Men are increasingly becoming aware of personal grooming and hygiene; also they spend a lot of time in the gym getting those perfect pectorals or the awesome abs, with the result that they don’t want a lot of body hair obscuring the way that they look.
The same solutions for hair removal that women use, can also be used for men – however methods such as waxing, shaving and using depilatory creams, are only a temporary measure for men who want that smooth hairless skin. For those who want a longer term solution for getting rid of body hair, solutions such as laser hair removal and electrolysis are better options.
Electrolysis for Male Hair Removal: This procedure is a long and time consuming one, where a thin needle is inserted into each hair shaft and an electric shock is delivered to permanently disable the cells that produce the hair. This is a permanent hair removal solution and so there are a few things to consider here –
1. Since this is a method of hair removal that removes the hair permanently and prevents it from growing back, this is not reversible. If you change your mind about smooth hairless hair or someone close to you dislikes it, you have no option but to be stuck with it for life.
2. Electrolysis is time consuming. Depending upon the extent of skin from which hair is to be removed, it can take ten minutes right up to a weekly treatment for one year. So consider your level of commitment.
3. It is also very painful and many find that numbing creams or local anesthetics and oral painkillers are required if the treatment is to be performed, particularly in sensitive areas.
Laser Hair Removal for Men: Popular sites for this procedure for men is the chest, back, buttocks, arms, legs, collar area, the unibrow and so on. Some men also like the bald headed look, and have laser hair removal done all over the head and those who fancy having a break from shaving everyday may desire to have it done in the beard area as well. Some men even like to go hairless in the genital area and it is possible to have laser hair removal done there or in the bikini area as well. However the following should be kept in mind if one is considering laser hair removal –
1. Laser hair removal works best with light skin and dark hair, for light hair it is less effective and with gray hair it may be completely ineffective.
2. This can be an expensive procedure that requires multiple treatments and considerable time commitment as well.
3. Touch up treatments are also required.
4. This causes hair to thin up to 80 or even 90% and cannot be said to remove hair completely or permanently.
5. This can be very painful, particularly for the more sensitive areas of the body, and topical numbing creams and pain relievers may be required.
6. People on certain medications are not suitable candidates for this treatment.
7. Certain skin conditions and scarring also makes laser hair removal unsuitable.