Hair removal in most salons is somewhat painful, time consuming or even expensive. Sometimes you even end up with unsightly redness and irritation from wax or tweezing. Recovering from laser hair removal can take days. There is, however, a fast and relatively painless way to remove facial hair, using cotton threads.
- Image by butter_b via Flickr
Hair threading, or Khite in Arabic, is an ancient method of hair removal used by both men and women from the Middle East to get rid of unwanted facial hair. It is said to have originated in Persia and spread throughout the Middle and Far East. It is gaining new popularity in the West. Originally, hair removal signified a young girl’s transformation into womanhood. The whole process is done by rolling twisted threads of pure cotton on the hairline to trap hair and pull them from the roots, without breaking the skin. It is a non-invasive technique and the process uproots whole rows of hair, making for a straighter and cleaner line. For the same reason, the process takes less time than tweezing and waxing.
Appealing as this method is, it is not always available in your local hair salons. Professional practitioners can be difficult to find outside large cities. Also, any hair removal can be painful for some people (depending on sensitivity) and it could also itch afterward, especially for first-timers. Side-effects of hair removal can include folliculitis (infection of the hair follicle), puffiness, and skin-reddening. Seeking professional threaders is recommended. Some websites – like www.find-threading-experts.com – list threading professionals thoughout the USA. They also list threading classes, should you decide to learn this ancient art.