Many women and men use multiple methods to rid their bodies of unwanted hair. With varying degrees of success, they shave, pluck, wax, use depilatory creams and undergo electrolysis or laser hair removal, sometimes daily, sometimes weekly or monthly, sometimes in the privacy of their own home, or even on regular visits to professionals.
All these methods have advantages and disadvantages. Those who remove hair at the root have a longer lasting result than those who remove hair above the surface of the skin. Some are less irritating to the skin than others, some work better on certain parts of the body and can cause the new growth to become thinner and smaller. Looking for the best permanent removal solution, many have turned to lasers, making laser hair removal one of the most popular aesthetic treatments for women.
Methods for surface removal include shaving (electric and wet) and depilatory creams.
Shaving, especially of legs and underarms, is easy and convenient as part of a regular grooming routine. The downside is that it has to be done daily or several times a week to keep the skin smooth and hair-free. Depilatory creams chemically dissolve the hair but can cause irritation or even allergic reactions and should be tested on a small area. Hair removal at the root can be done with tweezers in small areas such as the eyebrows; and waxing, which can last for weeks but can be painful and require hair to grow longer than it would be for shaving.
Methods that promise long-lasting, even permanent hair removal are electrolysis and laser hair removal.
In electrolysis, a trained professional inserts a very thin electrified needle into the hair follicle and destroys the root with electrical current, preventing regrowth. Electrolysis treats each hair individually, making it time consuming and impractical for large areas. It can also be painful and cause redness and swelling. Laser treatment is the most effective method of permanent removal. Unlike electrolysis, it treats many hairs at once and can be used on any part of the body at any size. Although the number of treatments depends on the area to be treated, results are often seen after one or two treatments.
Laser treatments work by focusing an intense beam of light on a small area of the skin. The light is absorbed by pigment in the hair follicles below the skin's surface, destroying the hair follicles by heat and preventing growth. Laser hair removal is safe and has been refined over the years so that the procedure causes little to no discomfort. Permanent hair removal may require several rounds of treatment to cover all hair follicles at different stages of their growth cycle. Although some hairs grow back, they are likely lighter and thinner than before. The exact number of treatments required varies from person to person, depending on skin color and the nature of the hair.
Laser treatments work best when there is the greatest contrast between skin and hair color, such as with dark hair and fair skin. While different lasers are designed to work effectively on different skin tones, people with very light or white hair and fair skin may not achieve the best results with laser removal.
Laser hair removal has become popular for its convenience, comfort and long-lasting results. It is a non-invasive method of hair removal no matter where or how large the treated area is. With the warm weather approaching, many people will find that laser treatments will boost their confidence by wearing shorts and bathing suits that reveal smooth, hairless skin.
