In approximate order of how much commitment is needed.
Shaving
What it is: Cutting the ends of your hairs off, near to the skin.
What you need: A razor (manual or electric), possibly shaving foam or gel, and definitely aftershave lotion.
Pain rating: None or mild.
Removal type: Not. You’re just giving it a trim.
Waxing
What it is: A wax binds to your hairs1. You yank it off to literally pull your hairs1 out. They’ll grow back.
What you need: Wax, a method of heating and applying said wax, and wax strips. Usually you can buy all of these in one kit.
Pain rating: Moderate to severe.
Removal type: Temporary.
Hair removal cream
What it is: A chemical mix that burns your hairs1 off. It’ll grow back.
What you need: Hair cream, and a shower. Don’t try to use it in a bathtub, it’ll go places you don’t want it. You don’t need to try this for yourself. Just trust me on this one.
Pain rating: Mild to severe, depending on skin type and area.
Removal type: Temporary.
Epilating
What it is: A rotating tool literally pulls your hairs out. It’ll grow back.
What you need: An epilator, possibly pre-epilatory cream, and definitely soothing balm.
Pain rating: Moderate to severe.
Removal type: Temporary.
Laser
What it is: Burning your hair follicles with frikken lazers.
What you need: A hair removal clinician, the right combination of skin and hair colours, and multiple sessions. How many sessions is unpredictable. My legs took four sessions.
Pain rating: None to mild.
Removal type: Permanent, if it works. Fine or light hairs may remain.
Electrolysis
What it is: Burning your hair follicles with a literal hot needle.
What you need: A hair removal clinician, and many many sessions. For the face: weekly sessions for a year or longer. You’ll also want some aloe vera lotion which you will want to apply liberally multiple times after each session.
Pain rating: Severe. Anyone who says it’s less is lying.
Removal type: Permanent, eventually.
Footnotes
- and hopefully not also your skin, please do a patch test first ↩