Good Riddance : Easing the Pain of Removing Hair With By-the-Root Methods and Tools
IF ANY SUBJECT conjures up gruesome images of torture-for-beauty’s-sake, it’s hair removal by the root. In America, where an estimated 65 million women remove body hair regularly, most still shave with a razor. But promises of long-lasting results and smoother skin are causing an increasing number of women to turn to by-the-root hair removal.
For instance, there’s a two-week wait for a consultation at Lucy Peters International Ltd., the new Beverly Hills electrolysis salon that issues a warranty against regrowth. Skin-care salons report that “bikini-line” waxing is the most sought-after procedure year-round. And more than 3 million hair-plucking devices, such as Epilady, Emjoi and Lady Remington’s Smooth & Silky, have been sold in the last two years.
By-the-root hair removal is nothing new. In traditional electrolysis, which dates to the 1860s, a rigid probe is inserted into the hair follicle, and electrical current or heat is applied to kill the root. But if the probe doesn’t reach the root, the hair simply grows back. Along with regrowth, complaints about electrolysis include extreme pain, scarring, endless follow-up visits and open-ended costs.
At Peters’ penthouse salon, where initial consultations inform clients of the total time and dollar investment, technicians use a flexible-tipped needle and heat. The resulting sensation feels like a mosquito bite, Peters says, and a warranty is offered because her method “always kills the root.” A “bikini-line” treatment at Peters’ salon costs about $1,100 and takes about 18 months.
Waxing has long been another alternative. Of the European women who remove body hair, 50% do so by waxing, but until recently, American women have been deterred by the pain and the price. Aida Thibiant, whose Beverly Hills skin-care salon reports a recent increase in waxing, says that most women probably don’t realize that the root is weakened each time a hair is pulled, so the pain decreases with each treatment. “If the specialist strips the wax off quickly, the pain is minimal. It’s a matter of proper timing,” she explains. In Thibiant’s salon, a leg and “bikini-line” wax, which costs $50 and keeps skin smooth for three to six weeks, has been most popular, but now women also are waxing their faces, underarms and forearms.
New hand-held, mechanized products provide a do-it-yourself option. When Epi Products first introduced Epilady, many users found the device, which makes use of a fine coil to grasp and pull out several hairs at once, painful. Since then, Epi Products has focused on innovations that help reduce discomfort--such as EpiHeat, a heat pack that is rubbed on legs before hair removal. Epi Products and Remington claim that their tools, which keep skin hair-free for three to six weeks, are now gentle enough for use on the sensitive “bikini” region. Gerald Bagg, vice president of marketing for Culver City-based Emjoi, whose device traps hairs via a rubber-band mechanism, is promoting it as “two-and-one-half times less painful than the competition.” All of these products, which are available in drug, department and even hardware stores, cost from $40 to $80.
Peter Williams, director of shaving research for the Personal Touch Razor at Schick, says: “Most women aren’t about to trade in their razors” in favor of these methods. But if the current trend continues, and more women decide to get to the root of their hair-removal problems, the woman’s razor may become a grooming dinosaur.
