended up with a moustache shaped scar on my lip and couldnt' leave the house for three days!

Anyway, tried "threading" and it's fab. It doesn't really hurt, it's fairly cheap and it lasts for a couple of weeks.

When I worked in central London, got it done at the Bharti Vyas salon (off Baker St) - it cost £20 for eyebrows and around mouth. Now I've found a salon near MK (Wolverton) and it cost £8.50 for the same!

You might have to ask around. More cosmopolitan areas would have tiny little salons that do it. Or if you have any asian mates (!) they might know. Let me know if you're in my area and I'll give you the number...

Pluck them secretly, and then never mention or admit to ever having any.

aha, so hot wax or threading since I can't afford IPL right now

does threading result in fewer of the blighters over time? I am in SE London and work in Central London, think there is a threading place near work, £20 for eyebrows and chin area would be ok I think

funkimummy - would the hot wax you can buy from boots and do in the microwave work too, or leave me shiny shiny?

thanks ladies

I don't find threading "thins" the hairs out unfortunately - doesn't make it any worse though!

Don't know what IPL is but did try a course of electrolysis to try to get some sort of semi-permanent solution. I wouldn't recommend it - it bloody kills, costs a fortune and didn't make a blind bit of difference!

JeanGenie - get it done at a salon. In my line of work I hear far to many horror stories regarding people scarring themselves with the microwaveable hot wax.

With regards to threading - Bharti Vyas is the UK leader in threading, so would be very good.

Hot wax from a salon will make the hairs appear to grow more sparsely. It does not make them stop growing, it's just that each hair has a different growing rate once it is pulled out from under the skin, as oppossed to shaving it all of at the same shaft point.

electrolysis for chin hairs and salon wax for tash

I get mine done and it is so much better. My tash is much lighter and only needs doing every 8 weeks.

I do got the odd hair on my chin and they zap it with the electrolysis and it's only about £5!

I have to say I have noticed I am getting much hairier the older I am getting!

I don't get on with home waxing, I just end up with blobs of wax everywhere that won't shift for days on end! I have a lot of dark hair on my upper lip and chin, and I have it waxed at a salon. I have it done every 6 weeks or so but could probably do with it being every 4 weeks if I could find the time.

Really really hate those thick hairs that appear on my chin. I go down the salon waxing route, but the little b***rs keep coming back.

When you wax it , what does it look like as it grows back? Is it stubbly?

No it isn't. When you shave or use cream. It cuts the hairs off at the fattest point of the shaft, and therefore, when the hair grows - it grows back with the top of the hair being 'fat'.

If you have it waxed or use electrolysis or IPL, it pulls the hair out at the root, allowing for a natural 'tapered' hair regrowth. This means that the hair that finally surfaces from the hair follicle is pointed at the end. it makes for a much softer feel and appearance. In reality your hair growth won't change, but the growth becomes more sporadic as each individual hair on your body does not grow at the same speed as the next.

Hope this helps.

No, I don't find it grows back stubbly - it might if you shaved because you cut the hair so the end looks blunt, but with waxing I find it grows back fairly soft.

aaah, but all this waxing makes you wrinkly. look up 'threading' on google. hundreds of sites telling you how to do it, some more complicated than others. i just make a loop of thread, twist it a few times and then use the twists to grab the hair. it's like a cat's cradle, for hair.

Waxing around the eye area makes you wrinkly.

Using strip wax on facial skin can make you wrinkly as it pulls off skin cells. Hot wax doesn't do this. That's why the french use it all over their bodies to remove hair.

I think salon waxing sounds the way to go (thanks funkimummy - really helpful)

Will I have to do it in the dead of night though? won't I be bright red and blotchy afterwards?

anniemac - the difference in plucking and threading in terms of hair removal is very similar. However, threading gets everything that stands in it's way. Plucking means you either heavily rely on your own eyesight or that of someone else?!?

Jeangenie - don't be silly!! Millions of women come out with slightly blotchy faces from salon. You know you mustn't wear make-up straight after a wax so none of that entering your head I'm afraid!!

See if you can find a therapist who will come to your house in the evening?!? That way you can have it done under the cover of darkness. On the upside. A good wax job will only leave residual redness for a short period of time (absolute max of a few hours.)