08 Jul READER QUESTION: “Is there a best week of my cycle for hair removal?”
Munerah, a Facebook follower, asks: “I was wondering what’s the best week (or days) of the cycle are for hair removal? I mean, there should be a hormone that triggers hair growth sometime along the cycle during, which makes hair removal is more or less useless, right?”
My answer: When it comes to avoiding the pain of hair removal, the best week of your cycle for hair removal is Week 2, which is 8 to 14 days after the onset of your period. This is because high estrogen during this phase blunts pain–which is usually accompanied by the usual hair-removal techniques, such as waxing and tweezing. So, it won’t hurt nearly as much as it would during other weeks of your cycle when estrogen is lower.
As for hormones and hair growth, your cycle wouldn’t have too much of an impact on whether one week is “useless” to remove hair. However, if your goal is to catch as much unwanted hair growth as possible, say, on your chin or above your lip, then you would do so in the first half of Week 1 (during your period) or your premenstrual Week 4. That’s because low levels of estrogen on these days could allow more facial hair to grow during since estrogen is what suppresses facial hair growth in women.
Another useful tip: If you’re bothered by unwanted lip or chin hair, in general, try sipping spearmint tea two times daily. ResearchI shows that spearmint contains compounds that reduce levels of testosterone and raise levels of estrogen, resulting in less facial hair.
- Menstrual cycle tracking is an important tool for teen sadness - February 23, 2023
- When does estrogen boost your beauty? - November 24, 2022
- 4 ways magnesium makes menstrual cycles better - November 24, 2022