Temporary hair removal can be achieved through depilation (removing part of the hair above the skin’s surface) or epilation (removing the entire hair). For many consumers, temporary methods at regular intervals are acceptable. Right now my focus is on devices claiming permanence, but I’ll be discussing temporary methods in the future.
Depilation lasting several hours to several days can be achieved by:
- Shaving or trimming (manually or with electric shavers)
- Depilatories (creams or “shaving powders” which chemically dissolve hair)
- Friction (rough surfaces used to buff away hair)
Epilation lasting several days to several weeks can be achieved by:
- Tweezing
- Waxing (a hot or cold layer is applied and then removed with porous strips)
- Sugaring (similar to waxing, but with a sticky paste)
- Threading (also called fatlah or khite, in which a twisted thread catches hairs as it’s rolled across the skin)
- Rotary epilators (devices which rapidly grasp hairs and pull them out by the root)
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