There are various methods available to you for getting rid of body hair, such as shaving, waxing and tweezing, but which treatment provides long-term solutions?
Answer to this question depends on a patient’s skin and hair color; permanent hair removal is best suited for darker locks with light skin tones.
Laser Hair Removal
Laser hair removal is a longer-term option that works by damaging follicles with high-heat lasers to stop new hair growth. While effective, multiple sessions are required in order to reach permanent results; patients should plan on attending twice-weekly sessions for approximately six weeks in total before plucking or waxing in the treated area is possible; full hair shedding usually takes two or three weeks after treatment has begun.
Before receiving laser hair removal treatments, you must lighten the skin in the area where hair growth will be reduced with sunless skin cream or bleach. This is necessary because laser treatments target melanin pigment and won’t work as efficiently on tanned skin. Furthermore, shaving and tweezing should also be avoided prior to appointment as these can disrupt the hair follicle and affect its performance – thus negating its outcome and undermining its success.
Fitzpatrick Skin Phototype Classification helps identify which patients are ideal candidates for laser hair removal. In general, people with skin types I and II with dark hair tend to experience long-lasting results from laser treatment; however, this is not an absolute rule as some individuals may still experience permanent hair loss.
Treatment plans depend on an individual’s needs; most laser treatments usually require between two and six sessions for optimal results. After their final session, patients usually no longer see any hair in the treated area for months or even years after completion, when new regrowth does occur, usually finer and lighter in color than before treatment; sensitive skinned individuals may experience redness, swelling and blistering afterwards.
If these side effects arise, a physician or nurse will often prescribe medications to relieve them, along with using cold compresses or ice packs to decrease inflammation. Some patients might even develop crusting that cannot always be easily removed. Since patients can be susceptible to infection after laser treatments, it’s also important for them to attend all follow-up appointments in order to minimize risks of complications and infection.
Electrolysis
Electrolysis, considered permanent by the FDA, involves applying electric current directly to each hair follicle in turn. Electrolysis works well on all skin types, hair colors and ethnicities – especially dark-skinned people who don’t respond as well to laser treatments. Electrolysis works by inserting a needle into a hair follicle before inserting an electrical current that destroys part of it that stimulates hair growth – with any loose hair being plucked out using tweezers afterwards.
Laser hair removal takes longer due to having to treat each individual follicle separately, costing more than its counterpart and often requiring multiple follow-up appointments for optimal results. Furthermore, this procedure has its risks: pain and redness from skin irritation are among them; scarring can occur if performed incorrectly while infection can set in.
Electrolysis can be safely administered when administered by a certified professional like a dermatologist or electrologist, though it’s not suitable for people living with diabetes, epilepsy, or conditions affecting their nervous systems; or pregnant or breastfeeding women.
As well as making sure your practitioner is appropriately qualified, electrolysis requires trimming your hair down to quarter-inch for each appointment. Elise recommends clients trim with either a bikini or facial razor rather than shaving in order to access the root of each hair follicle more easily and reach its base more effectively. She warns against getting waxed or tweezed prior to each treatment because these methods could interfere with its effectiveness and even disrupt treatment in growing phases.
Electrolysis treatments typically require 18 sessions for maximum effectiveness in an area. Once all hair follicles have been eliminated, electrolysis should no longer grow, though further sessions may still be necessary even once hair growth has stopped. Electrolysis should only ever be undertaken under supervision from an accredited practitioner who offers various numbing options and plans on how long their practice has been running before beginning treatment sessions themselves. For optimal results and optimal treatment outcomes.
Waxing
Waxing is one of the most sought-after techniques for eliminating unwanted hair, as it is quick, affordable and painless – producing results that last up to six weeks!
Waxing is both efficient and gentle on the skin. Unlike shaving or tweezing, which can irritate or tear at the surface of the skin, waxing removes hair at its source from underneath, leaving your skin undamaged. Regular waxing also promotes faster hair re-growth due to thinner, finer strands regrowing faster each time compared with shaving or tweezing alone.
Based on your hair growth rate, waxing every four to six weeks for an ideal result may be necessary to prevent ingrown hairs and make waxing smooth and silky. Proper post-wax skin care – such as cleansing and exfoliating the area after waxing – will also help avoid ingrowns as will using loofah or salicylic acid scrubs to reduce redness, bumps or irritation caused by waxing.
Waxing salons that provide excellent services take great measures to protect their clients from infection, using only top quality products and wax samples that won’t irritate the skin. You should avoid applying any topical creams containing retinol or prescription retinoid for at least two-five days prior to waxing for optimal results.
Soft wax body waxing offers several distinct advantages; each type has their own specific applications and benefits. Soft wax, for example, can be applied directly onto larger body areas like legs and arms with wooden spatula or roller and then covered by cloth strip which will later be taken off after cooling has occurred – this method of waxing is gentle on skin without much pain involved.
Hard waxing is another popular waxing choice and typically applied to smaller areas such as eyebrows or bikini lines. Made of natural ingredients such as honey, lemon, and sugar, hard wax adheres directly to hair rather than skin – an ideal solution for people with sensitive skin.
When it comes to relieving pain during waxing appointments, some waxers opt for taking an over-the-counter acetaminophen (Tylenol). Meanwhile, others swear by icing the area before their appointment.
Tweezing
Tweezing may be an easy and economical solution to remove single stray hairs, but it can damage hair follicles by pulling out anagen-phase hairs prematurely. Tweezing can also cause ingrown hairs which are both painful and unsightly – if this is something you regularly experience then applying numbing cream before tweezing may be beneficial in providing protection.
Plucking or tweezing hair to remove it permanently is not advised as this stimulates hair follicles to produce more hairs than necessary, leading to thicker and darker regrowth. Electrologists always advise their clients against plucking or tweezing between treatments.
There are various methods for semi-permanent or permanent hair removal, such as shaving, waxing and chemical depilatories (cremes, lotions and gels used on the skin for several minutes before being wiped off), that are available. They work best on light fine hair while being less effective against dark coarse follicles.
Waxing and sugaring remove all hair roots at once, making the procedure usually more comfortable than shaving but more time consuming and difficult to do at home.
Hair removal specialists use wax made of sugar, water and lemon juice to grab several hairs at once and pull them out at their roots, providing an effective yet gentler alternative to shaving or tweezing. Unfortunately it cannot be applied to sensitive areas like noses, eyebrows or genitalia.
McNair emphasizes the infeasibility of permanent hair removal; however, you can reduce hair growth in an area by regularly shaving, using depilatory products or receiving laser therapy treatments from licensed technicians. If you want to permanently reduce hair from your body then visit one of Rochester Regional Health Dermatology locations and speak to a specialist there about options.
