Growing a moustache for oovember may be fun for the boys but the rest of us don’t have to join in! If you’re dark, you may have had visible facial hair since you were quite young, particularly above the upper lip. The rest of us tend to get more whiskery as we get older, which can be a bit alarming.
If there’s one steadfast beauty rule, it’s “say no to the mo!” Here’s how …
**Threading
**New Zealand Woman’s Weekly stylist Annie Bargiacchi is a huge fan of threading since she started using it to keep her eyebrows in shape. Here’s what she reckons about the treatment:
“I’ve been going for about three months now and don’t think I could ever go back to tweezing or waxing, as it gives such a clean and well-shaped look and only takes about two minutes. I started threading because I noticed a friend had the most amazing shaped eyebrows and that’s how I got on to my beautician, Debbie Delgado, who trained in Los Angeles and has more than 10 years experience.
“Threading is a hair-removal technique that uses cotton thread. The thread is twisted and rolled along the surface of the skin, entwining the hairs, which are then lifted from the follicle. Threading is more effective and less painful than tweezing, hair regrowth becomes finer and sparser after regular treatments, and the skin is not pulled in the process – great for those with sensitive skin.
“It’s important to find an experienced beautician. Inexperience can result in uneven eyebrows, hair breakage, ingrown hairs and unnecessary pain.”
Annie’s beautician, Debbie, says threading can be used anywhere but normally you’ll see it done on the eyebrows, upper lip, chin and forehead. It’s particularly suited to facial areas because it doesn’t pull at the skin, only the hair, which can be very short.
Treatments with Debbie cost about $20. East Day Spas in Auckland and Wellington also do threading, with prices ranging from $15 to $45.
**Waxing
**In the bad old days, waxing was a messy process but there are now some great products. Waxing strips are the best option for the facial area (some people even do their eyebrows, although personally I wouldn’t risk it).
With wax strips:
Ensure the skin is clean, dry and free from oils and body lotions.
Warm the wax by briskly rubbing between palms.
Slowly separate the strip.
Place strip on and smooth it down firmly three or four times in the direction of the hair growth.
Quickly remove the strip, holding skin taut in the opposite direction to the hair growth.
Continue using the strip until no longer effective.
**Permanent hair removal
**Yes, it’s more expensive but for sensitive areas like the face, investing in permanent hair removal can be worthwhile.
There are different methods to choose from. If you have fine and light-coloured hair, then electrolysis is your best option. This has been used for years and involves treating one hair at a time, passing a very small amount of current into the follicle and then tweezing it out.
For this to work, regular weekly treatments are required over the course of several months. It’s a great option for smaller areas like eyebrows or upper lip, where precision is necessary but does require a bit of commitment.
oost specialists – like Caci oedispa which has outlets all around New Zealand – also offer laser hair-removal options. These work by generating heat that causes irreparable damage to the hair follicle.
Coarse, dark hair on light skin is the easiest to treat – it doesn’t work on fair hair and darker-skinned people can end up with some discolouration. Several sessions are needed to treat hair in all phases of growth and facial areas may require more treatments for perfect results.
Costs vary on the area being treated, but treatments on the upper lip start from $100 a session and up to eight sessions may be required.