Epilady: How to Get Smooth Legs Without Waxing or Shaving

Unfortunately, I'm one of those girls that have been gifted with fast growing and rather thick hair. This pleasure extends from my head to my legs and other parts of my body. At its worst it's thick, coarse, and if I really wanted to have smooth legs I would have to shave every single day. That's a routine that I can't imagine actually getting into. My appearance has never been that important to me, and I couldn't imagine being bound to a razor or electric shaver daily to keep irritating stubble at bay. That being said, I still want smooth legs! I'm a girl, aren't I?

Why don't I just wax if shaving's not going to cut it? To put it simply, it's too messy. Even when I do it "right" I still somehow end up getting it all over my fingers from the wax soaking through the strips. The stickiness gets all over everything, and depending on the kind of wax you use, it can be a pain trying to get it off. The best I've found that is easily washed away with water isn't extremely effective. Perhaps I'm just using the wrong brand and my readers will point me in the right direction on an easily cleaned up, effective wax, but I have to say I'm not going back. I'm bad at waxing all around.

I found a better solution, or actually took the example of my mother. When I was younger (still using the razor), she was using something that seemed to me a medieval torture device. Electric tweezers? It should be noted that I wouldn't touch the wax at this point either so I couldn't imagine plucking individual hairs one by one out of my body. Can you say ouch?

Eventually I got around to trying it, and I was surprised at the results and success I had. I won't bother lying about the pain; it still hurts as much as waxing because it's primarily the same thing. The Epilady pulls out the hair a few at a time as you work your way over the skin. It's not as fast as waxing so you could argue that it hurts more, right? Perhaps. In my opinion it's about the same. I prepare for Epilady the same was as a wax treatment: taking a shower, exfoliating my skin, and taking a pain killer to dull the pain. With these three simple steps, I make the experience a lot less painful and also easier for myself.

I know I probably haven't sold anyone on the Epilady yet; all I've really done is equate it with waxing and give you tips on how to make either process less painful. My main motivation is that it's hugely less messy, more convenient, you can do it anywhere you want to whenever you'd like, and you still get weeks of smooth skin. As any avid waxer also knows, the more you do it the easier it gets. Your hair thins out dramatically with each recurring use, and that in itself helps immensely with the pain.

An Epilady is also a one time buy as opposed to waxing or razors. If used long enough, it will pay for itself (I know some can be quite expensive; my suggestion is look on ebay for a cheap one you can try out first and upgrade if you need/want to).

For best results, don't follow the directions exactly. They say you can wait up to 6 weeks before having to do it again. Yes, you can wait that long if you really want to let all the hair grow back in. It'll be thinner, yes, but in my experience save yourself even more pain and do it every couple weeks. It'll take a remarkably shorter time, you'll have much less discomfort because the hair is so sparse, and you'll stay smooth longer if you think about it. Since the hair grows at different rates, and you do have to have it a minimum length to use the Epilady or wax, the more frequently you do it, the smoother your legs will be, longer.

I've been using the Epilady for a couple years now and would never go back to shaving or waxing. There are other products out there like various creams that chemically remove the hair with results that are supposed to last twice as long as shaving. For me that'd be every couple days, and I don't want chemicals on my skin that often. Your other option is laser hair removal. If I could afford this, I would probably do it, but I'm just a poor college student right now without a few thousand dollars to blow. Besides, my mom had it done and she's not completely hairless. Does that sound like it's worth the thousands of dollars, a dozen or so treatments, and the discomfort immediately afterwards from the lasers on sensitive skin? Not to me; I'll stick with my Epilady.