Humans are mammals. Mammals have breasts and hair. On male human mammals, having large-sized mammary glands can make an individual the object of scorn, but having copious amounts of body hair generally doesn’t elicit much comment. On females however, large mammary glands are totally awesome, but having lots of body hair totally isn’t.

In fact, lately, there seems to be a trend towards a cleaner, hair-free look even among men. This is why the means to apply hair removal methods, like shaving, depilatory lotions, electrolysis, and waxing are so common.

The different hair removal methods available to people today all have their benefits and their setbacks: shaving can usually cause hair to grow back slightly thicker, and normally has to be done every day, depilatory lotions can irritate the skin, especially if a person has sensitive skin or is prone to skin allergies, and of course, waxing hurts like crazy.

Out of all of these methods though, the longest-lasting and cleanest-looking approach is definitely waxing. Body waxing, bikini waxing, and even eyebrow waxing, are pretty normal procedures nowadays.

Despite the considerable ouch-factor of having chunks of your hair yanked out of you by the root, home wax kits and professional waxing salons continue to do brisk business. The great thing about waxing is that even though it’s literally a pain, it’s a pain that a person normally has to suffer through just once every two to eight weeks, as opposed to measures like shaving, which often needs to be done daily. Another really cool thing about waxing is that over time, if it’s done regularly, less and less hair may grow back, and you would no longer have to wax as frequently, or, if you’re lucky, at all.

When waxing, a wax combination –for body waxing, synthetic waxes are used, but for bikini waxing and eyebrow waxing, a wax combination of oil and beeswax is often used- is applied thinly over the area, and a strip of cloth or paper is pressed against it and –here’s the part where it people usually go “YEAOWCH!”- quickly ripped off in the direction opposite to the hair growth.

There is another method that is also sometimes used, since it’s great for people with sensitive skin. It employs a kind of wax known as “hard wax” or “strip wax,” and it’s applied to the skin more thickly. No cloth or paper strip is placed over the area. Instead, when the hard wax cools and hardens, it is removed by the cosmetologist.

Just about any part of the body can be waxed; the Brazilian wax or Sphinx wax –a bikini waxing variant where all of the hair in the pubic region is removed completely- is pretty much proof of this. Of course, when you’re waxing sensitive bits like your genitals or your nipples, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female; it has to be done by a licensed professional, such as a cosmetologist or an esthetician, to make sure screw-ups and complications are minimized.

There are certain parts of the body that shouldn’t be waxed though, even with professional help. Parts of the body where the skin is especially thin or sensitive, such as ears, nose, eyelids and the palms of a person’s hands shouldn’t be waxed. Normally, hair doesn’t grow in these areas anyway, but if and when they do, it’s best to use gentler methods.

One of the dangers of waxing is that if your skin is weakened by medications or certain medical conditions, the skin can sometimes tear when the wax is removed. There’s also a small chance of infection occurring when you wax, and people who have circulatory problems, like those who have varicose veins or diabetes are usually discouraged from waxing, since they can be more susceptible.

Waxing should also never be done on damaged skin or skin with warts, pimples, or rashes, since the procedure can hamper healing.

On the less serious side of waxing drawbacks, there is, of course, the pain. And the pain. And have I mentioned how much waxing hurts? Sorry for being so dramatic – I’m having flashbacks of some of my earlier hair removal experiences. You actually do get used to the pain once you’ve done it a few times.

Another problem with body waxing is that if it isn’t done right, it can disturb the hair follicles and cause the hair in the waxed area to grow in different directions, making it appear unruly when it does grow back. This can be really annoying when it happens after an eyebrow waxing; imagine having permanently messy eyebrows. It’s a make-up nightmare.

Still another drawback to waxing is that it can often lead to ingrown hairs, minor bleeding, and red bumps, especially in areas where the hair is thick. The ingrown hairs can be avoided by cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing your skin regularly, but once they’re there, they’re virtually impossible to get rid of.

Still, if you want long-lasting hair removal results without having to resort to prohibitively expensive and/or tedious methods like laser hair removal and tweezing, waxing is the best way to go; whether you’re body waxing, eyebrow waxing, or even bikini waxing.

Tags: Body, Body Hair by admin
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If you’ve just lost a lot of weight or have just had a baby, it’s likely that your stomach isn’t as firm as it used to be anymore. Usually, in cases like these, a tummy tuck can be a good way to firm it back up. A tummy tuck, which is also known as a complete abdominoplasty, is a cosmetic surgical procedure, where some of the extra skin and fat around your midsection –what some might refer to as a “spare tire”- is removed.

A tummy tuck can do wonders for getting you to slip back into pre-baby weight jeans, but if you want to look good in a bikini or a pair of speedos, the scarring that can come with it can often be a bit of a problem.

Fortunately, there are certain kinds of tummy tucks that reduce this little surgical issue significantly. With a partial tummy tuck, or a mini tummy tuck, a much smaller incision is made, and the subsequent scarring is much less evident. This kind of tummy tuck is sometimes also referred to as a scarless tummy tuck, but if truth be told, it’s more of a “really tiny scar” tuck.

One of the reasons why mini/partial tummy tucks are referred to as “scarless” is because the smaller size of this kind of abdominoplasty’s scar tends to make it much easier to conceal, even if you opt to try on an outfit that’s more than just a little risqué.

There are a number of differences between complete and partial tummy tucks, but general procedure is still mostly the same: excess skin and fat around the lower abdominal area are removed.

With a complete tummy tuck though, instead of a small cut, the incision made is normally from hip to hip, above the pubic area.
There are a lot of ways for a surgeon to make the scar less visible, even with a complete abdominoplasty. Nonetheless, a partial tummy tuck is still much easier to conceal.

Whether you choose to get a complete or a partial one, you will first have to consult your doctor, to make sure that you are a good candidate for the kind of tummy tuck you want to get. For a partial tummy tuck, it’s usually great for people who don’t have as much extra skin or fat to remove. A complete tummy tuck, on the other hand, is a slightly more dramatic procedure, and it’s best for those with a lot of extra belly flab to get rid of.

Because a complete tummy tuck is a procedure that’s considerably more invasive than the scarless kind of tummy tuck, the recovery period tends to be longer, and the risks of complications are higher. However, if you really have a lot of excess skin and fat, this kind of tummy tuck may be your only option.

On the other hand, a partial tummy tuck can be a lot simpler, but may not cover as much area as the complete procedure. Among the benefits of the mini tummy tuck though, is the fact that usually, a patient doesn’t have to go completely under for the procedure. Most of the time, a local anesthetic and a sedative are used together, and the procedure can normally be done in about two hours or less.

If a mini tummy tuck goes well, a patient can usually be released to recover in their own homes a few hours after the procedure is completed. For both complete and partial tummy tucks, it really isn’t a good idea to do anything too strenuous or physically taxing for a few days or even weeks after the procedure. However, for the scarless tummy tuck, a patient can usually go back to work or whatever normal activities they might have, within a few days.

In any surgical procedure where a person with a knife and a mask slices you open and cuts out bits of you and gets rid of them, there will be a bit of pain involved. There are drugs for that. One of the great things about partial tummy tucks is that over-the-counter pain medications are usually enough to help you deal with whatever postoperative pain you might experience.

For both kinds of procedures, it can take three to six months before your body recovers completely, and even though you won’t be able to avoid the scarring that can occur, those scars usually fade over time.

Regardless of the kind of tummy tuck you opt to get though, whether it be the complete abdominoplasty, or the scarless tummy tuck/mini tummy tuck/partial tummy tuck, success isn’t always guaranteed, and sometimes, touch-ups or additional procedures might be necessary before you get the sculpted look you want. Whether or not that happens though, you should never forget to schedule follow-up consultations with your doctor so that they can detect any possible problems and help you manage your recovery.

Tags: Body, Cosmetic Procedures, Weight Issues by admin
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