Permanent hair removal has been a long time goal for both men and women. 20-25% of North American women have unwanted or excessive facial hair which for many has an adverse effect on their lifestyle. Men have also jumped on the band wagon to get rid of excess body hair. Today’s popular culture has levied appearance anxieties upon men with what is considered sexy or good looking. In the long run the rough, gruffness appeal of a burly hairy man has been replaced by a more metro-sexual look. What was once considered manly is now cause for embarrassment. This whole culture shift has made laser hair removal for men a very lucrative business.
Between 2002 and 2007 the hair removal and shaving industry rose by nearly 8% in the US roughly pulling in 1.8 billion dollars a year. During that time the whole laser hair removal process was only adequate for dark hair light skinned people, but sense then new advancements have been able to include a larger segment of the population. (i.e. lighter hair with dark skin)
There are many temporary solutions to removing unwanted hair:
Manual plucking:
Quick and easy for small areas but can activate the hair follicles growth stage resulting in fast re-growth and more of it. It is rare, but plucking can cause scarring
Shaving:
While this is quick and effective for larger areas it is the most temporary. While acceptable for men, women shy away from this method around the face and neck because of the thick blunt end left on the surface of the skin becomes more noticeable. They may get away with this on their legs or pubic area, but they still risk ingrown hairs and cutting themselves.
Waxing (sugaring):
Application of a warmed wax or a sugary paste to areas of hair-bearing skin and then removing it, along with the unwanted hair, is a popular method of hair removal and is commonly performed at salons and spas. This method may be used over large skin surface areas (eg, legs, arms, back) or small controlled areas (eg, face, eyebrow, and bikini area). New hair growth appears more slowly than with shaving, as the hair must grow to the level of the skin surface before it appears. It is too easy to get thermal burns and scarring.
Depilatory creams:
Depilatory creams like Nair use chemical depilatories whose sole purpose is to dissolve the disulfide bonds that hold hair cells together. While the results look better, the hair is only gone at the skin surface like shaving so it will grow back in short order. When these products warn about leaving it on longer than 6 minutes they mean it. The same chemicals that melt the hair can burn the skin or at least cause a rash or significant itching.
Electrolysis:
When done right, electrolysis is the second best option for permanent hair removal next to lasers. It is successful on a wide 20 – 80 percent of the patients that undergo it. A weak electrical current passes through an electrode that has been inserted into the pour were the hair lives. Then one by one, an alternating current is directed to the hair follicle destroying it. This is very VERY slow and not practical for large areas.
In 1996 the Ruby laser first showed up on the scene as a permanent hair removal solution. The original lasers were only suited for light skin because the original lasers would take advantage of the dark pigment in the hair. Dark skin was susceptible to being burned along with the hair. Years later the Nd:YAG laser was adapted to be used in laser hair removal. Its wider wavelength opened the doors for customers with darker pigment to benefit for the same quick path to hair free skin.