It’s a contentious subject. To remove or not to remove body hair is a personal decision, and nobody should feel pressured into shaving their legs or underarms if they don’t want to.
But if you want to (and I do, because I have dark hair and would have hairy legs on the scale of Rob Kearney if I left them as nature intended), epilation is a method that ticks many of the hair-removal boxes.
Firstly, it lasts much longer than shaving, and, when the hair grows back, it tends to grow back finer – whereas shaving creates a blunt stubble that is immediately obvious.
Secondly, you can do it yourself at home. Going to a waxing salon always feels faintly humiliating and immediately makes me feel as if I must be the hairiest women on the planet and should instantly return to the treetops to be with my fellow gorillas.
There is no method of hair removal that’s without downsides and/or pain and epilation is no different. So let’s get to the root of the issue: essentially, dozens of tweezers pluck the hair from your chosen area simultaneously, and it hurts a bit, but once you grit your teeth and get on with it you will probably find that you don’t mind the ouch factor – after all, waxing isn’t pleasant either.
There are a couple of tricks to make it easier: exfoliate before you epilate to make sure your skin is smooth so the epilator can get in and grab the hairs more easily, and follow your session with an aloe vera-based body cream to reduce irritation (try Vaseline Spray and Go Body Moisturiser Aloe Fresh (€4.65) or any aftersun. Epilating before bed is also a good idea to give the skin time to calm down.
Epilation is notorious for causing ingrown hair lumps and "bumps", and the only way to get rid of these is to use a salicylic-based lotion or wipe and pick out the particularly stubborn ingrowns with special tweezers. These tricks also work well for men who are managing to buck the beard trend and stay clean-shaven.
Aisling is on Twitter @aismcdermott
Braun Silk-epil 7 Wet and Dry cordless, €179.99
Forty tweezers stimutaneously whiz over skin to whip out hairs as quickly as possible grabbing even the shortest stubble. It can be used wet or dry- using it in a warm bath may help ease the pain (here's hoping)
Remington EP7020 Corded 4 in 1, €119.99
Works on really tiny hairs and can be used on underarms and facial hair too if you're feeling brave. A good, no-nonsense epilator.
Waxperts Ingrown Hair Pads,
€9.21 at misebeauty.com
Salicylic acid, rosemary and panthenol work to life ingrown hair, open blocked pores and soothe and calm the skin. Works well on beard bumps too- men should try it after shaving.
Tweezerman Ingrown Hair Tweezers,
€25.50
Sometimes all the salicylic acid in the world won't life the most stubborn post-hair-removal bumps - but this specially designed tweezer digs out every buried hair.
AISLING LOVES
Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara, €12.99
If you love maximum drama and bold lashes, then chances are you'll love this mascara. It outperforms pricier brands with a "wraparound" brush to build up intensity
