One of the oldest methods of body hair removal is threading and it is commonly practiced in eastern countries such as India and Egypt. It is gaining popularity in the Western cosmetology. Threading involves the removal of the entire hair follicle which can last up to 6 weeks. A twisted cotton thread is rolled over the hairlines by a practitioner to remove the unwanted hair. The practitioner pulled the cotton thread in a twisting motion and trapped the hair in a loop so that it can be plucked easily from the skin. This is a difficult method and if it is not done correctly, the hair can break and re-growth quickly. Threading is generally performed on the face.

Hair removal is described as removal of hair by various methods, mostly from the human body. There are many reasons for removing hair from the body which includes medical, social, cultural or sexual reasons. Many people feel embarrassed in many situations if they have excess body hair, for example if they are in the pool or woman wearing sleeveless dress or shirts.  Therefore, body hair removal is getting common in today’s society.

People usually remove body hair from the noticeable area such as the armpits, face, back, chest, legs, eyebrows, head and abdomen. There are various methods available to get rid of the unwanted hair such as depilation and epilation. These are the temporary method for body hair removal.

Depilation removes the hair above the skin’s surface which lasts several hours to several days. The most common depilation method is shaving or trimming. Shaving removes the hair by using razors and electric shavers. Men usually use this method to remove their facial hairs. There are variety of shaving tools to be used such as multi blade razors, disposable razors, electric razors and electric trimmers. Moisturizer should be applied to the skin for example shaving cream or body wash before shaving because it helps the razor glide over skin and not cutting it. However, there is a limitation on this method because you only can shave the areas that are easy to reach for example, legs, face and armpits but not your own back.

Epilation is removal of the entire hair from the root which last several days to several weeks which includes plucking, waxing, sugaring, threading and epilators. Plucking means hairs are plucked or pulled out with tweezers or fingers. Plucking is inexpensive but can be very time consuming because you can only remove one hair at a time. Besides, the hair shaft must be long enough to grasp with tweezers. Plucking can be painful and a person may get an ingrown hair if the hair breaks off below the skin. The tweezers should be sterilized with alcohol before or after use to reduce the chance of getting infection.

Epilators are mechanical devices to remove unwanted hair from the root. The epilators are handy electrical devices which can be battery operated or connected to the mains. Its functions are gripping and pulling the several hairs out from the skin at a time with a tweezing action of a rotating head. Epilators can be used on the different areas of the body which includes the underarms, legs, arms, back, chests and bikini line. There are various types of epilators available in the market to suit hair removal from different body parts. Epilators is a temporary effective method for body hair removal because it is very easy, convenient, affordable to use and hairless skin can lasts for 3-4 weeks. Besides, epilators can remove very short and fine hair as compare to other body hair removal methods.

Waxing is done by spreading a wax combination thinly over the skin in the direction of hair growth. A cloth or paper strip is then applied over the wax and quickly ripped off against the direction of the hair growth. This removes the wax along with the hair roots and dead skin cells. The wax can be applied warm or cold. Caution must be exercised when heating wax so as not to burn the skin. Waxing is an effective and long lasting method to remove a large amount of hair at one time. The hair in waxed area will not grow back in 2 to 8 weeks. However, waxing can be very costly because it is usually performed by a licensed cosmetologist. Besides, waxing can be painful and discomfort when the strip is pulled off from the skin. After waxing, some people may notice red bumps, inflammation, ingrown hairs or minor bleeding. Waxing can also be done at home and less costly. But, the do- it- yourself waxing supplies may be difficult to use on oneself on some areas of the body and may cause hair growth more noticeable if waxing is not done properly. People with skin irritation from sunburn or skin areas affected by moles, pimples and warts should avoid waxing.

Sugar waxing also can be used to remove unwanted body hair as an alternative to regular waxing because it is more cheaper and easier to do. It is actually a body hair removal method use in ancient Eqypt and sometimes it is called the Persian wax. It can be easily done at home by spreading a thick sugary substance on the skin in the direction of hair growth. A strip of paper or cloth is pressed onto the sugar wax and then pulled off quickly against the direction of the hair growth, thus pulling the hairs out of the follicles. The sugar substance is easily removed by rinsing with water because it is water soluble.