Historically marketing for hair removal products was largely aimed at women but men are being more specifically targeted as they increasingly spend on grooming and skincare products.
Here are 10 things guy should know about hair removal.
Should I shave my chest hair?
If you want to get rid of chest hair, shaving will only remove it for a day before the stubble reappears and you’re back to square one. Waxing is more painful depending on how much hair you have but the results can last for weeks. You may experience whiteheads and ingrown hairs following waxing however.
Laser and Intense Pulsed Light hair removal are more expensive options but provide longer term results if you’d like to permanently reduce the chest hair you have available.
If you’re happy with shorter term but cheaper results, a depilation chemical product like Veet might be of interest. It dissolves hair at the root and will probably last longer than shaving. These are chemical products that do tend to smell and need to be used carefully in a well-ventilated area.
Does shaving make hair grow back thicker?
Shaving hair has no impact on how it grows back. It will not grow back thicker or thinner nor will it grow back less or more in amount. Some men shave their heads and may eventually let it grow back and notice they have less hair. This isn’t because of the shaving however. Hair growth and loss is due to genetics, testosterone and heredity and has nothing to do with shaving. Or waxing or depilation for that matter.
Shaving is the cheapest and one of the most common methods of hair removal but it also has the shortest results typically lasting one day or two at best.
Can I shave against the grain?
Shaving against the grain means shaving against the direction of hair growth. Shaving with the grain refers to shaving in the direction of hair growth. It’s often recommended for men to shave with the grain to avoid irritating the skin and possible ending up with ingrown hairs. So this would mean shaving your face downwards only, including on the neck so that the razor only moves from top to bottom.
The benefit of shaving certain parts of your body against the grain – the neck the head for example – is that you tend to get a closer shave. The downside is that if you easily get irritated, reddened skin you can exacerbate the problem especially if you use a cheap or blunt razor that should have already been replaced.
If you’ve never shaved against the grain, try a test spot and see how it feels. I’ve been shaving against the grain for years after avoiding it when I was younger. I tried it in my teens using a cheap disposable razor and cut and irritated my neck badly. Years later I tried again with a better quality razor and years of shaving experience behind me with no trouble. I’ve been shaving against the grain ever since. So while you often read to never shave against the grain, it can be done without trouble and does produce a closer shave.
You can also try shaving across the grain which refers to shaving at a 90 degree angle to your skin, on your neck for example.
Can a man use Electrolysis for hair removal?
While traditionally marketed at women, Electrolysis is a suitable hair removal option for men too. Electrolysis is the only form of permanent hair removal as determined by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) but since it treats unwanted hairs one by one, it can be very time-consuming and expensive. It’s painful, too.
Commonly, Electrolysis can be used by men for hair removal on the face and beard area, between the eyes (unibrow) and possibly underarms area.
Electrolysis involves hitting each unwanted hair with an electrical current and then removing that hair with tweezers. The process is then repeated for every unwanted hair. As you can imagine, a man’s chest, shoulders, back, arms and legs could be very time-consuming and thus probably not suitable for Electrolysis. Instead, laser or IPL may be more appropriate.
Can I permanently remove facial hair with laser?
Laser hair removal is used on a variety of body parts for both men and women to remove unwanted hair. For men, the face, neck and beard area are increasingly seen as areas that can be treated with laser to permanently reduce the hair and possibly eliminate the need to shave.
Manscaping is a popular term that men are taking part in. An increasing amount of men are taking more time and applying more effort with regards to grooming and that includes facial hair. For some men, they simply don’t want to shave daily but for others, ingrown hairs and other problems like razor burn make shaving difficult. In that regard, permanently reducing or removing facial hair is something they want to learn more about. Permanently sculpting a beard or removing hair from the neck where ingrown hairs and razor burn can be a problem is increasingly desired.
Some men choose to permanently remove facial hair with Electrolysis if they have little facial hair to begin with. Electrolysis treats hairs one at a time so it can be time-consuming if you have significant facial hair. In that regard laser hair removal for the facial area may be a better choice.
What is the best way to remove male pubic hair?
This is a sensitive topic and one that needs to be taken seriously given the area in question. Men commonly remove pubic hair by trimming, shaving and waxing although laser hair removal may be used. While trimming and shaving and possibly waxing can be done at home by yourself, waxing is also done professionally and laser hair removal would certainly be done at a clinic by someone who is trained.
With shaving, care needs to be taken to use a clean sterile razor. Waxing is painful and might also best be done by a pro. Brazilian laser hair removal is increasingly popular with women and it’s possible that clinics may entertain pubic hair removal for men but given the dangers as illustrated here by the UK’s National Health Service
, they may only be willing to do so around the pubic region and not remove all hair with laser.
Can I shave my scrotum?
Some men want the hair free look and feel on their scrotum and are willing to shave to get that experience. The key to shaving this area is to go slowly and carefully. You also need to use the correct equipment. Consider using a hair trimmer if your hair is very long, to shorten it first. Use a fresh sharp razor. This may sound counter intuitive but a used blunt razor can cause you to overcompensate by pressing harder and cutting yourself. Use a quality shaving cream and don’t dry shave with just water. Shave with the grain in the direction of hair growth only. Try to avoid scratching the area after shaving and if needed, use a baby powder to keep the area smooth and dry post shave.
How many treatments does it take to remove back hair?
One waxing session can remove back and shoulder hair for several weeks but it will grow back after that time. You might expect to have up to 70% of unwanted back hair removed for the long term with 6 or more laser hair removal treatments. You could however end up requiring more treatments which is what I experienced when I had IPL on my back because it took 16 visits to significantly reduce the hair permanently. It depends on things that are specific you such as your age, skin type, hair color, hair type and amount of hair.
Back hair tends to be coarse which is ideal for laser but could also take longer to permanently reduce or eliminate. It also depends on the type of laser used, the skill of the clinic performing the work, the schedule of treatment and other factors.
Your age can also come into play because when you’re younger, you may have future unwanted hair growth as you get older which will then need to be removed. I didn’t see back and should hair developing until my early to mid 20s so if I’d gone for hair removal earlier, I’d have had to keep going as new hair grew.
Why is my back so hairy?
As with other hair growth, back hair is due to genetics. Testosterone is the male hormone that among other things helps to determine body hair on a man and some men are more sensitive to it than others. This can lead to more unwanted hair growth on areas like the back and shoulders.
While there is nothing medically wrong with hair on the back and shoulders area, it isn’t necessarily considered to be a great look for men and many women aren’t a fan of it either. Given the size of the back and shoulders and the amount of unwanted hair that may exist, waxing is one option for a hair free look for several or more weeks. But laser and Intense Pulsed Light hair removal can over time offer longer term permanent hair reduction and are popular options for men to utilize to rid themselves of coarse back hair.
What is the best at home laser hair removal device for men?
Home use “laser” hair removal devices are generally light-based not laser. At best they are Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) machines but are much lower wattage ones than you’d find in a professional hair removal clinic. Clinic-grade laser hair removal machines cost tens of thousands of dollars, require the clinic to carry liability insurance and train their staff. The machines should be maintained and serviced and you are charged around $300 on average for 1 laser treatment.
A home hair removal machine on the other hand costs $50 and comes with an instruction booklet.
While a home hair removal product may produce results, it won’t produce the results that you would find with a clinic-grade laser or IPL machine so expectations should be set accordingly.
Summary
Men’s hair removal is an increasingly common subject and more clinics are offering male-specific services as a result. The same hair removal services that exist for women can generally also be used by men. When I first started IPL hair removal treatment in 1999, I went to a clinic and was always the only guy there. All the marketing brochures and references I saw were with women models and customers, too. This is certainly not the case anymore.
Check out my interview with electrologist Dan Wallace who opened an Electrolysis clinic initially aimed at men to serve a previously under served market.
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