The History of Hair Removal

Waxing is undoubtedly one of the most common methods of hair removal. Of course there are a variety of ways to get rid of body hair like: shaving, hair removal creams, threading, epilation and laser. But In this day and age you can easily get rid of any unwanted hair on your body from your face to your intimate area right down to your toes. 

Let's take a look back at where it all started from and why?

▪The Egyptians may have been the forerunners of many beauty rituals, but they invested the most time into hair removal. Women of ancient Egypt removed all of their body hair, including that on their heads, with tweezers (made from seashells) and pumice stones. OUCH!!!

▪It is commonly agreed that full body hair removal originated in Middle Eastern countries. It is thought to have come about as a response to body odour that can be common in a hot climate. It became a religious ritual to promote cleanliness and purification. 

▪During the Roman Empire, the lack of body hair was considered a sign of the classes. Wealthy women and men used razors made from flints, tweezers, creams, and stones to remove excess hair. Again OUCH!!! In fact, even pubic hair was considered uncivilized which is why many famous statues and paintings of Grecian women are painted hairless.

▪During the 1950s, hair removal became more publically accepted. Since many depilatory creams were still irritating to the skin, women relied on razors to shave their legs and underarms and tweezers to groom and shape their eyebrows.

▪Wax strips made their début in the 1960s and quickly became the method of choice for removing unwanted hair under the arms and on the legs.

▪Today, most women rely on some form of hair removal in their everyday beauty routines, whether it is hair removal creams, tweezing, threading, shaving or waxing. Waxing bars, salons and studios, are at an all time high and continue to rise as waxing is one of the most highly requested treatments in beauty salons across the world.

▪So, whatever method you use, the main reason behind hair removal has always been about hygiene and class! 

But if the old methods are anything to go by, I think we would all happily choose waxing any day of the week, wouldn't you agree?

 Written By Ada Osigwe