Hair Removal

Hair removal refers to the process of removing unwanted hair from various places throughout the body. Although there are general areas where most women and men grow hair on their bodies, it can very much be different for each individual. Women especially focus on the removal of unwanted body hair, but men tend to have more body hair in general. Hair normally doesn't grow on the lips, the soles of the feet, the palms of the hands and certain areas within the pubic region.

Hair removal is practiced for many different reasons that can range from cultural, medical, sexual and religious. There are many different processes used to remove body hair, but the most common is shaving. Waxing and threading are two other processes that are also common in many places throughout the world.

Different cultures accept different types of body hair. In the United States, for example, it's generally considered to be undesirable for a woman to show hair other than head, eyebrows and eyelashes. As clothing trends have changed so that skirts are shorter and more skin is shown on the arms and other parts of the body, too, many women have adopted the practice of regularly shaving their legs as well as their armpits and other exposed areas.

Some men throughout the world don't shave their face as beards are considered to be a valued sign of wisdom, but in some places the practice is for men to shave their faces regularly to appear to be clean-shaven. Face shaving for men very much depends on both culture and religion to define what is acceptable and expected.

Two main types of hair removal are depilation and epilation. Depilation refers to removing hair above the surface of the skin, and this includes shaving, trimming and chemical depilatories, which make the hair disintegrate. Epilation refers to removing the entire hair, which includes the part of the hair shaft below the skin. This process includes waxing, sugaring, lasers, threading, electrology and several other processes. Electrology and laser hair removal are two ways to permanently remove hair, although this process can be timely and expensive, and it does not work for everybody.

Hair removal in general can be a time-consuming and expensive part of a personal cosmetic ritual, but it can also improve a person's self esteem so that he or she feels they fit their cultural standards more appropriately.