Razors and Scraping

• In prehistoric times, men removed hair with flints and sea shells and other instruments to scrape hair away. They removed the hair on their heads and facial hair. Ancient Egyptians perfected this technique a bit, using more refined flints and scrapers. Ancient Roman women used pumice stones and razors to scrape away hair. The first modern razor came in the 1760s in France. In the 1880's came the first Gillette razor, and in 1915, the first woman's razor, according to Eliza Knight in HistoryUndressed.com.
  
  

Sugaring

• Sugaring is another ancient method of hair removal. The ancient Egyptians would mix honey, sugar or other sticky substance and apply it to skin. They would then cover the area with a cloth and pull, pulling hair along with the sugar and cloth. According to SanghaToday.com, the practice of sugaring can be used today at home with this simple recipe:
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 cup sugar
  ¼ cup honey
  Juice from ½ lemon
  
  Microwave for three minutes. Dust skin with cornstarch. Apply cooled sugar to skin. Cover with cloth and pull against the direction that skin grows. This method is supposed to be more gentle than wax.
  
  

Threading

• Threading is an ancient hair removal technique from the Middle East. Women in the Middle East would typically remove all their body hair except the hair on their heads and eyebrows. In fact, Ancient Egyptian women removed the hair on their heads as well. Threading is effective, gentle, and can remove one hair or many. It takes skill, but the only requirement is100 percent cotton thread. The thread is maneuvered in such a way that twists off the hairs. This method will keep hair away for about 6 to 8 weeks, and will damage the hair follicle so that hair grows back lighter and lighter.
  
  

Haldi

• Another ancient hair removal technique is meant for darker skinned women only, because it uses tumeric, which will stain the skin. According to SanghaToday.com, to use this method, you apply a mixture of tumeric, yogurt and chickpea flour to the skin and let dry. You then gently wipe the mixture off in the opposite direction to the way hair grows. This method will dye the skin yellow, and takes a long time to work. It will leave the skin soft and clear, but this method takes weeks to work.