Hair grows almost anywhere on the surface of the body or skin. There are certain locations on a human’s body that you would not want a prolific growth of hair, especially if you are a woman. The eyebrows, upper lips, armpits, legs and bikini areas are just some of the areas where you either would want to reduce or remove hair growth. There are many ways to remove unsightly hair; some are temporary and some may be permanent.
Shaving
Shaving is one of the methods that can temporarily remove unsightly hair. You can use a shaver, whether manual or battery-operated. Shave your armpits and legs while taking a shower in order to prevent any skin irritation that you may experience when shaving on dry skin. For best results, rub a body wash or soap on the areas that you will shave in order to have a smoother finish. Then, glide the shaver’s blade against the growth of your hair. Rinse carefully and apply cream or lotion after drying with towel.
Chemical Depilation
Chemical depilation uses a chemical depilatory or hair-removal cream that contains chemicals that can effectively remove hair. The solution contains calcium thioglucolate or barium sulfide to dissolve hair. Test a small portion of your skin to see if you would get an allergic reaction or skin rash before using. Apply the cream over the unwanted hair. The depilatory agents work by reacting with the protein structure of the hair, causing it to dissolve. After 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the product’s instructions), wash the area with water and scrape away the growth.
Epilation
Epilation involves removing of hair from the roots. Plucking, waxing, threading, sugaring and using abrasives are some of the methods used. Plucking consists of using hand-held tweezers to remove individual hair. This is an effective method if you do not have to remove a lot of hair, such as in the eyebrow and upper lip areas. Waxing is a preferable method for legs and bikini areas. Most women also opt to use the wax method even for their eyebrows and upper lips. Waxing uses heated wax and cloth to strip the hair off against the direction of the hair growth. Threading uses fine threads to remove hair. Sugaring is similar to waxing, except that it makes use of a mixture of sugar, lemon juice and water heated to form a paste instead of wax. Lastly, you can use abrasives to remove hair by using pumice stones or devices made with fine sand paper to rub against the hair growth.
Electrolysis
Galvanic electrolysis, thermolysis and blend methods are the three different methods used in electrolysis. Galvanic electrolysis uses direct electric current that passes down through a needle into the hair follicle to create a chemical reaction. This process converts tissue saline into sodium hydroxide that will eventually destroy the hair bulb. Thermolysis makes use of high frequency alternating current that passes down through the needle to the hair follicle. This vibrates the cells of the hair follicle to produce enough heat to remove the hair bulb. Blend method employs the combination of galvanic and thermolysis. For more details, check “electrolysis” under References.
