One of the oldest techniques of body hair removal goes by the name of threading. It is more popular in the Middle East and India, but is also used in some Western beauty parlors. Rolling twisted cotton threads over unkempt hair lines and pulling out the unsightly hair is how threading is done. It is so much healthier for the skin and will not result in an ingrown hair; this is the main reason for its continued popularity. It is a temporary technique as opposed to laser hair removal with is safe, if done right, and long lasting.
History
Believed to have originated in Turkey, threading is used in many places. It is known as khite in Arabic and the Egyptians call it fatlah and both cultures use it to remove hair from the eyebrows, upper lip, the chin and cheeks. In many countries, including India, beauty salons have employees skilled in this ancient art. Some cosmetologists in the west have chosen to practice threading as well and favor it to remove eyebrow hair.
How threading is done
The skilled practitioner holds one side of a cotton thread between the teeth and the other in the left hand to perform threading. The middle of the cotton thread is looped through the index and middle fingers of the right hand and the loop is used to grab the hair and pull it from its place on the skin.
More commonly used on facial areas, threading may also be used on lower parts of the body such as the belly button area, the pelvic region, and even on the toes and tops of feet. One fact about threading must be remembered and that is it must be performed by a thoroughly trained person and takes months to perfect. Nothing could be more painful than an unskilled person performing threading.
Advantages of threading
Several advantages of threading over other methods of hair removal include; threading is inexpensive as well as virtually painless so it won’t hurt your body as well as your pocket book; it’s a fast method as opposed to other methods; threading is convenient for removing all forms of facial hair and last for two to four weeks; its suitable for all skin types, so if your skin is too sensitive for laser hair removal threading maybe a better option; it has none of the pain accompanied with waxing and no disgusting smells or allergic reactions from using lotions or creams. Only fifteen minutes are needed to do both eyebrows, so that makes eyebrow threading particularly popular. Threading is a good alternative to most hair removal methods, but there are some disadvantages.
Disadvantages of threading
The hardest part is finding a skilled practitioner to perform this method and it can be painful if done improperly. It has a few side effects such as, a bacterial infection of the hair follicles called folliculitis and reddening of the skin where the threading is performed. Another major drawback of threading is it only works on flat surfaces which make it difficult to perform on the bikini line and the knees. If you suffer from acne you should not use threading because it can cause sever acne to be ruptured. Even with these set backs, threading and shaving have a superior advantage to other methods.