Permanent hair removal is the best choice when it comes to getting rid of unwanted body hair. Being overly hairy can be embarrassing to some people and that is why a lot of them try to get rid of it as much as they could. The more common strategies are shaving, plucking, using depilatory creams, and waxing. However, these techniques only work short-term and hair eventually grows back, seemingly thicker and coarser than before.
Permanent hair removal is a bit of a misnomer, because most of the services that offer this do not actually remove hair permanently. Instead, it slows down growth for a certain period of time, usually for a year. Even if this was the case, there are still a lot of people who opt for permanent hair removal because of the convenience it offers. One year is a long time where you don’t have to include shaving or plucking in your routine. Furthermore, hair also grows back thinner than before after a person has gone through the procedure.
Permanent Hair Removal Procedures
Electrolysis
Among all of the permanent methods , electrolysis is the only one that is actually permanent. Each hair strand is removed separately using a needle-like object. It does not puncture the skin but sends a small jolt of electricity to kill the follicle. Even with the permanency it offers, there are also disadvantages to it. First is the cost, both in time and money. Because electrolysis targets only one hair at a time, it takes multiple sessions before all of these can be removed. Secondly, the treatment may also be painful for some people. Lastly, wrong administration can cause burns and scarring.
IPL
Intense pulsed light (IPL) and laser hair removal are also popular options in permanent hair removal. Both of these work essentially in the same way, by applying a light source to the skin. The light targets dark matter, which is the hair follicle while skipping other skin areas. As a result, hair is zapped from the root. A clear disadvantage of these procedures is that they are more effective with dark hair, as the light tends to ignore light-colored strands. Unlike electrolysis, hair does grow back after these treatments. However, the growth is finer and in lesser amount, and only occurs after about a year after the procedure.
Prescribed methods
There are also permanent hair removal products, like pills and permanent hair removal cream. Unlike depilatories, these need prescriptions before these can be used. Since these are effective medications, people need to take care when using these products. For example, only non-pregnant women can take these. Like the laser and IPL permanent hair removal systems, these are only temporary and hair eventually grows back when you stop taking the pills or applying the cream after a period of time. However, the advantage these have over the others is that this is permanent hair removal at home.
There are other systems geared towards permanent hair removal at home, which could be a blessing for gents who are shy about getting permanent hair removal for men outside. The radio frequency permanent hair removal system is one of those. This is relatively painless, since it only requires radio frequency to be sent to the hair strands. However, it is also time consuming because, like electrolysis, it can only treat one hair at a time. There are other systems that use heat to separate the hair follicles from the roots. Some lasers can also be bought to be used at home. However, most people opt to go to technicians instead of doing it by themselves for safety reasons.
The choice of a permanent hair removal system depends on the need and budget of the person who avails of this.