In this day and age, the general expectation for females is to be completely hairless, especially during the summer. However, we should be conscious of the damage that hair removal can cause to our Earth. For example, disposable razors create a large amount of waste and deplete nonrenewable resources. In particular, approximately 2 billion of disposable razors end up in landfills every year. Furthremore, conventional shaving creams contain surfactants, hormone-disrupting fragrances, and potentially carcinogenic colors; they also generally come in cans that contain foam-producing propellants like propane or isobutene. In this article we will discuss the most vegan and eco friendly hair removal options that will help you to remove the unwanted hair.
Eco friendly hair removal options
1. Stainless Steel Razor
Probably the most common method of hair removal is shaving. Therefore, the beauty industry has made millions of dollars by taking the classic male razors adding some pink packaging. There are hundreds of different options to pick, but mostly they all have some sort of plastic on them.
The solution would be switching to metal razors is not only environmentally friendlier, lasting longer and not clogging landfill, but it’s also financially better. Spending money on cheap razors year after year adds up. For example, the Unisex Safety Razor from Biome is a lifetime purchase, with only the blade needs replacing once worn. All Biome’s reusable safety razors and blades are 100% plastic free and designed to last for life.
2. Epilating
Epilating is my favourite method of removing hair when it comes to legs; everything else I shave, but I epilate my legs once or twice a week. It hurts the first couple of times, but it gets better fast and it’s well worth it! An epilator is essentially 50-ish powered tweezers, all into one tool. The little tweezers open and close at a high-speed, plucking your hairs out as you glide the tool down your leg.
Epilating has its advantages: it doesn’t require any cosmetics and it pulls the hairs from the root and you can therefore remain hairless longer, and it doesn’t require as much time and effort as shaving or other methods. In addition, the more you epilate, the less your hair will grow back. However, you need to be careful about the brand of your epilator as Braun, the most popular brand of epilators, is owned by no other than Procter & Gamble, a corporation that tests on animals. They own brands like Gillette, Venus, and CoverGirl, only to name a few. For this reason, picking an electronics brand like Panasonic or Philips is, in my opinion, ideal. I’ve never had a problem with my Panasonic one and I highly recommend it.
3. Sugar Waxing
Waxing for hair removal has been around for centuries, and for good reason. With one proper treatment you can remove hair for between three to six weeks! Sugaring is a waxing process that’s been around since 1900 BC, using sugar as the sticky wax agent instead of synthetic products. Even though I’ve heard mixed reports, there’s a significant amount of claims online that sugaring is less painful and better for sensitive skin. It is something you are also able to do yourself.
All you need is:
1 cup of white sugar
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of water
Mix them together and heat them up! Careful not to overcook otherwise it will turn into rock. Then use the paste to wax off your hair. For more details you can read this article
3. Laser Hair Removal
One of the vegan and eco friendly hair removal options is the laser. it’s a big investment and the results will only be visible after several sessions and weeks, but I believe it’s well worth it in the end. There’s also the option of doing this at home using a technology called IPL. IPL devices are increasingly common, and effective.
4. Nontoxic Shaving Cream
Shaving cream is generally used for shaving beards but can be used for any area. If you need to shave your legs or armpits, you can use coconut oil as shaving cream. If you’re after an actual shaving cream, try to avoid the mainstream brands which are filled with chemicals and palm oil. There’s a long list of non-toxic and affordable shaving creams/bars available from Flora & Fauna or Lush Cosmetics. My personal favourite is Lush D’Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap; which is a reasonable $12.50, will last and doubles as moisturizer with cocoa butter.
To sum up, there are many vegan and eco friendly hair removal options, you just need to find out which one is more suitable for you. I hope this cruelty-free and eco friendly guide was helpful! If you have any more suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. Don’t forget that you can read more blog posts about natural beauty on Attitude Organic!
Written by Sabrina Licata from Attitude Organic
