Removing body hair can cause skin irritation, cuts, and other problems. Some parts of your body, like areas around your eyes and vagina, can be especially sensitive. Also, if you have a lot of hair on your face, it could be a sign of a medical condition called Polycystic ovary syndrome. PCOS is a common hormone imbalance that affects about 1 in 10 women. Girls as young as 11 can get PCOS.
Here are some tips related to common methods of healthy hair removal.
Laser Hair Removal
In this method, a laser destroys hair follicles with heat. Light is beamed through the skin to stop hair growth.
Sometimes it is recommended that a topical anesthetic product be used before a laser hair removal procedure, to minimize pain. The laser light can cause pain sometimes, but creams are used to numb the skin. If you use a lot of these creams, they can cause serious health problems, so talk to your doctor before having laser hair removal about the circumstances under which the cream should be used, and whether the use is appropriate.
Those who decide to use a skin-numbing product should follow the directions of a health care provider and consider using a product that contains the lowest amount of anesthetic drugs possible. FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has received reports of serious and life-threatening side effects after use of large amounts of skin-numbing products for laser hair removal.
Side effects of laser hair removal can include blistering, discoloration after treatment, swelling, redness, and scarring. Sunlight should be avoided during healing after the procedure.
Avoid sunlight when your skin is healing after laser removal. Keep in mind that laser treatment can be expensive and works best on dark hair and light skin.
Epilators: Electrolysis, Needle, and Tweezers
Medical Electrolysis devices destroy hair growth with a shortwave radio frequency after a thin probe is placed in the hair follicle. Risks from these methods include infection from an unsterile needle and scarring from improper technique. Electrolysis is considered a permanent hair removal method, since it destroys the hair follicle. It requires a series of appointments over a period of time.
Electrolysis can take many sessions and a lot of money.
You could get an infection from a dirty needle or scars from poor treatments, so consider asking your doctor to recommend a trusted electrologist. You also should look for an electrologist with a current license or certification.
Needle epilators introduce a fine wire close to the hair shaft, under the skin, and into the hair follicle. An electric current travels down the wire and destroys the hair root at the bottom of the follicle, and the loosened hair is removed with tweezers.
Tweezer epilators also use electric current to remove hair. The tweezers grasp the hair close to the skin, and energy is applied at the tip of the tweezer. There is no body of significant information establishing the effectiveness of the tweezer epilator to permanently remove hair.
Depilatories (Hair removal creams, gels, and liquids)
These use chemicals to make the hair melt, and the chemicals can irritate your skin.
Follow the directions carefully, and leave the product on only for the recommended amount of time.
Don’t use these near your eyes or on skin that is already cut or irritated.
These sometimes can cause rashes, burns, and other skin problems, so it’s a good idea to test a product on a small area the first time you use it. You might want to avoid these products if you tend to have sensitive skin (like if skin care products give you stinging, burning, or a rash).
Available in gel, cream, lotion, aerosol, and roll-on forms, depilatories are highly alkaline (or, in some cases, acidic) formulations that affect the protein structure of the hair, causing it to dissolve into a jellylike mass that the user can easily wipe from the skin. Consumers should carefully follow instructions and heed all warnings on the product label.
For example, manufacturers typically recommend conducting a preliminary skin test for allergic reaction and irritation. Depilatories should not be used for eyebrows or around eyes or on inflamed or broken skin.
FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors has received reports of burns, blisters, stinging, itchy rashes, and skin peeling associated with depilatories and other types of cosmetic hair removers.
Waxing, Sugaring, and Threading
Unlike chemical depilatories that remove hair at the skin’s surface, these methods pluck hairs out of the follicle, below the surface.
Waxing
involves putting cold or hot wax on skin where you want hair to be removed and allowing it to harden. A cloth is used to pull off the wax and the hair. (Cold waxes, which are soft at room temperature, allow the user to skip the steps of melting and hardening.) It is then pulled off quickly in the opposite direction of the hair growth, taking the uprooted hair with it.
Waxing can hurt, and it may irritate your skin. Labeling of waxes may caution that these products should not be used by people with diabetes and circulatory problems. Waxes should not be used over varicose veins, moles, or warts. Waxes also shouldn’t be used on eyelashes, the nose, ears, or on nipples, genital areas, or on irritated, chapped, or sunburned skin. As with chemical depilatories, it can be a good idea to do a preliminary test on a small area for allergic reaction or irritation.
You can buy waxes to use yourself, or you can go to a salon professional for waxing. If you wax yourself, make sure to follow all directions that come with the product.
It can be a good idea to do a test on a small area for allergic reaction or irritation.
Sugaring is similar to waxing. A heated sugar mixture is spread on the skin, sometimes covered with a strip of fabric, and then lifted off to remove hair.
Threading is an ancient technique in which a loop of thread is rotated across the skin to pluck the hair. All of these techniques may cause skin irritation and infection.
Shaving
Shaving hair only when it’s wet, and shaving in the direction in which the hairs lie, can help lessen skin irritation and cuts. It’s important to use a clean razor with a sharp blade. Contrary to popular belief, shaving does not change the texture, color, or growth rate of hair. Razors and electric shavers are under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
- Try shaving in the shower when your skin is soft.
- Use a shaving cream or gel.
- Change razors often because a sharp blade helps prevent cuts.
- Shave in the direction the hair grows.
- To avoid spreading infections, don’t share razors.
Tips for removing pubic hair
In recent years, more girls and women have also begun removing all or some of the hair around their vagina. There is no need to remove the hair to keep the area clean. The decision to remove pubic hair often is based just on trends, which change over time.
If you’re thinking about removing pubic hair, keep a few facts in mind:
- Your pubic hair helps protect the sensitive lips around the opening to your vagina from painful rubbing by your underwear.
- The pubic area is very sensitive. It can easily get irritated or infected when removing hair.
- Waxing works by pulling out the hair, which can hurt.
- If you shave, you can give yourself a painful cut.
- As shaved hair grows back, it can feel itchy and uncomfortable.
- If you decide to use a hair-removal cream, make sure it says it’s gentle enough for the pubic area.
- Don’t put on any product that could sting, like aftershave lotion. To help avoid irritation, don’t use products with added dyes or fragrances.
- If you have more questions about taking care of this sensitive area, talk with an adult you trust.
