THE RISK OF HAIR REMOVAL
We live in a society where appearance is a priority, and body hair doesn't always look good, depending on where it is, of course. As homo sapiens , we have plenty of it all over our bodies. Well, some more than others.
I land early on a typical winter Monday morning in La Palma. I feel the sea breeze that we landlubbers love and appreciate so much. I close my eyes, imagining my tie transforming into a surfboard, but quickly return to reality after being elbowed by the usual rude person as we walk along the tarmac to the terminal.
I enjoy my afternoon coffee and prepare to investigate the case at hand. I'm astonished. Just as I'm convinced that each of us has our predetermined departure date (based on investigating so many accidents and the combination of circumstances that lead to them happening), I also believe luck plays a crucial role. And some have more of it than others. Don't overthink it, that's just how it is. This case is one of the latter.
A young woman, a runway model with shows around the world and a very promising future, buys a hair removal cream from a supermarket near her home to remove excess hair in sensitive areas.
In a hurry, she doesn't even take a minute to read the instructions on the container – not that they're readable for those of us with presbyopia. She removes the cap and puts the container in the microwave. Three minutes at maximum power, based on previous experience.
Without waiting for it to stop, with just a few seconds left, her impatience leads her to open the microwave door, and as she grabs the container, the liquid cream, boiling hot, splashes all over her face and arms.
In short, her professional modeling career has been cut short due to significant burn scars on her face. All because she didn't ensure the proper use of the cream, combined with her haste.
She tried to justify that she had always used this method to heat the hair removal cream, but we discovered that this latest container was not the same brand she usually bought. Nevertheless, she trusted that she could use a similar method to heat it and didn't take a minute to read the instructions, leading to the known outcome.
Experience and caution teach us that whenever we're heating any liquid in this noisy and dangerous appliance, we should wait a few seconds before opening the door. Simply doing this can prevent many complications.
Alberto Garom