Let’s be real. How many of you have put yourself through something painful to make yourself look more beautiful? I know I have. With how society portrays women today, it’s difficult to not look at yourself in the mirror and think that there’s something you haven’t done to make yourself look good enough. A couple common things women do include waxing and micro-blading.

According to Taylor Barringer, a writer for ELLE, the Ancient Egyptians started the hairless women trend. They would remove all of their hair, head to toe, with tweezers and wax. Also, being hairless was a sign of your class which is why Ancient Greek statues feature hairless women. When waxing strips became popular in the 1960's, people stopped using them because they damaged the skin. For me, I used Nair because I figured it was the most efficient way for me to get hairless, smooth legs. Unfortunately, my legs would become red and burn. But, I kept it up for months despite the pain and discomfort because I thought I needed to be as smooth as possible.

Ever hear of micro-blading? I didn’t until a couple weeks ago. It’s another beauty treatment women put themselves through to keep themselves looking beautiful. Julie Schott, a writer for ELLE, says that micro-blading is, “micro-blading is a form of tattoo artistry where pigment is implanted under your skin with a manual handheld tool instead of a machine”. Before the procedure begins, patients are given numbing cream so that the pain and discomfort are somewhat bearable and the process then feels like a bunch of scratches. If you’re interested, it does last up to 3 years, but costs around $900.

Personally, I have tried completely shaving “down there,” which was super uncomfortable for weeks, and then I would continue to shave my legs when I had severe sunburn. I did those things because I was convinced that being as hairless as possible would make me look and feel more attractive. However, you know what I learned? I learned that doing things for me makes me feel more confident and beautiful; not being like a hairless cat.