Week 170: When Being Hairy Comes in Handy
- elenalilamartin
- 15 hours ago
- 5 min read
Week 170: April 5th-11th, 2026
As many of you know, despite my best efforts, I am a very hairy person. This means I have thick hair and long eyelashes, sure, but, I also have unwanted facial hair, keratosis pilaris, and ingrown hairs galore. I've spent countless hours researching, experimenting, and actively doing something to my hair - whether that is straightening it, brushing it, curling it, shaving it, waxing it, lasering it, plucking it... - you-name-it, I've done it.
Growing up, one of my first "big girl" purchases was the Silk'n SensEpil, one of the first FDA-approved laser hair removal devices for at-home use. I think I was about 13 or 14 years-old, and at the time, it cost me about $300. I used it semi-regularly, but was bummed when the refill cartridges were about $25 for two and didn't seem to last very long.
Over the past thirteen years or so, I've spent a couple thousand dollars on professional laser hair removal sessions and have upgraded my at-home device to the Silk'n Infinity, which has better laser technology and doesn't require refill cartridges. I've also continued to pay the "pink tax" on shaving cream, razors, and at-home waxing products in my ongoing efforts to become hair-free. Funnily enough, if, for whatever reason, one was feeling nostalgic, the now "vintage" SensEpil sells on eBay for around $45 (but you'd still need to source those damn refill cartridges, so I would not recommend that).
I tell you all of this not as a complaint (though I am very practiced in hair-related complaints, if you are looking for that), but more as evidence of my lifelong battle against my genetics and my unwanted body hair. The time, money, brainpower and effort I've spent on hair removal could put me up there in the 10,000 hours range, which would make me an "expert" of sorts. Thanks, Malcolm Gladwell. Side-note: If you ever need recommendations for literally anything hair-removal related, let me know.
Living my entire life as a Hairy Person™ means that all the body hair I grow is met with contempt and resentment and is almost immediately plucked, waxed, shaved or lasered off.
This week, however, my leg hair specifically became the star of the show. Instead of wishing I had removed the patchy leg hair that continues to grow after years of laser, this week I found Something New in being glad I hadn't.
My best friend Victoria's little sister, Gabby, just graduated from esthetician school and needed a leg hair model for a full leg wax training. I was shocked by the timing, as I normally don't let my leg hair grow more than a few millimeters, but this week I'd been busy and hadn't gotten around to it. Gabby was in desperate need of a Hairy Person™, and lo and behold, I was ready and able to come off the bench.
I hadn't put "sending photos of my hairy right knee to my best friend's little sister" on my 2026 Bingo card, but I guess life is full of surprises. After Gabby gave me the OK that my leg hair was adequate, for the first time, I found my self feeling a sense of pride for the hair on my legs. Even though they were about to meet their fate against some wax, the hairs on my legs were finally serving a purpose.
The full leg wax training was led by Celeste herself at the Celeste Waxing & Skincare location in Santee. Gabby asked me to come in around 9am, so naturally I showed up at 8:55 and waited 5 mins before going inside. I rarely venture to Santee (or as we call it "Klan-tee"), so I was intrigued by some big-ass rocks by the parking lot. It looked very out of place by the shopping center I was parked in.
Anyway, I signed in at the front desk and proudly declared my purpose of being Gabby's leg hair model. After signing some paperwork for liability and blah blah blah, I shadowed Gabby and Celeste as they acted out how to begin a leg wax appointment with a "real" client. I played my role as the "client," and pretended to be unfamiliar with a wax appointment. It was awesome to see the logistics that go into the staff side of appointments like these. Gabby learned things like when and when not to bring the client information clipboard, when to leave the door open or closed, and what side of the table to stand on.
I am not going to post photos of my leg hair "before" and "after," because ew, but I will say Gabby (and Celeste) did a great job. Celeste was patient with Gabby as she learned techniques on how to hold the wax strip papers, or when to use new gloves, or when to apply more powder to the skin. The training session lasted about two hours, and despite their patchiness from laser and different length hairs, my legs are now waxed and hair-free. My little leg hairs, for the first time in their cyclical lives, were actually useful. I'm sure my high pain tolerance and stoic nature when it comes to hair removal were also helpful, though legs usually aren't too painful when waxing is done right. And it was.
I was very happy to help Gabby by lending her my hairy legs for this training, and I feel like a proud pseudo-older sister seeing her grow up and pursue a career. It is very rare for my hairiness to come in handy, but hey, there's a first time for everything. After the session was over, I offered the rest of my body hair as training material whenever necessary and was happy to hear I may be called in again. Who knows? Maybe my arm hair will get a chance to shine soon. A girl can only dream.
Bonus: I also had my first Wendy's Frosty and it was very delicious. Despite living across the street from a Wendy's for over a year, I'd never been inside. I give props to whoever designed the "W" table.
Double Bonus: I'm sure this is not important to most people but after about 8 real-life hours, my efforts to demolish the entire museum in Rocky Ridges in Pokopia is complete. It would've gone much faster if I went in with a strategy and done it all after unlocking the Magnet Rise skill, but hey, we got there in the end. Now all I have to do is re-build it somewhere else.
See you next week.
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