If I were really gung ho frugal and that was all I cared about, I probably would go au naturale, and wouldn’t remove any body hair. However, my life isn’t just about saving money wherever possible, no matter the “cost”, I do what is important to me, even if it may cost slightly more, I just try to do those things in the most frugal way possible. I care about aesthetics and want to feel good about how I look, which is why I am willing to spend money on hair removal.
And hey- underarm hair removal saves money in a way, because you end up stinking less and needing to use less deodorant and to shower less often, as underarm hair traps sweat and makes you stink more.
When talking about hair removal, I have to mention that I have never been to a salon to have a professional waxing, nor do I ever plan on it. That seems like a colossal waste of money; I try to do everything myself if at all possible.
You might think that if I didn’t want to spend money on getting a waxing, I’d get the cheapest hair removal stuff- cheapo Bic disposable razors, or something of the sort.
While this may not be a terribly costly option in the US, these cheapo razors usually are bad quality and either don’t do a good job, or can leave you with very bloody cuts. On top of that, I have an issue with disposable things in general, as they are a recurring expense, and I’d rather pay more for something upfront and not contribute to landfills, and not need to keep on buying things over and over again.
Which is why I don’t buy cheapie razors for hair removal.
In the past I’ve used hair removal creams like Nair, but they are so smelly and full of chemicals and, quite frankly, they freak me out. Those can’t possibly be safe to put on your skin repeatedly, especially since after using them, my skin always tended to feel rubbery and wrong, even when following the instructions precisely. And it didn’t even work so well anyhow; I’d always find hairs that just didn’t come off even after the intense chemical routine.
For a point, I was waxing with my homemade sugar wax. Its very cheap, works well, and is easy to do. But to be honest, I found the prep time annoying, and I was constantly burning myself because of my carelessness. Not only that, but I didn’t
particularly like needing to take a shower immediately after hair removal to remove any lingering sugar wax and the residual stickiness.
What do I do now to remove hair?
I use my epilator. An epilator is a machine that works like 100 tweezers going simultaneously; it pulls out hairs by the roots the same way waxing and tweezing does.
I’ll admit, it is quite painful the first few times you do it, but then again, so is waxing and tweezing, and you know what they say- beauty is pain. The more often you epilate, the more desensitized your nerves in the area become, and the less painful it is to remove your hairs by their roots. I’ve been pulling my hairs out by their roots for at least a few years; by now epilating doesn’t hurt me in the slightest; I just feel a faint tickle.
Another benefit of epilating is that it tends to thin out your hairs because roots get destroyed by the repeated epilating and many hairs don’t end up growing back.
Buying an epilator is pretty much a one time expense, aside for the minute amount of electricity the machine uses each time. So while it may seem more expensive than using razors, it works out to be cheaper in the long run. I bought my epilator 5 years ago for 50 dollars and it is still working terrifically, with no sign of slowing down. That works to be 10 dollars on hair removal a year; pretty frugal indeed, and the longer this machine lasts me, the less it ends up costing me each year on average.
If you want a recommendation, I can’t say I’ve tried out so many products and did a comparison, however I have a Phillips Satinelle epilator and I’ve been very pleased.
It makes hair removal a breeze. Within a few minutes or less, I can remove all the hair I want to get rid of. There’s no mess, no need to shower before or after. And no prep time. Easiest hair removal method in my book, and in my estimation, pretty darn frugal as well. And because its so easy, if I just have a minute I can remove hair from one part of my body and leave the rest for another time when I have another spare minute or two. Its terrific.
No, I am not getting paid to write a review of this epilator. I’m sharing what I do merely because I love it so much and find it to be the best and most frugal hair removal method for me. Of course if you’d decide to buy that epilator through the link above I’d get a slight commission, but other than that, no.
Do you remove body hair? What hair removal method do you use? Why do you use that hair removal method per se? How much would you say you spend yearly on hair removal?
Have you ever used an epilator? What do you think about that type of hair removal? What type of epilator did you use?
Linking up to WFMW, Frugal Friday,
