You’re all set to take that summer holiday you’ve been planning for ages and as you head to the airport you have that nagging feeling you’ve forgotten something. Passport? Check. Tickets? Check. Hotel confirmation? Check. So what could it be? Whilst you slide into your airline seat and reach down to tuck your purse between your feet in a position you never knew you had the flexibility to pull off, you see your legs and it hits you… Hair removal! You didn’t have the time or simply forgot. What to do?
Go local
While your head is spinning with ideas of DIY hair removal like trying the hair burning trick with deodorant and a lighter, slow down and relax. First of all, unless you’re headed for the jungle or Himalayas, most cities do have waxing parlors. Even if you don’t usually wax, it’s probably a better idea than trying to continue your laser treatments in a salon run by complete strangers.
E-raze them
If you have no other option, try some local shops — you know those that sell everything from long-life milk to suntan cream, clumpy coffee, and stale cookies — and you’re pretty sure to find a pack of disposable razors. This may not fit in with your regular hair removal regimen and you may hate razor rash and itchy skin after shaving your bikini line (not to mention those ingrown hairs that you’ll be dealing with when you get home), but it’s better than sporting a body covered by stubble when you’re lounging pool side. Just try lay your hands on a known brand like Venus (or at least one with instructions in English, albeit a local attempt at the language). Instead of forking out on a can of shaving cream that you’ll have to dump as it doesn’t meet your liquid allowance, just use hair conditioner or a bar of soap.
Peaches & prickly pears
As far as the peach fuzz growing on your upper lip, waxing should cover that. If there are no aforementioned parlors, grab some thread and try threading (painful as it is). If that doesn’t work for you try get your hands on Veet (if you can stand the smell). If you have dark hair and can tolerate the peach fuzz just in a shade of blonde not black until your return, then bleach if you can find a pharmacy (or above mentioned shop) that stocks it. Definitely don’t shave unless you want to sport a 5 o’clock shadow on your face by morning!
If you’re a natural-born tweezer, i.e. tweeze small areas like eyebrows and prickly pear hairs jutting from your chin (aka chin stragglers), then perhaps you have one tucked away in your carry-on. If not, we’re pretty sure you can find one locally. Remember, no matter how desperate you are, trying to tweeze unwanted hair from every area of your body will outlast your vacation.
Prepare or Go Bear
If you couldn’t remember to depilate before departure, then something is seriously wrong with your hair removal regime. Perhaps regular, repeated, costly, and time-consuming visits to salons or professionals are not for you. Perhaps it’s time to opt for a DIY solution like the FDA-cleared Sensilight Mini by Sensica. Not only is the device designed for home use and based on proven, cutting-edge Reactive Pulsed Light (RPL) technology that disables hair re-growth at the root using light and heat, but it is a professional-grade, non-invasive, permanent, and painless hair removal process. If you start the first 4 treatments two weeks apart from each other and then, do one every 4 weeks, you’ll see ultimate results in 8-12 treatments depending on your hair color. So, if you’ve got into the swing of things there will be no jetting off without removing your hair.
If all things fail, try going au naturale — after all, you’re on vacation, what are the chances of bumping into someone from the office?
