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It’s been a long harsh winter and you’ve yearned for your time in the sun. And on the beach. And in a bikini. It’s finally upon us–spring! With your Spring Break plans underway, you’ve probably got everything ticked off for a perfect beachy getaway. And then comes the issue of grooming. Shaving your legs and pits is easy. Shaving your nether regions is a punishment waiting to happen though. What are the options? Well, the best plans won’t be without a little pain, but then again pain is beauty… or something, right? Let’s explore.
Waxing: We’re going to have to get real on you and say that the best way to remove hair so it stays away the longest and looks the smoothest, is to wax. if the idea of waxing your sensitive lady bits is horrific to you, don’t worry–it’s really not that bad, especially if you’re just removing the hair that your bikini bottoms don’t cover. If you’re brave, a Brazilian will take care of as much as you want, including (or not, it’s up to you) the upper anterior area called the mons pubis (word of advice– that part hurts the most when waxing).
Sugaring: Sugaring is like the training wheels version of waxing. It’s been around since 1900 BC. It removes hair with a sugar substrate that works in the same way as waxing as far as ripping hair out goes, but it doesn’t stick to your skin– just the hair– so the pain factor is decreased quite a bit. It can be applied at room temperature too, so you won’t have to worry about burning yourself. There are actually many recipes out there on how you can make the sugar substrate yourself–it looks and feels like a clear amber-colored taffy and is able to be used more than once to remove hair, unlike wax. If you’re not into DIY hair removal substances though, you can always pick up some waxing sugar from a beauty supply store.
MORE: Are You Giving Yourself Ingrown Hairs? How to Really Tackle Hair Removal
Depilatory Cream: Again, waxing is for the fearless (it’s really not that bad, honestly) but if the idea of that just makes your brain go, “NOPE!” that’s not the only route. A painless option that won’t leave stubble is a depilatory cream. You should be really careful with using these around sensitive areas like around your vagina. It can, uh… sting. This should only be used to get rid of any hair peeking through a swimsuit, NOT for all hair removal down there. Also, you may skip it, but you’ll really want to do this before using a depilatory cream on your sensitive regions–definitely do a patch test to see if you’re allergic to the stuff first. You don’t want to find out when it’s too late and on a really sensitive area.
Shaving: If you’re out of time and only have a razor, you have our blessing, however don’t just go to town. You need to take some precautions so it doesn’t turn into an itchy, razor-bumpy mess. The first thing you should do is carefully trim the hair so it’s about a quarter of an inch long, max. If your hair’s too long when shaving, you’ll snag hairs and that leads to many ouchies. This is best done in the shower when it’s a warm damp environment to soften the hairs. Use a shaving cream or even hair conditioner on the area you want to shave. Pull your skin as taut as possible so no loose skin causes nicks–utter agony. The real gamble here is that if you shave in the direction of hair, there’s less chance for in-grown hairs to form, but you won’t get as close a shave as going against the grain. You could call it even, and shave across the grain, or sideways if your hair grows downwards, which may get closer and not leave as vulnerable to ingrown hairs. After that, you need to keep up with exfoliating the area, gently please. Aloe vera or baby oil will help soothe any redness and make you feel smoother
