What offers the best hair removal for men’s back hair while also providing the most time efficient and cost effective result? The back and shoulders is largely looked upon as two of the more undesirable areas for unwanted hair. Both men and women tend to be of the opinion that a large, noticeable amount of back and shoulder hair on men is not desirable.
The other problem with back and even shoulder hair is that it’s hard to reach at times. In other words, you may not be able to do the hair removal work yourself like with chest hair, face hair, arm and leg hair, etc.
So you might have to pay someone to do it. Especially if you want the work done using professional grade equipment. We’re balancing the amount of hair to be removed, the location of the unwanted hair, your budget, and the number of treatments/visits required.
Successful, long term back and shoulder hair removal will largely depend on your budget and the time that you have to invest. Let’s look at suitable options from cheapest to most expensive.
Best Hair Removal For Men’s Back: Options
Electrolysis
Electrolysis is only an option if you don’t have much unwanted hair to remove. Since it removes hair one by one, on a strand by strand basis, it’s really only suitable for small, relatively easy to treat areas such as the lip, chin, underarms, etc.
Besides, these days there are more efficient options to choose from. Speaking of which…
Shaving
Chances are you’ve already done this and are probably looking for an alternative so let’s not spend too much this on this one. Shaving is cheap and quick but the results only last a few days at best.
The more hair you have the more you’re going to have to shave. And if you have significant hair in the middle of your back, it may be hard to reach. And if you cut yourself, you might need help applying the bandaid(s)…
FYI, shaving doesn’t make hair grow back thicker (or thinner or coarser for that matter) so if shaving works for you, the only real side effects are that it has to be done regularly and you might cut yourself. If you don’t have too much back hair, this might do the trick.
If not…
Waxing
Waxing is next on the list in terms of cost and the benefits it provides. The results of waxing usually lasts 3-6 weeks before hair starts growing back. No pun intended. You may see new back hair growing sooner since hair grows in cycles and hair that was dormant when the waxing was completed was unable to be treated.
Waxing your back is most likely going to be a difficult task. While you can probably wax your shoulders and the back of your neck yourself, the middle of your back gets tricky even if you’re really limber. You might want to pay a pro to do it.
Waxing cost: $30-$100 per session. Prices vary widely but expect to pay somewhere in that range depending on your location and of course how much hair you have. It’s a service similar to a haircut so a tip might be expected too.
IPL
I have significant experience with IPL having done 16 treatments for back and shoulder hair. At the time I had this work done in the 1999-2001 timeframe, IPL was really being touted as the latest and greatest hair removal option, better than laser perhaps. With hindsight I’m not quite sure that was the case. I chose IPL because the local plastic surgery clinic in the city in which I lived was using it solely and it seemed like the right choice at the time.
In actuality, the proliferation of home IPL machines that you buy and use yourself – which seems to be where the industry is focused these days – suggests the opposite. IPL uses a weaker, less focused flash lamp than the stronger, focused single beam laser. That’s why you see home-based IPL hair removal products and not laser ones…
The home IPL machines aren’t really as strong as the commercial ones used by clinics. Having never used one, I can’t say how good the results might be.
IPL Cost: $300 and up per session. I had a difficult time finding clinics online with pricing. Some that had IPL pricing didn’t even price back and shoulder work and included pricing for smaller areas like arms, legs, bikini line, etc. Many searches for “IPL hair removal” returned results for laser hair removal instead. It seems that IPL has waned in popularity since the early 2000s from what I’m seeing.
Based on what I see, I’m guessing IPL for back hair removal could cost up to $3000 all in assuming 8 sessions and a reasonable amount of body hair to start with. The required sessions number is also based on my personal experience but your amount of hair might require fewer or more treatments.
Just a suggestion: I’d look for a laser hair removal practitioner for back hair removal instead.
Laser
Laser hair removal is really the last man standing in my opinion for long term, effective back hair removal and reduction, when compared to the aforementioned options. It’s probably going to be the most expensive but then again there are many clinics offering it, it’s widely available and let’s face it:
Service-based businesses like these are hurting with covid and might have special pricing, discounts or package deals available. If not, I’d ask. You might be surprised at how pricing might be better than what is advertised. I’ve seen numerous clinics online offering prepaid and package discounts for smaller laser removal options ie. bikini, chin, face, etc.
Laser back hair removal cost: $300-$800 per session. This is a low to high cost based on what I found online at clinics I searched. Your geographic location and amount of hair to be removed also factor in. For 6-8 treatments, you might be looking at $1800-$6400 total.
Again, hair removal for men’s back hair is really the most difficult one to price because:
- The back is the biggest body part you generally look at for hair removal.
- It also has potentially the most unwanted hair which increases price.
- It may also have the most coarse hair which increases time and cost as more treatments may be needed.
- Adding the shoulders in will undoubtedly increase the cost too.
Having said that, I’d ask for a price for back hair removal and when you receive the quote, if you want your shoulders done too, I’d ask if they’ll throw that in for free.
Or ask if they’ll do every fourth treatment free, for example.
Ask if there is a discount for paying without a credit card. Credit cards charge fees so if you bring cash or use a bank card, you’re saving the clinic money on credit card fees.
These days, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a discount. The worst they’ll say is no.
Conclusion
While electrolysis might be good for a small amount of back and shoulder hair, chances are you will have too much hair to make it a cost and time effective option.
Shaving might be suitable if you don’t have a great deal of back or shoulder hair and have a small budget.
Waxing is a reasonable choice as it’ll give you 6-8 weeks (give or take) without hair.
IPL seems to be waning as a hair removal option and the Intense Pulsed Light machines seem to be used mostly for skin rejuvenation services these days.
Laser hair removal stands out as the best option for long term hair removal. It comes with a price tag and repeated visits most likely.
To learn more about the laser hair removal process please check out my Laser Hair Removal main page for a description of the four types of lasers available and to learn more about what an “ideal” laser candidate looks like.
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