Facial Hair Removal Methods

A common problem with women and occasionally with men is unwanted facial hair. In women the unwanted hair is usually found on the upper lip, the side of the face and on the chin, where as in men the unwanted hair usually occurs on the cheeks, just below the eyes.

Until recently the only options for removing facial hair were shaving or tweezing, which most people are unwilling to do as the hair can grow back thicker and stiffer, which means if you don't continuously pluck or shave then the problem will become worse than it was in the first place. Both methods can also cause skin irritation and in the case of plucking, the hair follicle can become irritated and cause scarring.

Some alternative methods of facial hair removal are listed below.

This is one of the cheapest hair removal methods and it can be very effective at removing thinner hair on the lip or on the sides of the face. A wax strip is simply applied to the area of hair, left for a short period and then quickly removed, taking the unwanted hair with it.

Depilatory cream is a chemical cosmetic application that contains ingredients such as calcium thioglycolate, when the cream is applied to the skin if breaks down the disulfide bonds in keratin in the hair. This weakens the hair to the extent that it can easily be scraped off where it emerges from the hair follicle.

The effects are fast and this is a relatively cost effective hair removal technique, however as with waxing it can be short lived with hair beginning to grow back in 3-5 days.

Facial Threading uses a 100% cotton thread which is twisted and rolled across the unwanted facial hair lifting hair directly from the follicle. Unlike plucking where single hairs are removed, threading can remove an entire row of hair, resulting in a straighter line.

Facial laser hair removal has become one of the most popular hair removal techniques in recent times. Lasers are used to cause localized damage in the hair follicle by selectively heating dark target matter, or melanin, this can be done without heating the rest of the skin. The laser energy is absorbed by the dark material which stops the hair growth.

This treatment works best on the dark coarse facial hair and light skin and dark hair are the best combination, however new lasers have been developed to enable dark black hair to be removed in patients with dark skin.

Facial Electrolysis is when a solid hair-thin metal probe is inserted into each hair follicle. Electricity is then delivered to the follicle through the probe, which causes damage to the areas that generate hair growth. This is acheived either by the formation of caustic lye, overheating, or a combination of both.

Both Laser Hair Removal and Facial Electrolysis are more permanent methods of hair removal but they are also most costly.