Sick of tweezing or waxing? Maybe it’s time to try threading.

Threading (or “khite” or “fatlah”) is a hair removal method that originated in Eastern countries (e.g., the Middle East, India), but is establishing a toe-hold in the West. The aesthetician twists a special cotton thread into a double strand–sort of like a special lasso for hair–and then uses it to pull the unwanted hair out by the root.

Because threading removes hair by the root, that means it’s a longer-lasting hair removal technique, and should last a few weeks–along the lines of waxing or tweezing. But unlike waxing, sugaring, or depilatories, there’s not chemicals going onto your skin. It’s just the thread (although your threader might anchor the thread in her mouth, but that’s not the part that goes onto your skin!). And unlike tweezing, it will do several hairs at once.

On the upside, that means the whole removal process will go pretty quickly (quicker than tweezing). But there’s no real break in the process (like in waxing, where you get a moment’s breather while the new strip of wax sets), which can be a little irritating.

Most people who do threading do it for their eyebrows. In fact, the folks at Wisegeek.com say this is how all the Bollywood stars like to get their brows beautified because it create such precise lines. However, threading is not just for brows. In fact, it is commonly used for errant hairs on any part of the face–brows, upper lip, chin, whatever you need.Which means, if you have a weird hairline, like me, you can go to a threader to have it shaped the way you want–AWESOME.

Threading isn’t a huge mainstream craze yet, so it can be hard to find a good threader. If you live in an urban area you might be able to find a salon exclusively devoted to threading (like Threadbar in LA), but it’s worth asking at any salon if they have someone who does it. Just make sure they’re experienced–an unskilled threader could mean hair breakage, pain or uneven-looking results.

(Photo via: ChickLitPlus)