Hair Removal: Women Have Been Doing it For Ages

For ages women have been using different techniques of hair removal. Gone are the days, when hair removal was just a cosmetic issue, because today it has become a part of personal hygiene rather than cosmetic issue. There are two types of hair removal; they are temporary hair removal and permanent hair removal. Each of these types has different techniques of their own.

Temporary hair removal
The temporary hair removal method has two more techniques attached to them. One is Depilation, a technique which removes only part of the hair which is seen above the skin's surface. The other is Epilation which removes the entire hair. The hair removing techniques which fall under the depilation category are:

Shaving or trimming: Which is the most common method, it has minimal side effects, it is very cheap and can be done quickly, but the only drawback of this method is that, it does not last long.

Depilatories: Using of shaving powders which can chemically dissolve the hair. This is also a common method, but can cause skin allergies and even chemical burns.
The results from the depilation techniques would last for a very short period, sometimes only for a few days. The techniques which come under epilation are:

Tweezing: In this method, metal forceps are used to manually pull out the hairs by the root, may be one or a few at a time. This method is commonly used to remove unwanted hair from the eyebrows. But it is very difficult to pull out hair from other parts of the body with this method.

Waxing: One of the oldest methods of hair removal and is still in practice. It is a very common method, where a thin layer of wax either cold or hot is applied on the area, and then a strip of cloth or paper is placed on the wax and is pulled out immediately, taking the hairs with it. Though very simple this method can be a real mess.
These methods of epilation though temporary would last for several weeks.

Permanent hair removal

Permanent hair removal is done using several methods like using chemicals or using energy of varying types or sometimes a combination of both. The most popular techniques of removing hair permanently are:

Electrolysis: By far this is the best method of permanent hair removal. Where a hair thin metal probe is slid into a hair follicle, then electricity is delivered to the follicle through the probe which damages the areas which generate hair. This is the only method which has proven to be effective for over 125 years. But this method is very expensive, and has to be done only by a trained person, because if the metal probe is not inserted properly, it could puncture your skin.

Laser treatment: This technique of hair removal has fluctuating results; it varies from one person to another. Some consumers, have experienced permanent hair reduction in this treatment, but others have not. This treatment requires several sessions for good results. It is expensive too.