For the face and the genital area, I use an electric shaver. The horizontal ones, not the circular ones. I do have to use a circular one for that last bit of hairs under the nose.
Elsewhere, I use an epilator. Basically it's like using a bunch of tweezers all at once. It's not as uncomfortable as that sounds, even during the first time. It's also extremely effective and long lasting, and it seems like the hairs come back thinner/finer each time. It's wonderful, and it means I basically get to have nearly smooth, hairless skin pretty much all the time. I only seem to need to use it again every 1-2 weeks, and only in spots where I notice hairs, which are often small enough that at a passing glance, most others might not notice. Some areas like the armpits a but more often, but even then, not every day. I also especially love how the hairs don't have to be very long to be gripped by the epilator. They'll say 0.2 cm / 0.1 inch but sometimes/often it'll grip hairs even shorter than that.
By far, the epilator has been the most effective, and extremely cost effective. The only downside is you can't use the epilator on yourself on your back, so hopefully you don't suffer from a hairy back.
It's much better than regular shaving all over. It wasn't the easiest thing, and it seemed to take a long time.. about an hour each time. And as I gain weight I wear it only ever got harder each time. And the worst part, was I had to repeat this every 2, perhaps at most 3 days.
Depilatory (hair removal creams) may sound like the perfect answer, but they aren't. Not by a long shot. It starts to get expensive if you stick do it. It does last longer than shaving, but only by a day or so. And they don't pull hairs out by the root the way epilators / waxing does. The chemicals are also very caustic and you absolutely must remove it within 10 minutes, or it will burn. So you can't just lather up your whole body in one go. Otherwise, you'll end up with burns and that's not pleasant. It's even worse on the genital area, which if left on too long, it'll burn for 1-2 days and if it ever rubs against underwear, you'll be in near constant agony. So, just don't do it.
Waxing can be effective for awhile, but has a number of downsides that make it not worthwhile. It gets expensive very fast, especially if you go to a salon to get it done all over. You could learn how to do it yourself and the supplies aren't even that expensive, but it's very, very messy, and you still have to contort into bizarre positions that only get harder as you gain weight. But if that's not bad enough, you have to wait until the hairs are at least 1/4 of an inch (0.64 cm) long. Disgusting! Made me want to vomit! That defeats the point. So don't do it.
I haven't attempted laser hair removal or electrolysis yet, primarily due to cost and potential travel time, since I'd have to go to a specialty business for it, which may also have limited hours that could interfere with work. But supposedly, YMMV.
2 years
