Bikini season is upon us. As you get all prepped and ready for the weeks of beach days and poolside hangs ahead, there’s something super important that you need to consider: bikini hair removal. 

Sure, cleaning up your bikini line may not be the sexiest, most fun topic. Still, we have a feeling that making sure down there is in top shape will make you feel amazing as ever for your first day donning a swimsuit this season. 

The hair around your bikini line can be tricky to groom. It’s sensitive and prone to razor bumps, ingrown hairs, rashes, and all other sorts of frustrating side effects. To help you find the best hair removal method for you, we’re diving into the many techniques you can try to remove hair around your bikini line.

What Bikini Hair Removal Methods Can I Try?

If you’ve ever attempted to remove your body hair, you probably know a few of these hair removal methods. (We’ve all lived to regret a trip to the waxing salon before… ouch.) 

You can use these techniques anywhere from your legs to your underarms and often even your face. Can you say versatile?!

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to hair removal. At the end of the day, it just comes down to is just what you like best — and that is totally up to you.

Shaving (AKA Old Faithful)

You know it, you’re fine with it, you’ve probably done it before. Shaving is common for a reason. The pros are easy: it’s affordable, accessible, and can be done literally anywhere. 

The cons? Hair grows back fast after shaving, plus you may leave a shaving sesh with ingrowns, bumps, or cuts. Shaving isn’t exactly what we’d call fool-proof, and you have to do it constantly to keep hair away. That’s not even mentioning how awkward it is trying to shave the back of your legs and other hard-to-reach body parts in the shower.

Consider this the devil we know.

Waxing 

You know how they say, “Just rip off the bandaid already”? Imagine if that bandaid was a strip of hot wax on your skin. Waxing can be painful AF. 

It works well and is especially good for keeping an especially well-kempt bikini line (you can really get into all of the nooks and crannies in a way you can’t with razors), but you likely will need to go to a salon to get it done. 

You can wax yourself at home with a cool wax strip — but it still hurts, and you have to rip out your own hair at the root. Um… pass? We’re convinced anyone who can wax themselves at home is a different breed. 

Plus, waxing has its own set of cons. Aside from the pain, waxing can leave burns, ingrown hairs galore, and irritation where your hair once resided. Yeah, not exactly an upgrade.

Depilatory Creams (AKA That Awful Smell)

If you hate razors, tweezers, or anything sharp poking and prodding around your nether regions, we don’t blame you! For those on that page, depilatory creams are a great option. 

Depilatory creams use chemicals to break down the proteins in your hair, making them fall out. Different creams have different instructions, but for most of them, you have to lather some cream on the areas you want to remove hair, wait a few minutes, then wipe away and watch that hair go away. 

Depilatory creams are great, but there is one major negative: the smell. We don’t say smell lightly… most depilatory creams have a stench that lingers. And sometimes (aka most of the time), chemical fumes just aren’t worth it. 

Tweezing 

Pluck, pluck, pluck, repeat. Tweezing is easy, effective, and affordable. Literally, all you need is a tweezer. 

Tweezers are designed to pluck hairs out right from the root. Since the tweezers take the entire hair follicle out, including the root, it will take a while for the hairs to grow back. Sounds good, right?

We think so, but it’s often up for debate. But you know what else takes a while… TWEEZING! If you have a few stray hairs poking out from your bikini line, sure, just tweeze them, and you are good to go. But if you are trying to clean up your entire bikini area, you are going to need to block an hour (or five) on your calendar. 

Tweezing is tedious; you literally need to go hair by hair by hair by hair. While effective, it’s not the most efficient. 

Epilator (AKA That Old School Device)

What would happen if tweezing and shaving had a baby? You would get an epilator. 

Epilators are mechanical devices that essentially pluck patches of your hairs out at once. While tweezing requires you to go hair by hair, an epilator grabs multiple hairs at the same time and takes them all out at once. There are dry epilators you can use without water and wet epilators you can use (yep, you guessed it) with water, which work for hair removal while you are in the shower. 

Since epilators take the entire hair follicle out, the results last longer — about four weeks for most people. Still, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And epilators HURT. Like, really hurt. If you’re willing to suffer for smooth skin, more power to you. 

But epilator devices go way back — they were a hit in the 80s! Today, there are way less painful options on the market, and who wouldn’t choose that?

Laser Hair Removal (AKA Break the Bank)

Laser hair removal is probably one of the most effective ways to remove unwanted hair around your bikini line. But because it is so effective, you have to pay the price… (Like, literally — it’s expensive!)

Laser hair removal uses a concentrated beam of light to remove hair at the follicle and prevent future hair growth. Laser hair removal is a bit of a commitment. One session will not get you the long-term results you probably want, so you’ll need to keep up with the practice for a few sessions to yield good results. 

Plus, you may not know how many sessions laser hair removal will take — so there’s no way to know how much it’s going to cost overall. 

To get laser hair removal done, you’ll need to go to a dermatologist or a medical spa. And hey, as much as we love investing in ourselves, sometimes we don’t have the time or the funds to have someone else get our bikini line in order. 

IPL (Also Known As the New Kid on the Block)

Did we save the best for last? We think so. IPL stands for intense pulsed light. It is a form of light therapy that is very similar to laser hair removal, but there are some key differences. 

While laser uses one single-spectrum light, IPL uses broad-spectrum light pulses. This means that IPL takes a bit longer to work. Buuut, the silver lining is that IPL is safe to DIY at home! 

IPL is used to treat various skin conditions, and permanent hair removal is one of them (and our personal fave). After zapping your hairs with an IPL device, your hair follicles are destroyed (in a painless, easy way). 

Your hair will grow back sparser and slower after each treatment. If saying goodbye to your hair around your bikini line forever is the goal, IPL is seriously a no-brainer. 

At RoseSkinCo. we have two handheld IPL devices you can use at home, but the Lumi IPL Hair Removal Handset is our latest and greatest option which is perfect for removing unwanted bikini hair. 

Are You Ready To Thrive This Summer?!

We sure hope so! We hope these tips help you get beach-ready. 

Sources:

Hair Removal (for Teens) | Nemours KidsHealth

Laser hair removal | Mayo Clinic

Intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment: Uses and what to expect | Medical News Today