Laser Hair Removal
When I was a kid, hair removal was about the barber pole, my dad's shaving brush and cup, and those salon hair dryers that sounded like a vacuum cleaner and made the person under them look like a Martian. Every once in a while, I'd see my mom coming out of the bathroom in her robe, head wrapped in a towel and a razor in hand, the tub draining behind her.
Times have changed. Men and women in many countries and cultures engage in hair removal for reasons of comfort and appearance – and from all parts of their bodies. Over the last thirty years, several products and technologies have been developed to provide hair removal.
In reviewing hair removal techniques, it’s important to understand the difference between removing a hair above the skin’s surface and removing it entirely. Depilation is a term that refers to removal of hair at the skin’s surface. Epilation treatments remove the entire hair including the root below the skin’s surface. Epilation is clearly the more effective choice, because it takes hair much longer to regenerate when starting from scratch.
The most common depilatory practice is shaving. Eighteenth century European and American women used poultices of various types removed unsightly facial hair. Other methods included attacking hair follicles with sulfuric acid, or simply with tweezers. By 1844, there were depilatory powders on sale in the United States. Men, for the most part stuck to shaving, which until the early part of the twentieth century was usually performed by barbers.
When women began wearing clothing that revealed arms and legs, hair removal became important for legs and armpits. More depilatory products appeared on the market and epilatory techniques were developed. Swimwear continued to shrink, and hair removal options continued to expand. Nair in particular was a heavily marketed cream touted as an option to shaving legs for women.
In the late 1960s, hair removal via the application and subsequent stripping of wax was introduced in the United States, imported from European salons and spas. This technique became popular for bikini hair removal. Men also began to utilize wax treatments, particularly for back and chest hair removal. Since that period, hair removal for both men and women from all parts of the body has become a mainstream personal grooming choice.
Waxing for epilatory hair removal has a well deserved reputation for being an effective but painful and time consuming process, which requires a salon visit. Electrolysis hair removal treatments are in use that can result in permanent hair removal. This method requires treating each hair follicle individually and can be uncomfortable as well. Local anesthetics are often employed, but electrolytic hair removal one strand at a time is time consuming and the skin irritation may stay with you for a few days.
The most technologically advanced method of epilatory hair removal is the use of lasers. Dermatologists have experimented with laser hair removal since the 1970s. Several products called ‘photo-epilators’ were marketed that used fiber optic probes to destroy hair follicles. Most were time consuming and did not produce permanent results.
In the early ‘90s, some spa operators engaged in overzealous marketing and promised permanent results from their laser hair removal techniques that could not consistently be met. There are multiple laser hair removal products on the market with FDA approval, but their effectiveness and the amount of discomfort they cause vary significantly.
Laser epilators remove hair through the use of heat generated by the laser beam. Newer laser hair removal systems have epidermal cooling functions built into them, which has helped to ease the discomfort associated with the process. Often however, the area designated for hair removal is treated with a cream to numb the epidermal nerve endings.
Licensing for a laser hair removal professional has been a controversial subject over the last decade. If you are considering a visit to a laser hair removal clinic, check on the training and certification of its operators. If part of the procedure includes the use of a skin-numbing product, the FDA recommends that you discuss possible side effects with the professionals at the spa or clinic.
Laser hair removal is developing into a technological step forward in permanent hair removal. However it is a field still going through growing pains, so be sure to utilize an established facility with certified hair removal professionals.
