I’ve found that electrolysis is usually about as painful as tweezing. Every once in a while, a particular zap is a bit more zingy than usual, but then again, every now and then a hair seems to be directly connected to a nerve and hurts like hell when you tweeze it, too. I’m very willing to have electrolysis done once or twice on a hair and then never have to tweeze it again. As far as I’m concerned, a one time zap beats plucking every couple of weeks, and it’s less pain over my lifetime.
Please look up the reviews for No! No! hair removal on Amazon.com.
Overwhelmingly slammed. No. NO! Save your money.
I’ve seen little defuzzing things the size of a mascara tube, sold in catalogs and drugstores for less than $10. These are (very) miniature versions of an electric shaver, to pretty up the idea of shaving, but they conk out/fall apart after a couple of uses. I say, keep a disposable razor with your face lotions and makeup. If all you have are a few pesky mustache hairs, all you do is ‘swipe, swipe’ - done! Smooth as can be, and you can proceed with your makeup, etc. Do it every day, works fine, and it will be your little secret. Remember, what you observe in the mirror is not something other people are going to see as you do. (Please don’t bleach your upper lip, you will have an orange/yellow/white mustache, especially if you have dark hair.)
I’m lucky that being a fair-skinned, fair-haired woman I’m able to get away w/ bleaching; your lady may not be fair and may have a different experience. I bleach about every 3-4 weeks.
Later in life she may find stray hairs on her chin; she can pluck those w/o fear of more returning if she chooses.
Plucking. Would NOT recommend waxing for face, especially not for the upper lip. It can leave ugly red blotches that last for days, due to sensitivity of the skin.
^^^ username/post combo 
It really depends on the type and amount of hair.
Plucking: good for occasional hairs, cheap, lasts awhile. Tweezing larger patches may result in sensitivity or a rash, plus takes a long time.
Laser treatment: as someone upthread mentioned, this works best on those who have a high contrast between their pale skin and dark hairs. Expensive. May not help if the woman in question has PCOS or similar. I have PCOS, and a few laser treatments didn’t help me as it didn’t tackle the underlying issue (which, unfortunately, is rather more complicated in my case than taking a few hormones.)
Waxing: A bit rough on your skin if you’re having to do a large patch, can result in sensitivity, pimples or a nasty rash. Threading or plucking may be more effective.
Electrolysis: Good, can be permanent, can be costly and painful. Didn’t work for me.
Creams: Can be effective if your skin’s not sensitive.
Bleach: Depends on the amount/coarseness of hair. If it’s only fluff, this is a great option. If it’s more than fluff, you end up with a blonde beard/stache that’s noticeable.
I used to be very active on PCOS message boards, and most posters favoured visiting a professional threading person (Threader?) My own hirsuitism is severe, so I shave daily. There’s too many hairs to pluck, my skin’s too sensitive for larger treatments like threading, and laser treatments/electrolysis haven’t worked. I have too much beard growth for bleach. If I grew my beard, there would be a similar amount of growth as Johnny Depp, minus mustache. I could definitely manage a healthy goatee plus sideburns and neck beard. Pretty! I wet shave every morning in the shower with a decent razor, twice a day if I’m going out that evening.
Waxing - can cause permanent root trauma damage resulting in the hair not regrowing - it’s the best bet and cheapest, you can do it yourself. The huge downside is that you have to let the hair grow long enough to get a good grip and you can get a clown face effect if the wax is too hot or cold.
Lazer - doesn’t pick up light coloured hairs, expensive
Electrolysis - seems to be a bit hit and miss for many, worth a try though if it does work it’s good - make sure the machine is working properly - after the zapping the hair should pull out easily. Not cheap and you have to go back regularly, you’ll find there are several cycles of hair growth.
Threading, sugaring I’ve not tried. Creams are irritating but work well, timing is important.
In short you’ve got to have a try at various methods, hopefully one will have a long lasting or even permanent effect.
amijane, you are one cool woman to share so openly.
I had PCOS. And I’m so old that it was called Stein-Leventhal Syndrome when I had it.
My friend chose electroloysis and has flawless skin for the next fifty years. I tried plucking, but that has left scars underneath my chin. When I began taking premarin, the hair on my arms and legs mostly disappeared.
Shaving does not cause coarse regrowth or that masculine shaving look. It is hormones that does that – usually male hormones. All females have some male hormones (I think), but not usually enough to look masculine.
PCOS can also cause a bruised color (light blue and yellowish) on the back of the neck and under the breasts. Don’t let your mom, friend, sister or anyone else try to scrub it away. They can do damage to the neck area.
When I had corrective surgery for PCOS, I had small internal cysts – perhaps a hundred of them. After the surgery, I had only two more cysts at the same time. One was the size of a softball. It went away with medication. The one the size of a soccer ball meant a complete hysterectomy. Neither cyst could be noticed from the outside.
It is important for a woman with a lot of body hair to see a doctor to determine if she has PCOS. Sometimes it can keep you from having children and cause other rare complications such as false pregnancies.