Shaving is fast and can be done on any area of the body. While not foolproof (cuts, nicks, and razor burn can happen), shaving is relatively painless

Depilatories dissolve hair just below the surface of the skin, so it grows back more tapered and less stubbly than if you shaved. These sprays, creams, gels, and lotions also provide slightly longer-lasting results than shaving.  According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), depilatories shouldn’t be used for eyebrows, around the eyes, or on inflamed or broken skin.

Waxing pulls hair out by the roots, so there’s no stubble. Skin stays smooth for a few weeks or more. Over time, repeated waxing also damages the hair bulb, where individual hairs grow, potentially leading to sparser hair growth. Waxing can be done anywhere on the body, but it can hurt and—if you have it done professionally—gets costly. You also have to get a little hairy before waxing, since you need a substantial amount of stubble for the wax to cling to.

The American Academy of Dermatology doesn’t recommend waxing if you’re:

• Taking isotretinoin, a drug used to treat severe acne (currently or within the past six months)
• Using an antibiotic
• Using a prescription retinoid, which can thin the skin and cause tearing when the wax is removed

Be sure not to wax over moles or warts; moles can become irritated, and warts can spread.

Sugaring and threading are similar to waxing. With sugaring, a heated sugar mixture is spread on the skin and then lifted off in strips, to remove hair at the root. Threading is an ancient technique in which a loop of thread is rotated across the skin in order to pluck out the hair.

Tweezing is incredibly precise (and potentially time-consuming), so it’s best reserved for small areas (eyebrows, upper lip, nipples, chin) or for snagging strays that other removal methods leave behind. Because it pulls each strand out by the root, the hair doesn’t grow back for at least a few weeks. To minimize pain and improve precision, make sure your tweezer tips are sharp and properly aligned. Pros will often use a combination of tweezing and waxing.

Vaniqa is a prescription cream that’s FDA-approved to slow the growth of facial hair in women, usually around the lips and on the chin. Vaniqa works by blocking an enzyme in the hair follicle, making it impossible to grow hair. It can take several months to see results.