Mens Hair Removal

Posted: hair removal creams, permanent hair removal

Many people look towards permanent hair removal cream as an alternative solution to laser and electrolysis. Online you’ll find quite a few people proclaiming that their hair removal cream is permanent. But if you read the fine print it requires ongoing maintenance (thus NOT permanent).

The status of hair removal creams today

Hair removal creams generally work by chemically attacking the protein bonds in the hair shaft. This causes the hair growth to be weaker and coarser hair becomes softer. After initial application of hair removal cream, hair will grow back in 4 to 6 weeks. Continuous use of the product over time causes hair growth to slow significantly. But if you stop, the hair will grow back and become stronger again.

It thus becomes a bit of a catch-22: you want the permanent hair removal cream to actually be permanent so that you can stop doing something about your hair. Yet, if you stop doing what you are doing, it won’t be ‘permanent’.

This is not to bash hair removal creams. A lot of people find it does work for them. We just want to highlight that you shouldn’t expect it to be permanent so managing your expectations. In fact, even the other hair removal treatment methods commonly touted as permanent: laser and electrolysis, state in the fine print that it won’t remove all hair and requires maintenance (albeit quite long periods). Thus neither of them are ‘permanent’ either.

Still, to some, even a semi-permanent hair removal cream are preferable to the ‘regular’ need to shave, tweeze or wax. If this sounds like you, by all means, try hair removal creams. Just don’t expect a miracle. Always read the fine-print. And if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Links

• Ultra hair away FAQ

• Revitol hair removal cream FAQ

Technorati Tags: hair removal cream for men, hair removal creams, permanent hair removal

Posted: facial hair removal, mens hair removal

You know you are getting older when ear hair removal becomes an issue for you. Hair on the ear can grow on the outer ear lobe or inside the ear. Where it grows matters as different methods for removing the hair applies.

Outer ear hair removal

Hair on the earlobes can be taken care of in a number of ways. Work in a lighted area and turn your head sideways so you can see what you are doing. And use and clean the tools you use before and after usage.

• Shaving. With care and attention, you can use your normal shaver to shave the unwanted hair. Just be careful and take your time.

• Tweezers. One hair at a time can be plucked from the earlobe. Use clean and sterilized equipment, and allow lots of time.
• Ear trimmer. Trimmers made to treat the sensitive areas like the ear and nose. Very versatile. Clean before and after use.
• Hair removal creams. Creams that chemically dissolve the hair can sometimes be used. Read the instructions to see if it is suitable for ear use. Also test it on a small patch of skin on your arm to see if you have any adverse reactions to the chemicals.
• Waxing. Waxing the earlobes means hair will only grow back in 6 to 8 weeks. Problem being that it can be quite painful. Always have a professional do it as you don’t want to rip your ear off.
• Electrolysis. A more permanent hair removal technique that works by inserting a small needle into the hair follicle and zapping it with current. This needs to be done at a clinic though and can be expensive.
• Laser ear hair removal. Only for the outer ear, this method is also more permanent. It works by targeting the hair follicle with a laser and vaporizing it. Quite expensive as well.

Inner ear hair removal

Hair removal for the inner ear is a bit more tricky. You have to be careful not to damage the ear drum. The hair also forms part of the protective layer that protects against airborne bacteria and dust. Because of the sensitivity of the inner ear, only nose/ear hair trimmers with protective sheathing are on our list to use.

After removing your ear hair, clean the equipment with alcohol. Clean the lobe with a cotton swab and follow the after-care instructions if you went for professional men’s ear hair removal.

Ear hair removal for men doesn’t have to be a pain. Make it part of your grooming routine and the unattractive hairs should be history.

Resources:

• Groom Mate XL Platinum Nose & Ear Trimmer. Highly rated manual trimmer.
• Instructional ear hair video.
  

  Technorati Tags: ear hair removal, facial hair removal, mens hair removal

Posted: facial hair removal, mens hair removal

Around the age of 30 nose hair removal becomes a concern for men. While nose hair serves the useful purpose of protecting the breathing passages by capturing bacteria, unsightly hairs is a problem. Especially when it doesn’t have to be a problem.

So how can we take care of nose hair?

There are several methods you can try. From the simplest to the more advanced:

• Tweezers. Working in a clean and lighted environment, dab the area with a moisture to soften the skin. Tilt your head back so you can see what you are doing. Using sterilized (with alcohol) tweezers, you pluck the hairs one by one. It can be quite painful and can cause infection if it starts bleeding so it is not recommended.

• Scissors. Go for the rounded tip scissors so you don’t poke a hole in your nose. Working in front of a mirror, tilt your head back and cut as close to the skin as you can. Only remove the unsightly hairs that is sticking out and not all the hairs in the nose.
• Trimmer/Clipper. Becoming more popular, a nose trimmer can take care of the lower nose hair without painful plucking. It works by having protected rotating serrated ends that cuts the hair. Clippers start from $5 and is an inexpensive grooming solution for those pesky nose hairs.
• Waxing. If none of the other methods work, you can ask a waxing salon if they will wax your nose hair for you. Not all salons have people experienced with this so do make sure of it before you go – you don’t want them to treat the wax like they would any other body part. It is going to hurt, but the pain passes – just have someone who knows what their doing to do it.

After you took care of the nose hairs, blow your nose to remove the loose ones still in the nostrils. Also clean and sanitize any equipment after use with alcohol or another sanitizer.

Because the nose hair grows in such a sensitive area, the nose hair removal methods are short term solutions. Thus it needs to become part of your regular grooming routine. It might be worthwhile to get a dedicated set of equipment and sanitizer for the express purpose of taking care of nose and/or ear hair.

Resources:

• Groom Mate Nose & Ear Trimmer. Highly rated manual trimmer.
• Nose hair removal video.

Technorati Tags: mens hair removal, nose hair removal

Posted: male waxing, mens hair removal

Just found a great resource for male chest waxing, especially if you are the person doing the waxing. The biggest problem with waxing the chest, is that the hair grows in all the directions of the wind. And to do the wax properly, you need to apply the wax in the direction of growth. Then pull it off in the other direction. And with the randomness of hair growth (it seems that way sometimes) this can be a problem.

A useful tip that I haven’t thought of before: When doing a wax around the neck for someone else, make sure the man is comfortable with your hands on their throat it as it can make some men very uncomfortable. And that makes sense from a primal instinct as we need to protect our vulnerable throats.

Anyway, that’s enough from me. Here’s the link:
Managing chest hair waxing
Learning male waxing (for waxing professionals)

*Edited to point to the correct link. Thanks for the update, Jason!

Technorati Tags: chest waxing, male waxing, waxing guide

Posted: lazer hair removal

Health officials in Abu Dhabi have shut down a number of beauty salons for operating unregistered laser equipment. The reason for this is that the salons have operated the cosmetic equipment without a supervising doctor or trained- and certified technician.

We’ve said it a number of times on this site: Laser hair removal treatment is a cosmetic procedure and should be done by a qualified person. This goes for both IPL treatment and regular laser treatment. And consult your own doctor for advice.

Things your physician needs to check whether you are suitable for treatment:

• Ruggedness of your skin: Can it handle laser treatment?
• Are you on medications: Some medications makes the skin too sensitive for treatment.
• Do you have the right skin color and hair color combination: It doesn’t work with light hairs, and some treatments doesn’t work on dark skin.
• Conditions specific to you: Knowing your health history, the doctor might know some contra indications that you are not even aware of.

Darn, let me just double check the home laser hair removal kit recommendations I’ve made. Phew, I did reiterate that you should consult your doctor before doing it (edited in ).

So check with your own doctor before going for laser treatment. Also check that the clinic you are going to have the proper licenses and experienced and qualified staff to do it.

News story

Salon visits reveal illegal use of lasers

Technorati Tags: health risk, ipl, ipl laser hair removal, lazer hair removal

Posted: lazer hair removal

In our previous post on IPL treatment, we looked at IPL laser hair removal. We also noted that IPL, or Intense Pulse Laser, can be used for more than hair removal. Lets take a look at some of those treatments.

Hair Removal / Permanent Hair reduction

Using filters (to adjust the laser wave lengths) of 650nm (nano meters), this targets the hair follicles at zaps them to kingdom come. Though ‘permanent’, it does not remove all hairs, with effectiveness range in the 50% to 70% range.

Treatment of lesions / pigmentation

By simply changing the filter to a different wave length, the same IPL device can be used to treat various skin conditions. The filter is 510nm to treat vascular lesions as well as pigmented lesions. It damages the blood vessels which in turn causes the body’s own defenses to remove the damaged pigments / vessels, resulting in a fresher look.

Acne treatments

If you make the wavelength shorter still to 450nm, you can treat ’surface’ skin conditions like acne. It now targets hemoglobin in the blood. In this way, it disrupts the blood flow to the glands that produce the oil found in the acne. Overall effect: less acne.

Skin Rejuvenation

Aging and continued exposure to the sun’s UV rays causes our skin to loose its luster. Come IPL to the rescue. It focuses the laser on the melanin in the upper layer of skin that causes the visible effect. By destroying this, the skin has the opportunity for rejuvenate itself after removing the unappealing parts.

So while IPL treatment is considered mostly in the context of hair removal, there are other cosmetic treatments that uses the IPL’s unique properties of selective thermolysis to achieve various effects on the skin.

Further reading

Different IPL treatments

Technorati Tags: ipl, ipl hair removal, lazer hair removal

Posted: lazer hair removal

What is IPL laser hair removal and is it different from normal laser hair removal? IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Laser. It uses a Xenon flash lamp and focused optics to deliver short bursts of laser light to the target area. It is a fairly new technology that was approved by the FDA as a hair removal technique in 1997.

IPL vs Normal laser hair removal

Not that kind of laser! Source: Flickr – Nick5702

The main laser effect of IPL works similar to that of normal laser treatment: by targeting the highest concentration of melanin – in the hair follicle – and through the process of ‘photo thermolysis’ vaporizing it. In other words it changes the laser light to heat which destroys the follicle.

Where it differs from normal laser hair removal is the fact that with IPL the wave length of the laser can be optimized for each application. Because of this, it is not only used for hair removal, but also treats threaded veins, rejuvenates skin, and is used for acne clearance. The area you can treat are also larger than normal laser treatment. This makes the duration of treatments shorter. Though you still have to go back for a few sessions to catch all the hairs that are in different hair growth periods. Because of the optimized laser pulse and larger size, it is more efficient and cheaper than regular laser hair removal costs.

However, because IPL laser hair removal is a fairly new method of hair removal, the long term effects has not been studied. At present, it leads to between 50 and 70% reduction of hair.

It still won’t work with light hairs, but it is more effective on darker skins than regular laser. Check with your local clinic about your suitability for treatment.

Is IPL laser hair removal for you?

Not if you are sensitive to photo-epileptic images. Or on skin medication. Pain wise it is not bad at all: only a mild pain is associated with the actual treatment – similar to mild sunburn. Men will also experience more discomfort as their hair growth are thicker and a longer pulse is needed to treat it.

What makes it a more attractive option than normal laser hair removal (besides just price) – and other hair removal methods – is that you should shave before treatment which will remove the annoyance of having to grow your hair out to a certain length before they’ll remove it.

IPL laser hair removal remains a cosmetic hair removal option. So make sure to consult your physician as well as you local hair removal clinic before committing to treatment. If you commit to the number of sessions required (6 to 8 sessions) and are willing to part with a not insignificant amount of money, it could be the hair removal solution you are looking for.

Further reading

Danis T-room – IPL Hair removal

Hair Facts: Flashlamp / IPL Hair removal Pros and Cons

Technorati Tags: ipl, ipl laser hair removal, lazer hair removal