How to remove hair with tape

Some people go to great lengths and through major pain for silky smooth skin. A large part of achieving that is removing all the hair they deem unnecessary. While shaving is one option, hair tends to grow back faster and thicker than before. Many opt for waxing, which generally gives a smoother and longer-lasting effect. However, if you don't have the funds to head over to the salon to get waxed, or even enough to buy a home-waxing kit, you can brave another method of hair removal--using duct tape.

Grow out the hair you want to remove to at least 1/8 of an inch so that it's long enough for the tape to stick well on it.

Rub tooth-numbing cream on the area you're removing hair from if you're worried about the pain. Do this about half an hour before you remove the hair so that the area is numb, the cream is soaked in and the skin is dry.

Some people go to great lengths and through major pain for silky smooth skin.
Rub tooth-numbing cream on the area you're removing hair from if you're worried about the pain.

Apply the duct tape on the area. Make sure the tape is going up and down your body vertically instead of across your body horizontally. Removing the tape in a horizontal direction won't take the hair with it.

Rip the tape quickly off your body, being sure to pull the tape against the grain of the hair growth. For example, if you were removing hair from your legs, you would pull the tape from the bottom up, heading toward your chest.

Jennifer Brown is a freelance journalist who has been writing since 2006 and has written for "Coreweekly Magazine," "The Wisconsin State Journal" and "The Syracuse New Times." The "New Times" gave her the opportunity to write on subjects ranging from food to entertainers to local environmentalist. She earned a Master of Arts in magazine, newspaper and online media from Syracuse University.