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W. Bushong, Ph.D., LMFT Richard A. Martin, Jr., M.D., FACEP Kimberly L. Westwood, CPE, CCE et al. |
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Specialists in the Medical & Psychological Aspects of Transgender Health Care |
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Temporary Methods
Depilation is the most widely used method of temporarily ridding ourselves of unwanted hair. This general method applies to a wide variety of ways the hair shaft is removed from the surface of the skin, including shaving, depilatories, and abrasion; the latter technique being solely of historical note. For a quick comparison of techniques, please see the temporary hair removal table. While depilation involves removing only the portion of the hair shaft protruding from the skin's surface, epilation (ideally) removes the hair shaft down to its root. The methods of waxing and tweezing are common forms of temporary epilation. Plucking of a resting (telogen) hair through any removal technique (tweezing, waxing, threading) can sometimes stimulate the hair follicle to prematurely return into an active (anagen) growing phase. Other epilation methods are held to be permanent. While effectiveness varies greatly, permanent methods include all forms of needle-based electrolysis. Here the hair shaft is removed at the root in the process of follicle destruction, either by chemical (galvanic) and/or electrocoagulation (heat action). Shaving Shaving provides a fast and simple means of hair removal, and has no effect of hair growth. It is the most common method of temporary hair removal. Many individuals, regardless of cultural background, believe that shaving facial hair worsens, thickens, or accelerates its growth; this notion is a myth. Shaving does not cause hair to thicken, darken or grow faster. Depilatories Depilatories break down and dissolve the protein structure of hair by chemical action. The most common depilatories contain thioglycollates, also found in various cold wave lotions. Other active chemical components found in depilatories include barium sulfide and alkalis. The barium sulfide type provides greater effectiveness, but strong odors and irritation discourage its use. Generally, depilatories produce an undue amount of irritation for the result produced. Also, depilatories may fail completely when used on course or thick hair, with no hair being removed. Tweezing Tweezing, or plucking, of hair involves the individual removal of the hair shaft from the follicle with the use of tweezing forceps. With good technique, individuals generally tolerate tweezing with little or no difficulty. However, repeated tweezing with poor technique or poor tolerance can lead to folliculitis, ingrown hairs, and distorted follicles. Waxing Waxing plucks, or removes a group of hairs at the root. Melted wax or a sugar solution (referred to as sugaring) is applied, covered with a linen strip, allowed to cool, and then quickly stripped off, removing the embedded hairs in the process. Since waxing removes hair en masse, the newly appearing hairs are often finer than those removed. Waxing is chiefly responsible for creating the illusion of diminishing hair growth. The appearance of finer hair actually results from new hair that is in the early growing (anagen) stage. This new hair lay just beneath the surface, and therefore had escaped being waxed away. Once repeated waxing is stopped, the normal cycle and normal thickness of hair growth returns. Threading Threading is a very old form of hair removal practiced in countries such as India and Pakistan, and the Middle East. The technique is commonly used to shape the eyebrows and remove unwanted hair from the upper lip and areas of the face. The procedure utilizes a piece of cotton thread which is twisted and pulled along the area of unwanted hair, lifting hair directly from the follicle. The pain experienced during threading is comparable to that experienced during tweezing or waxing. The practice of threading is utilized far less than waxing. However, threading does not normally produce the same degree of irritation as waxing, which strips the top layer of dead skin in the process.
There are many factors that affect the outcome of temporary hair removal methods. This temporary hair removal table should only be used as a very generalized guide.
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