Unwanted Hair

Hair is a good heat conductor and regulates our body warmth. It covers most of our skin surface. Do you know that on average the number of hair follicles is the same in men and women? Thus, a woman’s body can potentially be as hairy as man’s. The difference in the visibility of body hair between men and women is caused by hormonal differences: women have much less of the hormone testosterone than men and, consequently, much less visible body hair.

Why do people want to have hair removed?

Although body hair is physiologically normal, it is often undesirable for aesthetic reasons. Unwanted hair, particularly in highly visible areas like the face in women, can impact on self-confidence and quality of life.

Methods to reduce/remove hair

Various methods exist for removing or decreasing body hair, such as threading, shaving and waxing.

The most efficient and cost-effective methods of hair reduction and removal involve laser and light technologies. Laser technology to reduce hair has become a popularly demanded service since the 1990s on areas including face, chest and abdomen, legs and the “bikini line”/”Brazilian line”. Laser hair removal is the process of hair removal through the exposure to pulses of laser light that destroy the hair follicle. Compared to shaving, laser technology covers a larger area at a time. It is also much less painful than waxing (ouch!) as the targeted area is numbed before and after the treatment. Moreover, results can last three to six months or longer before hair grows back visibly.

Ingrown hair issue with hair removal methods

Traditional mechanical hair removal methods such as shaving, waxing or tweezing can cause ingrown hairs. Ingrown hair is hair that grows into the skin instead of outward, producing itchy, painful red bumps similar to pimples, sometimes pus-filled. Sites can eventually become infected, show skin colour change or scarring from scratching and picking.

To manage ingrown hair, one simple solution is to not remove it, which may not be feasible or unacceptable for some people. Another simple solution is the use of lotions with AHA/BHA in between hair removal sessions to keep the skin smooth and decrease the tendency to form ingrown hairs. For a more effective long-term solution that addresses the cause, laser hair removal procedure is one of the preferred ways people opt for. It helps solve the issue by killing the actual hair shaft with laser light energy so the hair cannot grow up and then coil under.