I came across an interesting article on BritishBeautyBlogger this week. Essentially, it was a lot to do with the power of marketing, sales strategy and how suggestible women can be when it comes to personal beauty and the idea of beauty.
In a nutshell, in order to sell hair removal products to women in China, Veet’s campaign was to plant the seed of doubt in the minds of Chinese women that body hair made them somehow less attractive than someone with smooth hairless skin. I’m no marketeer but I could see the point in it.
If no one was going to buy a product, create a demand for it. Isn’t that what successful marketing is about? Granted, a lot of this was aimed at a person’s self-esteem and you know how it is when you have to sell something to women. Tell them what will make them look better/thinner/more attractive and you pretty much have their attention. The China market is huge, I’m not surprised why Veet did what they did.
Yet, I’m not here about Veet. I actually am a little more curious about hair removal products and whether you use them. You can probably tell by the dearth of mentions of hair removal products, epilators and the like, that its not a subject matter close to my heart 🙂
As you may have guessed, I don’t have a hairy problem. Epilators, hair removal creams, waxing… it all goes whoosh! over my head. Not for want of caring, its for want of having any noticeable bodily hair to remove. I count myself lucky. One less thing to worry about LOL!
But here’s a funny story. When I was in college, my friends would sometimes talk about not having shaved. I was young and naive having just come to the big city from a small town, and for the life of me, I had no idea what they were shaving. I knew it wasn’t their upper lip or their chins. It couldn’t be their head. What on earth were my friends on about?!
I found out later that they meant their legs. The information made me even more perplexed. I’d look at my legs and wonder if I was missing out on something, or if I was abnormal for not shaving! I now realise I’m lucky but to a young impressionable girl, it was a very confusing, perplexing period of my life LOL! 😀
So, I know nothing about hair removal or epilators. How they feel, which works, or even if Veet is the best way to go about it. I am as perplexed about it now as I was as an 18 year old. The only difference is I now embrace my hairless state 😀
Do you have a hairy problem or is it in your head, planted by the advertisements and marketing tricks? Do you have hair removal products you like?
Or do you not care about the common perception of hairless beauty and just embrace your body hair au naturel? 😀
Paris B
I only started being conscious about my hairy legs somewhere in secondary school…. I first started using wax strips that can be bought in pharmacies, but they were painful & expensive…. As for my armpits, i resorted to twisting my head for hours to pluck them…. Oh the agony! That was before i found out about epilators…. Now i swear by my epilator which i could use in shower! Saves time too!
Thanks for sharing, Seraph 🙂 The first time I came across an epilator was a few years ago accompanying my friend to check them out, and I was horrified at how scary it looked! LOL I’m really glad I don’t have to use it.
I have very hair on my legs. Some are long and fine though. At work I wear stockings so I guess it doesn’t matter if I shave or not with those fine hair anyways. But back in high school, I remember girls whispering about “shaving” and I was honestly clueless about this shaving idea in general – be it legs, armpits or anywhere else on the body 😛 But I guess being not hairy is a blessing in disguise though at one point in time I was told that hot girls are usually hairy…Hmm oh well. I am hot in my own terms, hairy or not 🙂
Hehehe well, if you’re hairy, I’m sure you’d be hot – temperature wise maybe? hehehe… sorry couldn’t resist 😉 You are such a lady, Jennifer! When I started working I wore stockings a lot too – went through a fortune in stockings (until I discovered the ones from M&S that do not ladder – Heavens be praised!) but I gave it up after a while. Haven’t worn stockings in years!
thank god I’ve done my IPL.
A little sharing on experience, yes I was hairy as a woman can be when stranded on an island, or… half a man can be.
Before my IPL, I could never sport a clean armpit, in my college days I had to shave twice a day! No kidding. I’ll shave in the morning, head out for the day, come back, it’s about 2-5mm long on the surface, and the root goes deep! Frequently I get 2-4 strands black n stubborn out of each pore.
Oh, did you know using common deodorants you get from drugstores actually promote hair growth? I am so serious about this, particularly Lady Speed Stick, not sure what triggers though.
Since we’re on the topic of hair removal, what are the ladies’ thoughts on bikini wax? 😛
Thank you for sharing your experience! And as for your question, I think its so interesting it deserves a post of its own – so look out for it (and the replies from the ladies out there!) 😀
Owh, Imma hairy chick 😀
Funny enough, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I had smooth hairless legs! 2 weeks after giving birth, the hairs sprung free. I was a bit pissed as u can imagine! But those creams make me itch so I have always preferred epilators. I’ve used them forever. And I run the sucker EVERYWHERE!! Some call me a sadist (coz I like the pain?!), I just like to be hairless! 😉
Haha thanks for sharing, Ika! Must have been a relief to have 9 months of epilator-free smoothness! 😀
Lucky you. I have blinding white skin (just got back from Krabi where my friends dubbed me ‘Vampire Legs’) and coarse black hair. My first Braun epilator was still functioning well after 10+ years, I only had it replaced as I wanted an upgrade. For these reasons, I consider my epilator as one of my best friends for life.
LOL “Vampire Legs” 😀 I know what you mean. Now that I run around outside in the sun, my legs aren’t as blindingly white as before but I can almost commiserate!
It all started in the early 20’s (haha sounds so nostalgic), noticed my hair growing at places where it isn’t supposed to be (thus hot & itchy!). It wasn’t much but due to genes, it’s really dark. Unfortunately I’ve sensitive skin thus it I’ve encountered some bad effects.
So far, I’ve tried:
– plucking (works temporary & painful),
– shaving (have to do it regularly)
– even Veet (which burns my skin)
– cold waxing (which doesn’t work for me)
– hot waxing (works great but it made my armpit skin darker!)
So far the best is those handle held, flash & go laser hair removal/IPL. It’s not advised for very dark skin as it’s meant to device & zap away dark hair roots. I bought mine from a store above Pavilion during a discount sale. Less pain, and better than waxing.
Waxing can be costly monthly & usually after waxing hv to stay off eggs, seafood & put in cooling lotion to sooth it down for me.
Haha Vera, you cracked me up! Thanks for sharing your input on the various hair removal techniques. Who knew how technical it can all be!
Hi Vera, what handheld IPL/laser hair removal gadget did you get?
Recently I saw a video by Dove, about how men and women perceives themselves, and how others perceive them. The sketches were done by FBI trained artist. He sketched the faces based on verbal descriptions from participant herself and descriptions by other people. Maybe you have already seen them. Otherwise, have a look (for some reason, the comment box doesn’t let me insert any URL anymore).
This is a rather powerful ad. It tells us that we are more beautiful than we perceive ourselves. 😀
I’ve seen that Dove video! It is a good one ey?
I shave and pluck (depending on how busy I am, haha) and my underarms actually hurt (when I sweat) or itch like crazy afterwards! Speaking of Dove, they actually have a deodorant which I usually applly after bathing. Really feels so much better, the itchiness/pain is gone! Woohoo haha.
Want to do IPL but am afraid that my sensitive skin cannot take it. :/
Wow my spam guard must be super powerful >.< sorry about that! I do remember watching that video recently and the spoof done for the men. So funny! Did you see that one? Thanks for reminding me about the video. I'll look it up and share.
What epilators would you ladies recommend?