The ritual of removing body hair is a regular part of modern life for most people in the UK in this day and age. Either the daily (or whatever) removal of moustache/beard stubble, or the less frequent leg shaving, armpit shaving, depilatory creams (if you can withstand the smell of the cream), or anything involving bikini lines. Or for the thrill-seeking amongst us, waxing.

I am a bit of a lazy waxer (which is good - longer hair comes off better), and I like to dedicate some quality time to it. A lazy Sunday morning, rather than a quick whizz round with the razor before a Friday night out.

Tips for leg waxing

• I prefer to use the natural warm wax (sugar-based) that comes in a big pot with a wooden spatula
• The easiest way to warm this up is to bung it in the microwave for a very short amount of time. If it bubbles and steams etc. this means it is too hot. Do not put it on your skin if it is bubbling. It can retain its heat for quite a while, so care should be taken at all times. Do not just slap it on your leg and hope for the best. This is a surefire way to burn yourself a lot.
• The warmer it is the thinner (and better it goes on) I find that I need to reheat it a little (only 5-10 seconds in the microwave) every now and then. I did try and keep it warm in a bain-marie type arrangement of a bowl of hot water - but there was just too much water around and it wasn't very convenient.
• Spread it on as thin as possible, and in the direction of hair growth (i.e. down the left towards the foot).
• Speed is of the essence - firmly smooth the cotton strip onto the wax immediately (again in the direction of the hair growth).
• And now the good bit - pull off the cotton strip as fast as possible, in a smooth swift movement parallel to your leg (i.e directly up toward the top of the leg). The theory of removing the plaster works here - short, sharp, shock. And hey presto, a clean smooth hair-free patch of leg (apart from all the hairy bits left behind)
• If the wax on the cloth is still warm, and not too hairy, you can smooth it back on and pull it off again - again, speed is of the essence - this is great for gettin grid of the straggly bits left behind from the first attempt. And saves time, and is economical on wax - it you can cope with the potential; gross-ness of hairy waxy cloth.
• Although it not totally painfree, the tingly sensation is pleasant and should be enjoyed.

The bad bits

• It can be a bit messy - I tend to spend days afterwards cleaning wax off bathroom surfaces, towels, clothes, the cat etc.
• You have to wait until your legs are dead hairy again before you can do it again
• If you get it wrong - e.g. if you bottle it and don't pull the cloth away at the right angle or fast enough - it can be painful.

Why bother?

Body hair should not be a political issue, it should be a personal one. Shave if you wish, wax if you wish, grow hair and be merry if you wish. There should be no pressure to be body hair free. If you don't want to, don't bother. Hair in all forms can be beautiful. (And all the stuff about smooth being more hygienic is rubbish).

But think of all that lovely waxing tingly sensations you are missing out on.