Bridal Body 411: Don’t Get Stuck in a Hairy Situation on Your Wedding Day

Everyone’s heard of bride-zillas but what about the notoriously hairy bride-rilla? She’s a new species of bride that has noticeable hair above the lip, on the arms and potentially on the honeymoon bikini line. She’s oblivious to the dark hairs forming on her feminine face, arms and upper legs and needs a beauty intervention.

As brides are taking an average of one-to-two years to prepare for the big day, there is plenty of time to make sure it’s not your “big, fat hairy wedding.” Let’s look at beauty and hair removal from the bottom up.

Feet

A last-minute pedicure will not cure callused feet. Attractive feet are a long term project and prep should begin approximately two months in advance of the wedding. Begin by using a pumice stone in the shower each day to remove the dead skin from your foot’s heel, ball and toes. Also, brides should recognize that cutting the cuticles both on hands and feet can be a maintenance headache as it requires a lot of upkeep as your cuticles grow. Instead, consider pushing cuticles down with a cuticle stick.

While toes are not the most common area for hair removal, many women are managing their toe hair, especially if they have dark hair. Assess your toe hair situation and consider if you needs to lose a few strands before you wear those open toe shoes on your big day.

Legs

Brides can shave, wax, use depilatory cream or receive laser hair removal to have the highly desired smooth and sexy legs. Dependant on your budget, you may want to opt for the latter. A recent study indicated women will spend between $10,000 – 22,000 on shaving and waxing-related products and services over the course of their lifetime. Laser hair removal offers permanent hair reduction and may be a time- and cost-saving alternative for both pre and post-wedding hairless bliss.

Essentially, laser hair removal provides permanent hair reduction and works by destroying the hair follicle. The only way to permanently reduce the amount of unwanted hair is to damage the hair follicle to a point where is unable to produce hairs. The hairs that are destroyed with each treatment are destroyed permanently. While patient protocol is determined on a case-by-case basis, on average our centers recommend a minimum of six treatments, spread about two months apart per treatment.

Sadly, all the hair removal in the world won’t rid your legs of the lumps and bumps caused by cellulite. Brides may also want to consider a cellulite and body shaping treatment called VelaShape since while their legs will likely be hidden under a gown on the wedding day, chances are you’ll be revealing a lot more skin at the beach on the honeymoon. All the exercise and dieting in the world won’t cure cellulite and noninvasive treatments like VelaShape are proven to reduce the appearance of the cellulite that effects 90% of women over the age of 18.

Bikini line

Here brides have the same options as legs but a much higher chance of razor burn and ingrown hairs. Even waxing can leave this area with unattractive patches of irritated skin. The most reliable and comfortable treatment for this area is laser hair removal which will provide permanent hair reduction. Brides will be happy to have no pre-beach prep to do for the rest of their lives!

Arms

Arm hair, even on those with light colored hair, can grow in thick and long. Many of my patients have remarked that their arm hair makes them feel less feminine and self conscience and opt to have the volume of hair reduced permanently. Like the legs, waxing, shaving and laser hair removal are all good solutions.

Underarms

Like the bikini area, underarms are prone to ingrown hairs, razor burn and get even more irritated due to the application of deodorant daily. And, let’s face it ladies, it is a hard area of the body to shave. Brides can raise their glass to toast with no fear of the “five o’clock underarm shadow” if they opt to reduce it permanently with laser hair removal.

Face

In addition to being a sensitive area of the epidermis (skin), treatment of the face has some emotional challenges. Many women don’t want to admit when they need a “trim” on their facial hair. Even blondes can have thick hair above the lip, on the chins and in the sideburns area that needs to be addressed. Brides’ best bet is to ask someone that will be honest, like a hairdresser, about personal facial hair. Tell the hairdresser “You’d like to know what you should do about your facial hair” and they should give you an honest opinion about whether you have enough to need some taming.

While some hesitate to treat this area due to concern that hair may grow back darker and thinner, the texture and color of the hair is not affected by the removal or cutting of this hair. If you have dark hair, you may want to consider dying the hair blonde, waxing or getting laser hair removal. For blondes, trimming or using a depilatory cream may be your best option dependant on the amount of hair or the thickness of this hair. Waxing works well but does result in some occasional tell-tale lumps and bumps that no one wants on their face.

Brows

Over- or under-manicured brows are simply not attractive. Eyebrows are your facial expression’s exclamation point and getting them perfect is a challenge. I’ve seen all kinds of fashion trends in brows through the years and while pencil thin brows may be in for the current five minutes, don’t fall victim to total brow elimination to keep up with the fashionista crowd. Your brows may not grow back in as full after months or years of serious plucking or waxing. The best and most controlled treatment for brows is regular plucking. If you don’t want to “do it yourself”, consider professional waxing but make sure they don’t go too far in between your brows so you don’t end up with a multi-inch gap that looks unnatural and unattractive.

There are many things to consider when reviewing your bridal body hair and the best way to remove hair in each area. Before making a big move, consult your trusted advisors, which should be made up of friends, hairdressers, physicians and your local aesthetic clinic professional about all your options and do what works best for your budget and beauty goals.