We try everything to get rid of unwanted hair, like shaving, waxing, plucking, laser hair removal treatments, and even Nair if you can stand the burning feeling. It's a battle. To make things more difficult, methods that are cheaper are often only short term solutions. I am sure most of us have been told at one point or another that shaving will make the hair grow back thicker and darker, and therefore we should not shave too often. However, if you're a fan of shaving (or rather a fan of the price of shaving compared to the price of other methods) then I have good news for you! It's a myth that is dead wrong.
Hair follicles are made up of keratin protein and become tapered at the ends once they become long enough, making the hair feel softer. When we shave this cuts the tapered ends to become blunt ends that are sharper to the touch and more rigid. "Women shave their legs all the time. They would be like gorillas if the hair was coming back thicker or darker...Plus we would never have to think about hair loss on our heads if cutting the hair shaft would make it come back thicker" dermatologist Amy McMichael ensures Dina Maron with Scientific American.
That being said, go shave-crazy!
However, along with all the great things that come with the upcoming fall season (pumpkin spice, sweaters, and hot beverages woohoo!) one of the best is that we women can get away with shaving our legs less often. So since we will be wearing pants soon anyways, now is a great time to begin waxing if you have ever thought about it. Waxing your legs will have longer lasting results and over a long period of time, it does reduce hair growth since it damages the hair follicles deeper down than shaving does. The only downside is that you have to wait for it to grow back long enough to wax, you cannot shave in between waxing sessions. That is why I suggest sweater weather as the perfect time to do this, see if you like it and start to reduce that hair growth so summer you is a little more fabulous!
Ipatenco, S. (2015, April 15). Does Hair Eventually Stop Growing With Waxing?. In Livestrong.com. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/551237-does-hair...
Maron, D. F. (2014, August 26). Fact or Fiction?: If You Shave (or Wax), Your Hair Will Come Back Thicker. In Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-...
Have something to say or a story to tell? Request to join our Wausau community at https://muse.theodysseyonline.com/apply.