Numerous Techniques of Hair Removal

Hair is such an emotive subject and with human nature being human nature, what we would like we can’t have and what we have we don’t want! Wild hair and we would like straight, straight hair and we would like curly, brunette and we would like blonde, blonde and we would like red. Likewise upper lip hair on a female, so valued as a sign of exquisite beauty using parts of the entire world, is vilified by our Western society.

Unwanted hair is a common problem affecting nearly all women to varying degrees throughout their lives and prompting the utilization of various temporary methods of hair reduction or hair management systems. It causes great distress, and it is often followed by feelings of poor self-confidence, an expression of isolation and low self worth.

Since the occasions when bearded women in Victorian travelling fairs were displayed for entertainment and ridicule, Western society has nurtured a stigma about excess hair. Many women are pressured into tremendous lengths to eliminate any trace of hair from any and every part of these body as they feel it to be unattractive and unappealing. However it is not merely women which can be now affected… increasingly the male gender is susceptible to pressure from the ‘fashion’ and celebrity world and unwanted hair may be just as vilified by the male population nowadays while the female.

Different Types of Hair Removal

Superfluous hair growth may be caused by many factors, such as for example, hormone imbalance, (during puberty, pregnancy and menopause), genetics and ethnicity, hereditary, medication or topical stimulation e.g. waxing or tweezing. Therefore, electrolysis – the only real permanent way of hair removal, is remedy that is in great demand by female and transsexual clients and recently, because of society’s attitudes, how many male clients is increasing.

To meet this need there as been many hair removal measures some which return back centuries in history. Hair removal has been around since caveman times but interestingly the parts of your body we’re removing hair from have differed over the ages. Removing hair from the head and face of men was originally not for vanity purposes but for survival. There is evidence that cavemen did this but in addition the ancient Egyptians and it had been undertaken, we imagine, for protection, as scraping off the beard and hair on the head would eliminate the advantage of an adversary having anything to seize onto as well as having less mites!

In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Middle Eastern countries, removing body hair was important. In reality these women removed most of these body hair, with the exception of eyebrows. Egyptian women removed their head hair and pubic hair was considered uncivilized by both sexes! It was also considered uncivilized for men to possess hair on their face. Undesired facial hair was the mark of a slave or servant, or of an individual of lower class. The ancient Egyptians used a questionnaire of razors made from flint or bronze while the razor wasn’t invented till the 1760’s by French barber, Jean Jacques Perret.

In addition they used a technique of temporary hair removal called sugaring. A sticky paste (bees wax was sometimes used) would be placed on your skin, a strip of cloth was pressed onto the wax and yanked off – very same of waxing today. Wealthy women of the Roman Empire would remove their body hair with pumice stones, razors, tweezing and pastes. There is also another technique used called threading that is recently seeing a resurgence in popularity. Thin string or yarn would be placed through the fingers of both of your hands, and quickly stroked over the area. This repetitive process captured the hair and effectively tweezed, ripped or pulled the unwanted hair out. Throughout the Elizabethan times the practice of hair removal, (not of leg, armpit or pubic hair), of these eyebrows and the hair from their foreheads in order to give the appearance of a lengthier brow and forehead was fashionable. It is startling to see the obvious influence ‘fashion’ has played in hair removal from the very beginning.

Waxing, sugaring, depilatory creams, bleaching, shaving, sugaring, plucking, threading and even battery-powered tweezers multiple-plucking systems, are typical temporary methods that many people try today. In reality new hair removal devices seem to appear like buses – every 20 minutes or so! However, technology has managed to move on and with it, it appears that there are some restricted and doubtful methods of hair removal. X-ray and photodynamic methods have been in a restricted category as the former has been banned in some countries such as the USA and the latter are merely in experimental stages. Electric tweezers, transdermal electrolysis, and microwaves are some of the doubtful methods in that there is no established data on their effectiveness.

Electrolysis continues to be the only real proven permanent way of hair removal and many women and indeed many men, have benefited out of this tried and trusted treatment. It is often the case that electrologists are privileged to witness a remarkable transformation within their clients, from a shy, introverted personality at the beginning of a course of treatments, to a confident and happy individual once treatment is underway and results become apparent.

Whatever your opinion of hair, ‘removing it’ within our Western society is a multiple million pound industry. Such a huge money making machine though could have significantly more than its fair share of misconceptions, misunderstandings, myths and legends none which relate much to the hard reality truth. The huge profit led hair removal industry has its fair share of charlatans and scams all attracted by the huge profit led opportunities.

Hair Removal methods are both permanent and temporary. The English dictionary definition of ‘permanent’ states: perpetual, everlasting. With this in mind there is only 1 system in the marketplace today that may totally prove ‘permanent’ hair removal primarily due to its longevity, client testimony and satisfaction and that is electrolysis. Invented in 1875 electrolysis offers permanent removal of hair for many hair types and colours and all skin types and colours. It remains utilised in hospitals by surgeons and ophthalmologists for trichaisis and other distortions of the eyelashes as well supporting a medical facility laser hair removal departments. It can also be considered a significant tool in the job of veterinary surgeons for animals (primarily horses and dogs) for the permanent removal of distorted and in-growing eyelashes. It provides cosmetic relief for the buyer with mild hirsute problems to the individual with seriously hirsute problems and for the transgender patient who may require many hours of treatment.

Apparently there has been confusing messages coming from the regulatory bodies on definitions of what the words ‘permanent’, ‘removal’ or ‘reduction’ in the hair removal industry actually mean. Agreement was reached that when the hairs that have been removed don’t grow back for a period of twelve months after the last treatment, permanent reduction may be claimed. Electrolysis, invented in 1875 remains even today, the main one method legally permitted to claim ‘permanent removal’ ;.

The newer technologies such as for example LASER (Light Amplification Stimulated Emission of Radiation) and IPL (Intense Pulse Light) were initially launched as competitors of electrolysis and initially marketed as THE answer for many permanent hair removal. This, it is now realised, are at best, somewhat nave and at worst, certainly misleading. The truth is that this is wishful thinking and nowadays ‘claims’ are far more realistic. The simple truth is that whilst they have their successes they also have their limitations – they can not treat all hair colours and types and all skin colours successfully and they now accept their limitations and embrace electrolysis and electrologists as their back up.

Laser and IPL are allowed by the FDA to claim permanent ‘reduction’ but not permanent ‘removal’ of hair. The simple truth is that newer technology is brilliant for big areas and for dark hair. For grey or white hair it just simply doesn’t work. Laser and IPL target the melanin in the hair and if the hair is grey or white there is no melanin remaining in the hair because of it to target. As well as this, for unknown reason(s) not all the hair reacts to treatment and results vary from 85% – 95% success. The remaining 5% – 15% hair will undoubtedly be stripped of its melanin (thus appearing white) but nevertheless stubbornly continues to grow. This then leaves the only real option of ‘permanent hair removal’ down to additional electrolysis treatment to complete the job. Laser and IPL are now recognised to be always a hair ‘management’ system and clients are advised that regrowth may occur.

Photoepilator light energy was launched in 1969 and was developed from research into laser hair removal. Photoepilators use a burst of filtered light targeted at one hair at a time. After the focus of the light, the hair is tweezed. Like any laser and light instrument, the light used in the device is targeted from the blood and melanin pigments in the hair and heats them up. Allow this process, fibre-optic probes were inserted in to the hair follicle through which the light was flashed. There is no clinical data published up to now to support any permanency claims and there is no established data on its effectiveness.

The tweezer method with its unsubstantiated claim of ‘permanent hair removal’ was first patented in 1959. This system functions by passing an electric energy through the tweezers, which holds the hair at first glance of your skin by grasping them for many minutes. Electricity enters through the hair to its root and claims to permanently damage it. The scientific community has reservations while the claim of electricity destroying the main of the hair doesn’t have scientific backup.

Transcutaneous and Transdermal offers ‘permanent Hair Removal’ but no clinical data has been published to date to determine the declare that permanent hair remova 脫毛價錢l is achievable using these methods. In 1985 when the utilization of AC electric tweezers was stopped, the manufacturers made some modifications in the apparatus. Adhesive patches as opposed to cotton swabs were introduced and a name change into transcutaneous hair removal. It uses the idea of direct current (DC) for transdermal delivery of drugs (iontophoresis) without the utilization of a needle. A DC electric energy is passed via a conductive gel at first glance of your skin via an adhesive patch placed on the skin. The hair root is claimed to be damaged permanently by the electric energy that travels down to the hair follicle.

Up to now no clinical data can be obtained and the laws of physics don’t support the claims created by the manufacturers. Hair does not conduct electricity but skin does. As electricity passes through the medium of poor resistance, it will spread along the top of your skin as opposed to passing through the hair. Therefore, as with the tweezer method, the argument so it will reach the main of the hair to destroy it doesn’t have scientific backup.

Ultrasound hair removal claims that ultrasound waves are channelled precisely down the hair shaft and in the process they transform to thermal energy that super heats the hair growth areas and inhibits regrowth. It is stated that the waves are bound to the hair shaft and don’t dissipate into your skin prevents any side effects.

Ultrasound hair removal offers ‘total hair removal’ and claims to function as ‘next generation of longterm hair removal devices’ ;.It states in its marketing material it is ‘The hair removal solution’ and that ‘no additional hair appears in the exact same follicle proving that this can be a long-term treatment’ ;.The FDA hasn’t given the outcome to date regarding an application to promote in April 2010 of the latest device.