Q. How long does epilating last? Why am I not hair free for 4 weeks?
A.
Epilating is always more effective than shaving. That’s because epilating removes hair from the root, giving you smooth skin that lasts between 3 to 6 weeks. While epilators work best on the legs, epilators can be used on the arms, bikini line, face, and underarms. See all our epilator hair removal reviews here. There are even smaller epilators for epilating the face. In general, hair growth is not noticeable during the first week or two but increases during the 3rd and 4th week.
While many companies advertise that epilation leaves skin smooth up to 4 weeks, it is possible that you could see regrowth much sooner depending on the area and your own personal hair growth cycle. In fact, some consumers report that even after epilating they see hair after a week or so. This is not a shortcoming of epilators. In this article, hopefully you will have a better understanding what to expect with regrowth.
Here are the factors that affect hair growth after epilation.
1. Hair Growth Cycle
It is not likely that you will be smooth when you first start epilating because all of your hair is in different cycles. We talked about how the hair growth cycle affects smoothness before. There are three phases: Anagen, Telogen, and Catagen. Not all the hair is growing out at the same time. After you epilate your hair, hairs that haven’t reached the surface may soon grow out in a few days or weeks. It is best to epilate these hair 2 – 3 days after they first appear so you can try to get as many hairs close to the same cycle. If you epilate every 1 – 4 weeks for a couple of times you will have had a chance to remove all of your hair from the root. At this point you will be able to go smoother for longer.
2. Personal Hair Growth Cycle
While age, weather, hormones, and genetics play a part on how fast the hair grows back, it also depends on where you epilate. Some areas will grow back faster. As you get older, you hair will grow back slower. Younger women have to epilate more often than older women.
3. Broken Hair
Whenever you remove hair from the root, it is possible that the hair may break above or below the skin’s surface instead of it being pulled out from the root. When the hair breaks, it is a lot like shaving it. You will see the hair much sooner than you expected. Broken hair increases the chance of developing ingrown hair since the breakage creates a sharp angle on the hair. That’s why it is so important to take proper epilation steps to minimize the chance of hair breaking.
4. Nutrition
Foods rich in Biotin, Vitamin C, Zinc, or Omega 3s like salmon, nuts, eggs, beans may promote hair growth so you will have to epilate more often.
5. How Long You Have Been Epilating
As you continue to epilate regularly, the follicle may get damaged over time, causing the hair to grow back finer or just stop growing completely.
Have you epilated? How long do your results last?