Women have been shaving their legs and armpits for nearly a century. In the early 20th century, ads for depilatory creams were becoming increasingly popular. Beauty standards for women were soon being shaped by the media, through images in magazines and in the movies. In fact, a women’s fashion magazine ran an ad featuring a model with her arms raised and her armpits bare. This marked the first time that fashion directly influenced how women groomed their body hair.

Waxing was still new, and the delicate art of hair removal took some time to master. The most popular method of leg and underarm hair removal soon came into the market. Waxing strips were widely popular due to their efficiency and effectiveness, tied to the growing fashion trends that involved showing more skin in mini skirts.

As the ’60s roared on, the first laser hair removal method was introduced in the mid-’60s, but quickly lost popularity due to its damaging effects. That said, the 1970s eventually brought the development of transistorized equipment, allowing safer methods of electrolysis and laser hair removal.

Hair removal can be a rough business. No matter what treatment you choose, it’s pretty much guaranteed to hurt. And unfortunately for us, hairlessness is both less sexy and more expensive than ever before. While waxing and laser treatments might seem pricey, there are actually some affordable options out there that you might want to consider.