the art of the eyebrow - one hair at a time

It's now been one week since I had more facial hair removed in one sitting that has ever been removed from me before. And this was accomplished by threading - another thing that has never happened to me before.

I appear to have survived.

I went to a new salon near my work on my coffee break with two co-workers - both of whom are no strangers to threading. I'd been telling myself I should go get threading done since I saw this place open earlier last month, but venturing into the unknown is an easy thing to turn away from. But, now my friends were going, and so I had to go too. This was a trial run, and apparently the girl was very good at systematically ripping all inappropriate hairs. Apparently, she's also a little pricey (but then there are those of us paler skinned folk who still think a pricey thread is damned cheap) but well worth it for the convenient locale.

I watched my two friends get their eyebrows shaped and then it was my turn. I had originally only asked to have my lip done. Now, I am fair. My lip is not really hairy. But, there are little blond hairs that I noticed one day. Then, I kept noticing them. Then, they started bugging me and I decided that they must be removed. However, there were more hairs to be removed than even I had realised. She was able to thread hairs across my entire upper lip - not just the ones I'd seen near the corners of my mouth. No, it seems that there are little hairs everywhere. It wasn't particularly painful, but the sound was rather disconcerting. Instead of the defined, single, band-aid-esque tear of waxing, threading sounds more like repeated velcro-ing. It actually reminded me of pulling weeds from between the stones in my front walkway. Except it hurt. A little. And, I got used to it rather quickly. My eyes didn't get used it, though, and insisted on tearing up throughout the entire process.

At the end, I sat there, naked-lipped, and the girl (oh dear, what was she: esthetician? threader? hair-removal associate?) asked when I'd last had my eyebrows done. Actually, it was a while ago, but I was kind of proud of how well I'd been keeping them up. Pff - this was an obvious money grab.

Or not.

She had a few minutes. My friends and I still had a few minutes. She threaded one brow and showed me the difference. Um. Yeah. My upkeep had been rather lacking. It's probably akin to how I'm able to ignore my roots for months on end....just something I get used to. My hair is darker near my scalp, and my eyebrows are a little mishapen. That must just be the way I am.

After it was all over, the tears were dried and the tips were left, I spent the rest of the day at work, thankfully not having to venture too far out into public. I had a uni-red-brow for a few hours and a slightly puffy-feeling lip, but I was assured that it really wasn't as noticeable as I thought.

Once my skin recovered from the assault, it did not take long to become accustomed to fewer full follicles on my face. I came through the process essentially unscathed and no hairs to show for it. Despite my nerves, it was an inoffensive event with pleasant results. I can tell that this is going to be a trend for me, for the next little while, at least. Because of the nearby location and a few friends to keep me on the straight and hairless, I may be able to maintain this state for a significant time. As long as I can get used to being to the idea of paying to be plucked like the chicken that I am.