The average woman in the UK spends a whopping £3,618 on removing hair over her lifetime, according to Boots’ research, and the importance of this thankless task heightens once high summer arrives.

So if you’ve worked on your tan and beach body, don’t let excess hair turn you into a horror story. Bare your skin with pride and be fuzz-free and sexy this summer.

Fast And Painless

Hair-free heaven may only last a couple of days but the razor is still king of hair removal. It’s a painless and super-speedy way to achieve instant smoothness.

Opt for a razor with five blades for the closest shave possible, and moisturising bars to smooth as you glide.

Or reach for a hair removal cream – the results last as long as shaving, it’s pain-free and many of the creams are formulated to simultaneously hydrate your skin.

TRY: Wilkinson Sword Intuition 3-in-1, £5.79 (Boots/Superdrug), or Veet Spray On Hair Removal Cream, £6.47 (Boots).

Months of Freedom

Make no bones about it, waxing stings, but you can enjoy a fuzz-free body for a beach-friendly three-to-five weeks afterwards.

You’ll also find hair grows back finer and more sparse with each wax.

To prolong that just-shaved feeling after any technique, hair-minimising creams are currently booming on the beauty shelves.

Available as a cream or spray, hair inhibitors are formulated with active ingredients to help slow down hair regrowth and, with regular use (two to four times a week), stubble reappearance should feel softer and finer.

If you despise the in-between stage with waxing but can’t stand the quick hair return of shaving, epilation might be for you. The latest gadgets boast thousands of plucks-per-minute to minimise the ‘ouch’ factor and can grab hold of hair as small as a grain of sand.

TRY: Parissa Wax Strips for Face & Bikini, £8.67 (Boots), or Braun Silk-epil 7 Dual Epilator, £159.99 (Boots).

Hair-Free Forever

If your seasonal wardrobe incorporates an endless supply of skirts, shorts and swimsuits, the enduring battle with hair removal is no summer holiday.

As technology advances, you don’t have to spend hours or thousands of pounds at the beauty clinic to achieve the long-lasting results of a laser.

No form of IPL or laser can promise 100 per cent permanent hair removal, but the new HoMedics Me My Elos device boasts body hair reduction by up to 89 per cent after four treatments.

Combining IPL and RF (Radio Frequency), the treatment is safe and effective on a wide range of skin colours and hair types, and a full body treatment takes around 30 minutes.

If you’re not ready for permanence, slow down stubble appearances with the no!no! 8800 hair removal system, which uses Thermicon technology to painlessly remove hair and reduce the rate of regrowth with two to three sessions a week for eight weeks.