When I attend esthetician school, I've learned a lot about hair removal techniques and methods.
Hair follicle
A hair follicle is a stocking-like structure that contains several layers with different jobs. The hair follicle can be recognized as a separate entity within the skin with formation and maintenance based on interaction between dermal and epidermal components.
Hair papilla
The papilla is the very bottom portion of the hair follicle that contains the blood supply and the matrix. The matrix consists of cells that actually form the hair shaft. The papilla is active during the anagen phase, is separated from the hair shaft during the catagen phase, and is completely inactive during the telogen phase.
Hair bulb
The lower expanded extremity of a hair that fits like a cap over the hair papilla at the bottom of the hair follicle.
The hair growth has three phases: the anagen, catagen and telogen phases. The anagen phase is the growth phase, the catagen phase is a transitional state and the telogen phase is the resting phase.
On average, 20% of the body hair follicles in the anagen phase.
During the anagen phase, the papilla cells are in contact with the base of hair follicles and cause hair growth. The anagen stage (in the scalp) lasts about 3 to 5 years.
During the catagen phase, the papilla cells recede from the hair follicle, the hair follicle shrinks to about 1/6 of the normal length and the hair does not grow further.
This lasts about 1 to 2 weeks.
During the telogen phase, the "dead" hair falls out. It lasts 1 to 4 months. At the end of the Telogen phase the hair follicle re-enters the anagen (= growing) phase. The papilla and the base of the follicle join together again and a new hair begins to form from the remains of the matrix. If the old hair has not already been shed, the new hair pushes the old one out (this is when we see our hair in the brush or in the bath tub) and the growth cycle starts all over again.
During the catagen and telogen phase the laser is ineffective, because the papilla can't be reached.
Shaving with razor
This is the easiest method and the cheapest. It doesn't make the hair shaft darker or thicker, just it may be more noticeable as it grows out because it has a blunt tip instead of the normal tapered tip. With the razor you don't touch the hair follicle, you just cut off the top of the hair, thus it grows back faster, because the hair is still in the follicle, but it doesn't cause thicker hair.
According to Arnold R. Oppenheim, MD Virginia Beach Dermatologist "Studies have shown that shaving has no influence on density or thickness of the hair. After all the follicle is quite a bit deeper than the skin surface. The act of shaving, causes the hair to be struck at an angle, making the hair feel sharper and more coarse."
Or think about those men whom have bald spot on their head. If shaving made hair grow back thicker then it would be their solution.
Razor could cause ingrown hair.
The first and most important rule is if you choose shaving that you don't dry shave, because it causes an unpleasant flushing and you can get a shaving burn-rash. The blade needs to be able to slide over your legs and you need water/moisture for that, otherwise you could have a problem. If you shave with water and/or shaving cream, it will make the blade last longer too. Dry shaving makes your legs dry too.
Please note: many razors have moisture strip. Those moisture strips are infused with many harmful ingredients. If you have a razor with this strip, just take it off.
My personal experience: I don't shave very often, but when I do I prefer men's razors (like Gilette Fusion). For some reason men razors work the best on my body. I've tried Venus 5 blades razor, but it didn't do the job.
After every shaving you have to moisturize your skin.
Waxing
This is so far the most common hair removal method and my personal "favorite". Itt removes the hair from the root, thus the hair doesn't grow back for 2-3 weeks.
There are 3 types of wax: hot, cold and sugar wax.
It has 2 subcategories: One is the strip waxing and the other one is the hard waxing. The first one needs a strip, the second one hardens when it cools, thus allowing the easy removal by hand.
When I was a student in the esthetician school we used pine wax. Yes, pine wax. And that was the best. We just warmed it up in a pan, until it was easy to apply. We didn't need strips. It removed hair minimum 0.04 inches (1 mm) without breaking in it and we had smooth legs for 4 weeks! It didn't pull the skin at all either. I know it was a little bit messy, because we always re-used it by warming it up and the filter it. But still...Unfortunately I can't find real pine wax anymore.
Then this was replaced by the wax cartridge/roll-on wax. You can just put the a wax in the wax heater machine and when it's warm enough you just simply roll onto the skin. You need strips too. These roll-on versions of waxes don't create as much mess, quick, safe, and easy to use, but it usually breaks the hair in the follicle and the strips can pull the skin too. I don't really like to work with this type of wax. I personally offer my guests the hard wax on the armpits, bikini line and intimate areas, because there is a lower chance to cause bruising on the softer parts.
Don't worry if you will have red spots after waxing. This is normal.
If you have allergies to the wax, it could happen because of the aromatic ingredients that companies added to the wax.
It is made up of almost same ingredients. The basic ingredients contained in both waxes are wax base (paraffin or beeswax), resin and lubricator. In this case (cold waxing), the wax is already applied on the pulling strips and you don't have to heat up.
I don't like cold wax, because they don't grab onto the hair that well.
It was used in the ancient time and I like this one too. The best thing about is that you can make it at home, you don't have to buy it at the store. The secret of sugar waxing is the right technique: apply the wax in the opposite direction of hair growth and then pull it off in the same direction of the hair growth. With this technique you will have less pain and you won't have after ingrown hair. You can pull it with strips, but if you wait a little bit, the wax gets hard enough to pull it off with your hands.
Hair removal creams
They work by breaking down the hair's protein structure, thus the hair comes out of the skin easily when you rub off the cream. They contain a few different alkaline chemicals, such as sodium thioglycolate, strontium sulfide and calcium thioglycolate, that react with the hair on your body. These are harsh chemicals and they can can irritate the skin and cause allergic reactions. The other problem is the smell. These cream have a bad smell, because of the harsh chemicals and manufacturers mask the products with fragrances.
My personal experience: I don't like it at all. Not really effective, you have to wait few minutes before you can rub off the cream and it's really bad for your skin.
Electrolysis
Electrolysis involves inserting a fine needle into the hair follicle and applying an electrical current to the follicle root. It is painful and it could damage and discolor the skin if it's improperly done. It's very pricy and you need to repeat the treatments. You need a year to achieve the final result. It's also good for people who have light hair color.
Laser
It works by emitting light at specific wavelengths and this absorbs in the melanin (pigment) and converted into heat in the hair follicle. This works in the anagen (growing) phase where the light kills the matrix cells, thus they will not produce more hair.
As I mentioned before, it works just in the anagen phase, during the catagen and telogen phase the laser is ineffective, because the papilla can't be reached.
Laser works best for light-skinned people with dark hair, because the dark color absorbs the light (light color reflects light).
You need 6-8 treatments with IPL.
Diode lasers are usually very effective and work best on light skin and dark hair. They also require less treatments.
Difference between Laser and IPL:
"Laser light is monochromatic (i.e. one color) so this means nearly 100% of Laser light is one pure color. Intense pulse light (IPL) is not monochromatic, meaning that IPL has many different colors and only a small percentage of these colors are effective in the treatment of hair reduction.
Laser is collimated meaning it’s slow to diverge or spread out. This makes LASER light very powerful as nearly 100% of the light can be effective in the treatment of hair reduction. IPL is not collimated and so therefore is quick to spread out making it less effective in the treatment of hair reduction.
Finally laser is coherent meaning that the light is totally reinforcing and doesn’t cancel itself out whereas IPL is NOT coherent and is NOT reinforcing making it less effective in the treatment of hair reduction.
Clinical Studies (link to studies) have been performed comparing the effectiveness of LASER versus IPL in the treatment of hair reduction and we feel that LASER is far more effective at hair reduction than that of IPL." (Source: ttp://www.candelalaser.com.au/difference.htm)
My personal opinon: there is no 100% permanent hair removal, just semi-permanent, because the hair grows in cycle (anagen, catagen, telogen) and 10-15% of our hair is in the telogen phasis. So the laser can't be effective on those hairs which are in the catagen or telogen phasis. When you have laser hair removal done, the hair is removed but that doesn't stop the new hair from growing.
I call it "hair reduction". The hair is not being removed completely, but it is being reduced greatly.
Just think about chemo therapy. The hair falls out, but it will re-grow. The same thing happens with laser too.
Strictly after puberty when the hormonal changes caused hair growth is completed. The reason: waxing can destroy the hair follicles and as a result the body can react with stronger hair.
- Be certain that the hair is at least 1/4 inch long. If the hair is much longer, the whole process can be really painful
- Avoid sunbathing or tanning beds for at least 24 hours prior to waxing
- Your skin has to be dry- no oils, no creams before waxing
- Exfoliate before waxing- it helps to remove dead skin cells (You can exfoliate with a rough towel or a luffa sponge)
- Apply the wax in the direction of hair growth, then put the strips to the area to be treated, rub the strips in the direction of hair growth, hold skin taut with one hand and then pull the strips off quickly in the opposite direction. It's better if you do small sections, because it's less painful
- Apply body lotion, or special after wax lotion
- Don't use alcohol
- If you have wax on the floor, you can remove it with oil (I use vegetable oil, or sunflower oil)
- Avoid sunbathing or tanning beds the following day, because you removed the upper layer of the skin, thus reducing the skin's natural protection and the UV light can burn the skin
- Don't go to sauna, swimming pool or beach the following day, because of the risk of infection
- Use luffa sponge
- Exfoliate
- Avoid shaving too closely to the skin
If you already have an ingrown hair, you can try to remove it, but be very carefully. Use a sterile needle or a tweezer to gently tease the hair out of the skin.
The vertical hair line that appears around the belly button, or hairs around the nipple always indicates hormonal problems. It means the androgen (male) hormone level is too high, or the estrogen hormone level is too low compare to the normal androgen hormone level.
Waxing or shaving the hair around those areas will give you just temporary solutions. If you want to permanently get rid of them, you have to treat your hormonal substances with natural remedies and lifestyle change, not with the artificial hormones.
Use Wild yam extract cream and Vitex agnus-castus(Chaste Tree) cream. To balance the androgen level, take borage oil tablets.
Try to avoid "industrial" meats from the supermarket, buy meats from farmers. Avoid preserved and refined foods, eat lots of raw fruits and vegetables, nuts. Drink mint tea twice a day. Avoid sugar (all forms), artificial sweeteners and carbonated things (like soft drinks).
The tendency can be inherited, but not the problem. You can have the tendency for too high androgen level, but it doesn't mean you will have it for sure if you prevent it.
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
Poor together the ingredients in a pan and cook on medium heat while stirring. It has to be yellowish, then it's ready. Cool it down and then you can use it.
Sources:
http://www.ilovelaser.com/articles/laser-hair-removal-and-hair-re-growth.html
http://dermatology.about.com/cs/hairanatomy/a/hairbiology.htm
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