Unwanted Hair

Unwanted body hair among women is far more common than you might think. Since there is such a social stigma attached to excessive body hair on women most of them take great pains to cover it up or remove it. This is one reason why you may think that it is uncommon. Furthermore women on television and in magazines scarcely have a single follicle anywhere but upon their heads. They also have access to the best hair removal techniques and professional retouching. Can you say PhotoShop? In the real world most women fight a daily battle with unwanted hair growth on their legs, under their arms, feet, toes, intimate areas, and yes the face.

How Much Hair is too Much?

That is hard to say. Unlike in other cultures, in our society hair on women’s bodies was never considered a norm or attractive. Yet in recent years it seems that we here in the West have gone increasingly tricophobic (fear of body hair). Women are painstakingly trying to go totally hairless. Even pubic hair is now commonly shaved or waxed by the majority of women. And believe it not this obsession with body hair is not restricted to women. Men are routinely going for depilatory treatments to remove the hair on the chest and back.

Every woman has had to deal with the occasional plucking of the chin or eyebrows. Shaving the legs and underarms is part of most women’s daily routine. So how much is too much is really a very individual question. But if you find yourself spending a lot of time dealing with unwanted body hair, or worrying about it - perhaps you need to think about having it removed.

Unwanted Hair Removal Methods

The simplest and most common method to remove unwanted hair is via shaving. There is no truth to the rumor that shaving any part of your body actually causes hair to grow back thicker or quicker. Women routinely shave their legs and underarms, and some will shave to remove unwanted facial hair. Shaving or trimming with a scissors is much better than tweaking or plucking out hairs as this damages the skin. Additional “home” methods of hair removal include bleaches and depilatories.

Other common methods of hair removal include:

Waxing – Waxing has become a popular method of removing unwanted body hair on the legs, and especially the bikini area. Waxing is best performed by professionals for the safest and most effective results. A similar technique to waxing is Sugaring, which as the name implies involves the application of warm sugar to the area of hair to be removed instead of hot wax.

Laser Hair Removal – The use of lasers has become increasingly popular in many cosmetic and beauty treatments, hair removal is no exception. But do not believe everything you hear about “Permanent Laser Hair Removal”. Lasers can be effective in eliminating unwanted hair for long periods of time, but it is not permanent.

Electrolysis– is the only proven method to permanently remove hair. Performed by a skilled professional, in electrolysis, tiny needles are inserted into the hair follicle and its ability to re-grow hair is destroyed through microbursts of electricity.

Medical Treatments

Most women confronting unwanted hair are dealing with an ordinary amount of body that they themselves or those around them have deemed “excessive”. However there are a number of women that are actually coping with a hirsutism caused by hormonal issues. Only a qualified physician can determine if your hair growth is indeed excessive, and if it can be related to some form of hormonal imbalance. If there is not a serious underlying cause for the excessive growth such as a problem with the pituitary or thyroid glands, then your medical practitioner may be able to suggest some medications that can sometimes reverse the effect of hormonally caused hair growth.

There is a cream that has recently been introduced that women with excessive hair growth are using in conjunction with other removal methods. The cream is called Vaniqa; it works not by removing hair but by significantly slowing the hair growth cycle. So when used in conjunction with other treatments, it can lengthen the time between treatments, and can help to keep the problem of your excessive hair growth between you and your practitioner.