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Summary Hair Removal
There Are Many Hair Removal Methods to Choose From
Temporary
- Depilation - Removes hair at the skin's surface:
- Shaving - Quick, simple, and cheap, a variety of shaving products are available over-the-counter including shaving creams, foams, and gels.
- Depilatories - Chemical depilatories available over-the-counter include creams, gels, aerosols, roll on foams, and lotions.
- Friction - Rough surface pads to buff away hair.
- Epilation - Pluck (to pull with force) hairs out of the follicle, below the surface, at the root. Ouch!! But...the results are longer lasting:
- Tweezing - Pluck hairs out with a tweezers.
- Waxing - Hot wax or cold wax spread on the skin.
- Sugaring - Heated sugar mixture spread on the skin. An ancient method of hair removal, still in use today.
- Epilators - Two types of devices use electric current to remove hair: the needle epilator and the tweezer epilator.
- Threading - An ancient technique. Plucks hair at the root by using a twisted piece of thread.
Permanent
- Electrolysis - Not quick, not simple, not cheap. Considered a permanent hair removal method, since it destroys the hair follicle.
- Laser - A laser destroys hair follicles with heat. Lasers are prescription devices that should be used only under the direction of a licensed practitioner. Expensive. One session costs between $150 and $250 for 15 to 20 minutes (prices can vary).
Or, a totally different approach, an Alternative Method of unwanted hair is hair bleaching, makes hairs less noticeable.
Warning: All of these techniques may cause skin irritation and infection.
Manufacturers can not claim that laser hair removal is either painless or permanent unless the FDA determines that there are sufficient data to demonstrate such results. Several manufacturers received FDA permission to claim, "permanent reduction," NOT "permanent removal" for their lasers. This means that although laser treatments with these devices will permanently reduce the total number of body hairs, they will not result in a permanent removal of all hair. The specific claim granted is "intended to effect stable, long-term, or permanent reduction" through selective targeting of melanin in hair follicles.
Permanent hair reduction is defined as the long term, stable reduction in the number of hairs regrowing after a treatment regime, which may include several sessions. The number of hairs regrowing must be stable over time greater than the duration of the complete growth cycle of hair follicles, which varies from four to twelve months according to body location. Permanent hair reduction does not necessarily imply the elimination of all hairs in the treatment area. Lasers cleared for body hair removal are also cleared for facial hair removal.
To sum it all up, hair removal can be quick, easy, cheap and painless, or it can be time consuming, somewhat difficult, inconvenience, very costly, and very uncomfortable to down right painful. The choice is yours.
References:
Food and Drug Administration
FDA Consumer Magazine
September 1996
www.fda.gov