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Threading hair removal technique is catching on
BLOOMINGTON -- About seven years ago, hair stylist James Wealthy stumbled onto an interesting kiosk in a Chicago-area mall. | Video | Photo gallery “I walked by, and I saw this Indian woman leaning over a client with a spool of thread,” said Wealthy, the professional name of James Whitacre. “I was thinking, ‘What is that? What is she doing?’ It was threading,” he said. The Bloomington man was hooked. The natural technique uses a simple piece of twisted thread to remove unwanted body hair, mainly on the eyebrows and other parts of the face such as above the lips or on the chin. The threader unwinds a piece of cotton thread from a spool, then uses a three-point technique to create a circle and hoop. That creates a twisting motion, and scissoring effect with the string. “It literally entraps the hair and pulls it from the root,” he said. “I see it as an alternative, just another option,” said Wealthy, who provides the service through his space at CB Hair Design in Bloomington. “It’s not necessarily better than other techniques, like razoring or waxing. It’s one of those things that you either like it or you don’t,” he said. “My objective as an artist, or a stylist, is to be able to provide my client with whatever service they desire,” he said. He believes with threading, hair doesn’t grow back as thick, threading isn’t needed as often as wax, and it’s a good choice for some people with sensitive skin. “Especially people who might be taking medications that could cause sensitive skin reactions,” he said. Waxing removes a layer of skin; threading does not, Wealthy said. Threading may be fairly new to Central Illinois salons; calls around the Twin Cities suggest Wealthy and Vicki Patel are among the few, and possibly the only, licensed cosmetologists offering the technique here. It’s been offered for many years on the East and West coasts, and in large cities serving Middle Eastern populations. Wealthy said he's seen entire salons devoted to threading in Los Angeles, for example. And its everywhere in Chicago, Patel noted. But it’s definitely not new; quite the contrary. Uzma Hassan of Joliet, who operates Beautiful Brows in Eastland Mall during holiday seasons with Patel, grew up in Pakistan and learned how to thread as a teen, from her mother. Patel, originally from India, learned threading about 15 years ago there. Most people familiar with threading trace back thousands of years ago to ancient Persia (where Iran is now), India and other Middle East regions. “All the women I knew in Pakistan did it,” said Hassan. And here in Central Illinois, among the Indian, Pakistani communities living in the Twin Cities, that also holds true. But often the technique is performed on friends, in living rooms — not sought in a professional salon. Patel completed courses and licensing exams in Illinois, and began offering threading here a few months ago. Anu Sharma has lived in Normal about a year. A few years back, the 34-year-old, originally from New Delhi, took a course in India on threading. But here she does it only on an informal basis. “I’m considering getting licensed here, but that takes time. I haven’t gone through the process yet,” she said, noting two young children at home keep her busy. Barka Jain of Bloomington also learned threading during a beauty course in India. She said she threads many of her friends’ eyebrows, mostly Indian women. “Most people say threading is less painful than waxing. And that it’s more effective and lasts longer,” she said. That’s what Jessica Junis of Bloomington says. She said many of her friends have heard of threading, but few have tried it. Wealthy has been threading the 28-year-old’s brows for about a year. “I think it’s more precise, and I only have to get it done about once every three or four weeks,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt anymore than waxing. It stings a little, but just for a second,” she said. Two years ago, when Wealthy first discovered threading, he had a difficult time finding a teacher, he said. He compares the cultural tradition to the way some African women view braiding. “It was passed down sister to sister, mother to mother; it’s kind of guarded,” he said. Eventually, he persuaded an Indian woman who worked in Wealthy’s former salon to teach him how to thread. Wealthy contend s eyebrow threading — as well as his other specialty area, eyelash extensions — will be the next big thing to hit American salons. “You know how there are manicure and pedicure shops everywhere now? That’s what I imagine we’ll be seeing for threading soon. Brows and lashes are here to stay,” he said. Wealthy is doing his part to spread the technique. “I concluded that I wasn’t the only person who wanted to learn how to do this here,” he said. He uses his spot at CB Hair Design as a home base, but spends about half his time traveling to U.S. beauty industry trade shows, where he offers courses in both threading and eyelash extensions. Though Illinois doesn’t offer licensing or certification for the technique, Wealthy provides students who complete his course with a professional certificate, he said. Recently, he taught sessions at the American Beauty Show in Chicago, and later this spring he’ll be at the Premiere Show in Orlando, which is expected to draw about 50,000 salon professionals. His upcoming dates are listed at his Web site, www.jameswealthy.com. He also offers classes at CB Hair Design for interested professionals, and has created a DVD series to teach the technique. Last month, the stylist helped at New York’s famous “fashion week,” where he worked on the team of P. Diddy’s hairstylist, Curtis Smith, for the entertainer’s popular Sean Jean fashion show. What is threading?This is a natural technique using cotton thread to remove unwanted body hair. It's most often used for eyebrows, and other areas of the face. • The threader unwinds a piece of thread, creating a circle and interior hoop, twisting that. • The threader holds the midpoint of the thread with his/her teeth, and two other points with each hand, creating a tight triangle of crisscrossed thread. • If the eyebrow is the area being shaped, the client uses both hands to pull skin above and below the eye taut. • The threader then rolls the twisted part of the thread along the surface of the skin, using a back-and-forth rhythm, and appropriate use of tension, to create a scissoring effect, entwining the hairs and lifting those from the follicles. The precision method allows the stylist to remove a single hair or an entire line of hair. The process takes about five to 10 minutes. SOURCES: James Wealthy, Anu Sharma, Barkha Jain, Uzma Hassan More informationCosmetologists James Wealthy of CB Hair Design and Vicki Patel of Gold's Gym and Star Nails, offer threading to clients. Prices, on average, range between $12 to $15. To contact Wealthy, call (309) 838-7098 or go to www.jameswealthy.com or www.barbernow.com . To contact Patel, call (309) 706-9741. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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