Home Hair Removal

Home hair removal methods were invented many ages ago. Some are painful some not but most have only short lasting effect. However now there are much more products to chose from than ever before. It’s now possible to remove hair yourself not only temporary but permanently. Portable laser and electrolysis systems are a living proof of it.

Reasons for excessive hair growth 
There are many reasons for excessive hair. Those are genetic reasons, certain medications such as hormones, some medical conditions.

Laser hair removal

There are types of lasers. However they all do the same things – target the melanin in the hair follicle to get rid of hair.
Laser hair removal considered permanent. Compared to all other types of home hair removal, it does look permanent as it reduces the hair growth extensively! It does require 5-8 procedures to see visible results. However after you done you’ll likely need to repeat it once a year which is like nothing compared to other methods.
There are few quality laser hair removal products that can be used at home.

One of them is a laser system called Tria. It’s a handheld device that you can use in the comfort of your own home.
TRIA Hair Removal Laser is a first FDA-cleared device. The main feature of it is that it’s portable and does not require cords to work. Device should be used 2 times a month. Tria promises to provide the results in 90 days; in 6-8 months.

Silk’n Sens Epil Hair Removal Unit is a largest treatment spot size device and it’s also FDA approved. It is a better choice if you need to work with larger areas such as legs and hands. Full leg can be treated in less than 30 minutes.

Like after salon laser treatments you should not expect your hair to fall right away as with depilatories. It will fall out within 2 weeks after the procedure. New hair will grow weaker and lighter with each procedure, until the follicle destroyed completely. This is why even laser is permanent it still requires more than one procedure.
Home laser should not be used on very light hair, on very dark African-American skin, when pregnant.

- Home Electrolysis Systems
Here is how home hair reduction with electrolysis work:

e-PEN™ sends a small electrical current deep down to the hair follicle. Once the current reaches the follicle, the natural water and salt solution around the follicle turns into sodium hydroxide and destroys the hair root.

Verseo The Home Electrolysis Roller produce safe electrical energy that reacts with the included conductive gel to destroy the foundation of hair growth at the base of the follicle.

This system works great if you want to reduce hair on a small area of your body.
Home Electrolysis should not be used on a very dark skin and on curly body hair.
How long it last: permanent after the full treatment course

- Creams that stop or slow down hair growth

Temporary home hair reducing methods
- Shaving
It’s the most common, the easiest and perhaps the fastest method to remove unwanted hair at home. However it has many cons to it such as cuts, ingrown hair and skin irritation. Also because shaving removes only the top part of the hair but not the root that is responsible for the actual hair growth, you have to shave repeatedly to keep skin smooth, every 2-3 days.
How long it last: up to 3 days

- Waxing
There are many methods in waxing that can be applied at home, such as hot and cold waxing, sugaring, strip waxing.
In strip waxing the wax is adhered to the piece of cloth for convenience. And after it sticks to the hair, you pull it off with the hair.
Sugar wax can be made at home with few simple ingredients: sugar, water and lemon juice. All this is boiled until thick and then after it cools down, it should be applied to the skin where hair needs to be removed.
Waxing at home for the first time: If you’ve never waxed before you should first try it on a small area of leg. With time, you will get well trained in home hair removal and results will be not worst than in salons.
How long it last: up to 6 weeks

- Gelling
It’s the next generation hair removal method and it’s 100% natural. It contains sugar, water and other organic product. It called gelling because it looks like gel.
How long it last: up to 6 weeks

- Creams depilatories
Depilatory cream is used to apply for a leg (hands) for a few minutes and then washed off with dissolved unwanted hair.
Creams go a little bit deeper than simple shaving. They are quick and fast to remove hairs.
Among disadvantages of depilatories creams is that they can’t be used too often and should not be used on sensitive skin. Such products have to be used not more often than it’s stated on a package. Before performing hair removal you should make a test on a small part of skin and watch it for reaction for 24 hours. If there is not bad reaction then you can proceed.
How long it last: up to 4 weeks

- Tweezing (Plucking)
It’s a pulling out single hairs with a tweezler tool. It works great on eyebrows, mustaches and single unwanted hairs.
How long it last: up to 5 weeks

- Epilators
An epilator is a motorized hair plucker. It grasps multiple hairs simultaneously and pulls them out. There are numerous brands of tweezer type epilators available on the market.

- Threading
Unlike tweezing, threading can remove an entire row of hair. It is an ancient way to remove hair at home. It is done with a cotton twisted thread. Twisting action of a thread lifts the hair out of the root follicle. This service was not offered in the US spas just until recently. Threading consider less painful than other options but more effective than shaving. It should take about 10 minutes to finish with lower leg.
How long it last: up to 5 weeks

- Hair bleaching
This is not exactly removal method however it makes hair lighter and thinner and less noticeable. This option does not disrupt the follicle but works only with an external part of hair.

Internal hair reducing methods 
- Oral contraceptives and hormonal treatment

In case if the cause of excessive body hair is internal, certain medications might help. You should advice with your doctor about this hair removal option.