Teen Beauty Problems Solved: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Q: I'm 13 and want to start shaving my legs but am not sure what’s best – shaving, waxing or laser?

A: It is different strokes for different folks I’m afraid - so, here’s the low down on the options for you to decide.

Shaving
It’s quick, easy and inexpensive. You can do it anywhere and anytime and you don’t need to wait till hair is a certain length before you can remove it.

Downside to shaving is that of all the methods, it gives the shortest reprieve from hairs and that’s because it is just cutting the hair from the surface. Contrary to old mum’s tales it does not make your hair grow back thicker, darker or make it grow faster or slower. You will get better results from shaving if you use a moisturiser with the shaver – that can be either a body wash or shave cream with water. This will make the shave smoother and less likely to irritate skin or lead to nicks and cuts. Always moisturise skin after shaving.

Waxing
It's a great way to remove big wads of hair in one hit. The trick, if you are doing it yourself, is to warm the wax, spread it evenly over the area in the direction of hair growth. The hair gets embedded in the wax as it cools and then you quickly pull it off in the opposite direction of hair growth. You can also get some cold waxes that come in strips which are a bit easier as you skip the heating part. Cool thing about waxing is that you can go for weeks before you need to be re-waxed and leaves skin super smooth.

Downside to waxing is that it can hurt. I myself am a total wuss when it comes to pain threshold and hence waxing is not for me. But, if you are made of tougher stuff (and trust me that would not be hard) then it just might be for you. You do have to wait for hair to be a certain length before you re-wax so you may have to put up with being a hairy canary for a bit.

Depilatory Creams
These use chemicals to literally melt the hair away. You put on the cream, leave it for about 10-15 minutes, the chemical dissolves the hair and the left over jelly or mousse-like substance is wiped off and with it so is your hair.

Downside is that the chemicals used may react with your skin so you should always do a patch test on a small part of your skin before applying to rest of your body. Wait 48 hours and if there is no reaction you should be OK to use.

Laser
It's the latest trend in hair removal and basically involves pulsed light directed at your hair to destroy the melanin (dark hair follicles). This is why it only really works well on dark hair. To prepare, hair needs to be shaved back so it is not long. The procedure feels like an elastic band being flicked against your skin. Tip – laser therapy that features a cooling function that follows each zap makes it a lot less painful. Hair will fall out about 10-14 days after treatment. You will need between 4-6 treatments spaced 4-6 weeks apart. This definitely reduces hair growth but does not mean you are hair free for ever. You will need some maintenance a couple of times a year, but this varies. It is definitely a way to keep you hair free for long periods of time.

Downside – at about $100 a treatment it is expensive but over a lifetime of shaving or waxing probably works out to be worth it.