OT - leg hair removal. What do you do?! - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

OT - leg hair removal. What do you do?!

Polly (thunalata)

Veteran

It's been glorious weather in the UK this week and I'm wearing clams for the first time this year so this topic is at the front of my mind. I've never had a professional leg wax so I vary between epilating (summer) and shaving (winter and sometimes daily in summer if I can't face the epilator...)

What do you all find is the most successful way of staying smooth and how often do you do it?

General

34 replies

Latest reply was from yublocka

ButterflyLady

(website)

Veteran

I shave (I'm in the UK, too, so am very aware of hair removal and pedicures at the moment!) as I have really sensitive skin, and waxing and epilating wreck it (I needed medical attention after epilating my legs *sigh*).

I shave my legs every other day in the winter and every day in the summer.

Diana

Veteran

I'm curious to hear what people do for this too!

I usually wax my legs myself at home, using premade wax strips like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Sally-Ha.....038;sr=8-7
I HATED the other kind of at-home wax, where you have to microwave the tub of wax and spread it on yourself - so messy and icky! I have quite sparse (but rather coarse and dark) leg hair so I feel like getting a professional wax is going to be a waste of money. I only ever wax my legs below the knee - I honestly wish I had not been so crazy about shaving every single day when I was younger, because I think then my lower leg hair would be like my upper leg hair - practically invisible and very fine.

The wax strips are OK and have the benefits of waxing (i.e. you can do it once and then forget about it for a couple of weeks at least) but I'm not totally satisfied with it. The biggest problem is that I can never seem to get everything, and then I have to go back with a tweezer or something to pick off the remaining hairs. It also works best when the hair is on the longer side, so you have to suffer through a few days of hairy legs before you can wax again (this is true of all wax though, including professional).

The main reason I wax and don't shave is that my legs seem to have developed a sensitivity to being shaved (I still use a razor on my armpits and that seems fine). No matter how much moisturizer I use or how new my razor is, my legs will often decide to itch horribly after shaving, so I try to avoid it.

Irene

Veteran

I used to shave, but now it's been a long time since I did that. Nowadays I epilate everything, especially in summer. I don't have much hair, to be honest, but the downside is that it grows VERY fast. People say it's because I don't get to the roots, but I do. I have the same problem with my eyebrows and I know for certain I pluck the whole hair because I can see the roots with my 'macro' eyes (if I don't wear glasses). I pluck my eyebrows every two days, and the same with legs and armpits in the summer. Waiting for wax in summer would be a pain, since I mostly always wear skirts/dresses/shorts in July and August!

rute

Veteran

Laser! The best investment I've done!!!

An

I'm sooo interested in laser Rute. I feel like keeping hair free is a contant, time consuming battle!!

I epilate the bottom of my legs at least weekly, have the tops of my legs waxed, epilate my underarms, have my bikini line waxed, have my arms waxed (occasionally), have my eyebrows waxed, and bleach my upper lip!!!!!!!!! Sigh!

nicoleb

(website)

Veteran

....I just shave, like, every other day...I could probably get away with longer than that though. When i was pregnant my leg hair stopped growing and then after i had my son it started again but much, much slower. Kind of weird. The same thing happened to my mom i guess...

Epilate means Nair or something similar correct? I've tried doing that in the past but the smell is too strong for me.

An

No, epilate is the little buzzy machine that pulls the hair put by the roots - similar outcome to waxing.

nicoleb

(website)

Veteran

oh...i dont think i've ever heard of this before...does it hurt?

Louise

Veteran

I get my legs waxed once a month. I've been having it done for over a year now and the hairs are much finer and sparser. I got terrible razor burn with shaving and my legs looked too unsightly to be on show, whereas now they can be on show the whole month x

Maya

Veteran

This is a major sore spot for me, literally and figuratively.

I wish I had the guts to just bare my hairy legs, but I don't, so I just live with the suffering that is hair removal. It's pathetic. My feminist side tells me there is no logical reason I should have to do this, but I do it anyway.

I have coarse, dark hair, so no matter how close the shave it's usually visible in the form of little black dots. Given how coarse it is, pulling it out is agony, but usually gives better results. I have to shave every day, and more importantly, I have to shave against the grain--otherwise it is just too visible. I try to go with the grain first, to thin it out, and I always make sure to soak my skin first, but it doesn't help. Nothing helps.

This year I bought a sugaring kit which I'm going to try. Supposedly it's less painful than waxing since it doesn't stick to the skin. I tested it on my face and it still hurt, but everything hurts so I may as well give it a try.

I do not shave at all in the winter, except my armpits. Another reason I prefer winter and fall dressing.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Maya, I feel your pain -- both kinds! I'm cursed with very fair skin and very dark hair that grows quickly. On top of it all, I have trouble with keratosis pilaris on the backs of my upper arms and legs, which is aggravated by pretty much any kind of hair removal. This is one of the reasons, along with cellulite, that I have never loved baring my legs.

Nair and similar products have absolutely no effect on my hair but irritate the heck out of my skin. Never tried any other kind of removal like waxing -- honestly, it just seems like way too much trouble and pain to me when I can just swipe a razor down my legs every day in the summer, and maybe once or twice a week in winter. It's not perfect, but I'm used to it after 30 years of shaving, so I have no plans to change now.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I have clients and friends who are extremely happy with their lazer removal treatments so I echo Rute.

I am virtually hairless so I shave the legs every fortnight.

Anonymous

In the winter I shave (legs, armpits, bikini line) every other or third day, in the summer every day as I only wear skirts, dresses and shorts then. I've had periods when I epilated my legs instead of shaving but I was never really satisfied with the result so I always gave up and started shaving again instead. The epilator never seemed to pull out enough hairs and I didn't have the patience to pull out the remaining hairs with tweezers. And I had to epilate once or twice a week because my hair grows so fast and it's dark...

I would love to try a laser removal treatment! But that's way too expensive at the moment... But someday I hope to afford it!

Lynne

Veteran

Oooh, Rute, I would love to go down the lasering route! It's still very expensive here.

I used to wax, but have reverted to shaving with the Venus disposable top razors - I find them quite good. I make time to shave properly on Sunday and then do a quick glide over in the shower in the mornings. I have bikini a wax once a month, and I take a panadol beforehand :).

Angie, you are so lucky!

Elly

Veteran

Well I am here to say that laser might not be the solution that it has been made out to be if you have a certain type of skin or hair and genetics.

Supposedly I was an ideal candidate because I had obvious dark hair and fair skin. I went through 8 months of twice-a-month treatments, which are MUCH more painful than waxing, epilating, or shaving. I still have to shave the areas everyday unless I go back once or twice a month for another treatment--- only with treatments every month or so do I see a noticeable reduction in hair growth. Even then I still sometimes shave because the laser often will not kill the fine hairs, which would be fine except mine are nearly black an very obvious.

Depilatories are also a nightmare for me, they don't do anything to the hair but I have received chemical burns before!

I shave, everyday and deal with the mess that is ingrown hairs and irritation. I also wear jeans or pants alot even when it is hot and hope my pant legs don't ride up!

crazyone

Veteran

this is one of my big frustrations in life too. I have so much coarse leg hair, on both my upper and lower legs...I haven't shaved all winter, just shaved for the first time (just on my lower legs, it's too time consuming to do both in one go when it's this long) yesterday in a long while...

And now I know why Angie doesn't believe in the cooling properties of maxi dresses/skirts

Mac

Veteran

My legs are freckley and so it's next-to-impossible to see my blond body hair. I get them waxed at a cheap little local salon about once/ 8 weeks. The leg waxing doesn't hurt very much but the bikini waxing...!

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I never was particularly hairy, but as I've gotten older it has thinned out, gotten lighter, and grows less quickly. I don't shave my legs at all in the winter (do my pits every day year round). In the summer I shave my legs once or twice a week.

Patty

Veteran

How do you keep your socks up if you shave????

(since I'm in the shower anyway I shave--leg and pit hair is something I can control)

Polly (thunalata)

Veteran

So interesting. I have to say I find it it encouraging that nearly everyone else finds it as much of a nuisance as I do! Very envious of Angie and rute!

What comes out of this is that everyone has very different hair issues and some people have to put in more time more often to look smooth than others. I really begrudge the time it takes to epilate thoroughly (nearly an hour this am and I'll have to do it again next week), the expense to have a wax regularly, and the sensation of stubbly skin from shaving even on alternate days. I need to get over it!

Nicoleb - pain from epilating seems to vary from person to person and some people I've read online say it doesn't hurt at all! Your body gets used to it, but I would say, yes it does hurt! But then so does waxing...

Louise

Veteran

If you find a good waxer it shouldn't hurt. The only place that hurts for me is around the backs of my ankles and then it's not excruciating just mildly uncomfortable x

marianna

Veteran

I've never heard of epilating either!

I shave my legs. I am lucky to have blond body hair so I shave infrequently -- every couple of weeks in the winter (because my legs are always covered and I couldn't be bothered), and every other day or so in the summer. I have a lot of hair though. Lucky Angie!

Polly (thunalata)

Veteran

Louise - I'd not heard that before. I was also interested by what you say about the hairs becoming finer over time. Something I'll look into.

Anonymous

I had the hairs on my lower legs lasered off about 5 years ago and I LOVE it. I had a combination of coarse dark hairs and fine, very long hairs. The coarse hairs were constantly getting ingrown from shaving which was ugly and painful. It worked great on the dark hairs and resolved the ingrown hair problem. It doesn't work on light hairs so those are still there. I use the epilator on the light hairs about once a week.

I got my eplilator at target and they run about $20 or $30. It does hurt at first but you build up a tolerance after a while. Now, I don't even feel it. If your hairs are fine textured, I would recommend it. Its one of my favourite tools!

carrie

(website)

Fair skinned and dark hair here. Depilatories don't do a thing for my hair and shaving alone doesn't get as close as I would like. My skin is way too sensitive to shave my bikini area. I've had success with waxing my legs and bikini and then only shaving some finer hairs once or twice in between waxing. I used to get my eyebrows waxed, but now they don't grow back anymore (I'm hoping the same will eventually happen with my legs!). I also occasionally bleach my upper lip. The things we do!

biscuitsmom

Veteran

I use a cheap, disposable razor and run it over my legs and armpits (when I shower) about 2x a week....works very well and costs only $4-$5 for a pack of 5!

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I use an electric razor.

Laser is one of the things I will do once I'm an MD and have money for things like this. Ugh; for now, I use one of my dad's old razors he doesn't want to use for his face. LOL.

I don't have much hair though; so I only need to shave once a week.

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

I wax.

One thing to keep in mind - don't do it just before certain days in the month, it's a lot more painful then.

Cilleena

Veteran

I have very little body hair. I do a quick swipe with a razor in the shower every night to every other night. I could easily get by with once a week, but it's just routine for me and I like my legs to be really smooth.

My daughter is facing this dilemma for the first time this summer. She is 13 and becoming aware of her body hair. She is very, very hairy too. Dark hair, fair skin. She has all kinds of issues with unwanted hair that I never had to deal with. Bleaching, waxing eyebrows, now for the legs this summer. I'm not sure what to tell her except to try shaving. I dread it for her though. She's not conscientous about it yet and the stubble is going to be brutal for her.

12