Hair down THERE??

[soprano]

I just wax it all. Taught myself to do body sugaring and I cook my own sugaring goop, so it is dirt cheap. Quite painful at first but not nearly as bad after that. I went to a salon the very first time and I think that letting someone else do it made it easier to take the plunge.

I've been doing my legs for 14 years now and I've collected about a billion tricks to minimize pain - usually I don't bother over the winter, so the first waxing in the spring is pretty bad.

Things that help with the pain:

• Don't wax when you are pre-menstrual, because you will be more sensitive to pain then.
• Take some ibuprofin about an hour beforehand.
• Or, have a nice big glass of wine.
• Watch TV if you can. The distraction helps.
• Shower beforehand to get your natural body oils/sebum off the hair, and don't use any lotions before waxing. Oils and lotions make the hair slippery, so it won't pull out, but it will yank hard enough to really hurt.
• Experiment with dusting the area with cornstarch just before waxing it. With some methods it helps, but with others it is counterproductive.
• Wax as frequently as you can manage. Once a week is far less painful and messy than once a month.
• Rip the wax strips off quickly, parallel to the skin, against the direction of hair growth. If you pull at right angles to the skin, it yanks on the hair (ouch!) but won't pull it out. For traditional body sugaring (no strips) pull *in* the direction of growth.
• Never ever go back over an area with wax, even if you missed some hair. (OK to do traditional sugaring that doesn't use strips.)
• The faster you pull off the strips or sugaring goop, the less it hurts. Really.
• If you chicken out, use baby oil to get real wax off your skin, and warm water for sugaring goop.
• If it's your first time, take an antihistamine beforehand to help prevent the area from puffing up.
• Tucks pads (for hemmoids) take down all kinds of inflammation. They really, really work.

[WindingRoad]

Personally I only do the bikini line. I found some really good wax at Sallys that doesn't require strips so you can get it in all those little weird spots that strips don't like to go. It's a green wax, just heat it, put it on, it hardens and rip it fast. It's not THAT bad especially if u just do the pantyline. I find I have WAY less irritation waxing than shaving.

[zoom-zoom]

I can't believe no one has mentioned this, yet:


It's like $2/can and works like a charm (it's a powder that you mix with water to your desired consistency--kinda like Neet, but way cheaper). My friends and I call it "brazilian in a can." The only downside is that regrowth is painful for cycling (this is true of any regrowth, though). I'm starting to think that I need to just do a landing strip and paint this stuff on the bikini area. But it's so much easier to slap it on all the hair.

Someday I may go the permanent hair removal route. I think a LOT of my saddle issues this Spring were actually hair-related, since they started in earnest not long after "Magic Powdering" my hooha. It's like the hair directly in contact with the most sensitive areas needs to be at least a quarter of an inch long or it's like sandpaper...ow!

[badger]

my first foray into Brazilian was done by a technician and she ripped the fold between my labia. Seriously. It bled and bled and she said "oh, I don't know what happened". pfft. I didn't really, either, until I left and went straight to the walk in clinic where I was told that it's a tear but it's straight and because of where it was, it's moist and will just heal back together without stitches. I was choked that I paid $80 (and I even tipped her!) for that kind of abuse.

After that, I did them myself. It does hurt, and it's messy and not fun, but it's far cheaper than getting someone else to do it.

Again, I can't give kudos enough to laser. It's great not having to do anything down there other than trimming the length of the remaining hair.

I would love to get my legs lasered, but for now I'll just keep epilating them.

[nscrbug]

I can't believe no one has mentioned this, yet:


It's like $2/can and works like a charm (it's a powder that you mix with water to your desired consistency--kinda like Neet, but way cheaper). My friends and I call it "brazilian in a can." The only downside is that regrowth is painful for cycling (this is true of any regrowth, though). I'm starting to think that I need to just do a landing strip and paint this stuff on the bikini area. But it's so much easier to slap it on all the hair.

Someday I may go the permanent hair removal route. I think a LOT of my saddle issues this Spring were actually hair-related, since they started in earnest not long after "Magic Powdering" my hooha. It's like the hair directly in contact with the most sensitive areas needs to be at least a quarter of an inch long or it's like sandpaper...ow!

Ok...I'm intrigued...since I am a shaver. So what is the deal with this stuff? How does it differ from normal shave creams? I currently use Aveeno Simply Smooth shave cream and I like it, but I still will get bumps and a bit of inflammation post-shave. Where would I find this Magic powder stuff? And what is so special in it that it says it's "formulated for Black Men"? Not that it makes a difference...I'm just curious.

Linda

[OakLeaf]

Coarse, curly hair has a tendency to become ingrown, especially on thin or soft skin. Black men's chins and women's hoo-has have that in common ...

[Owlie]

Linda, I think it's just a chemical depilatory, like Nair, but you can vary the consistency yourself. And it's probably stronger than the stuff that you'd normally buy, because of the difference in hair texture/thickness.

[shootingstar]

Am beginning to feel abnormal here.

I don't ride with chamois ....I haven't. And I've done long rides 100+ kms. several times. I haven't cycled with chamois for past...18 yrs. I've done decent mileage. Some years I piled in 7,000-9,000 kms. annually.

I don't do the stuff down there.
Well, I don't know how to swim.
But really I don't have a problem. I think I've been frozen in time after I turned 30-35.

But then I don't need to shave 'pits and legs. I'm getting hairless as I age. (Thank you mother for this hereditary trait!)

[nscrbug]

Linda, I think it's just a chemical depilatory, like Nair, but you can vary the consistency yourself. And it's probably stronger than the stuff that you'd normally buy, because of the difference in hair texture/thickness.

Hmmm...still a bit confused. I see that it does say depilatory on the front of the container, but it also refers to it as a "shaving powder", so do you still use a razor with it?

[Owlie]

It seems like Nair in powder form--mix up, apply, scrape off. The little Google search I did seems to turn up "doesn't require a razor"

[OakLeaf]

There's a wonderful Lebanese movie called "Caramel," centered around women who work in a salon.

I haven't made caramel in so long I'd be a little afraid to try it. I don't even think I have a candy thermometer any more.

[Owlie]

I'm sure there's a joke about sugaring one's nethers...

[zoom-zoom]

Hmmm...still a bit confused. I see that it does say depilatory on the front of the container, but it also refers to it as a "shaving powder", so do you still use a razor with it?

Nope, you'd use it like other depilatory creams--apply, leave it on a bit, then scrape it off. I actually have a Pampered Chef pan scraper that I keep in the shower for this purpose.

It's dirt cheap and I find it more effective than the $$ products marketed toward women.

[Chicken Little]

Is anyone besides be just a little freaked out at the extent people are going to with this hair removal stuff? I'm feeling like a few people are a little over the top. We are adult women, ya know?

I'm going to catch it for this, I know.

[lph]

well... who's "people"?
there are about a gazillion women on this board, a lot of us have at some point had some problems with hair and bike riding, so the chances are pretty enormous that a thread asking if anyone shaves off everything would get answers from the people who do do exactly that. While the ones who can't be bothered are busy biking and writing about other things...