A New way to pluck; this trend is coming to a salon near you: removing facial hair with a thread - beauty

THREADING, A HAIR REmoval technique used for centuries in India and the Middle East, is gaining more and more converts on these shores. It's showing up in spas and hair salons across the country as a gentle alternative to waxing.

During the procedure, a practitioner twists a length of cotton thread and rapidly rolls it across the skin, catching hair and pulling it out by the root. Threading is less irritating to your skin than waxing, which strips off the top layer of your skin together with your hair, says Soraya Gharavi, an aesthetician who does threading at the Belle Ambiance Beauty and Tanning Center in San Carlos, Calif. "Waxing pulls on your skin, which can eventually break down the skin's elasticity," she adds.

Another plus of threading is that it can be done on very short hairs. The most commonly treated areas are the eyebrows, upper lip, chin, and sidebum.

--J.K.