Hair Removal: Hair Removal for Men

The New Man and His Unwanted Hair

Believe it or not, you could soon be trotting along for a bikini wax with your girlfriend. Well, maybe not the full Brazilian. But if the word in the tanning salon is to be believed, hair removal for men is well and truly on the rise.

It's not just swimmers, bodybuilders and male strippers in those gross animal print thongs who are saying goodbye to their unwanted hair - men of all ages and backgrounds are doing away with their fuzz. And why not? It's more hygienic, it leaves your skin silky smooth, and with so many procedures and professionals waiting to oblige, it seems unfair to let the girls keep all these hair removal secrets to themselves.

Some clinics say that at least 50% of their laser hair removal clients are men. Most want the hair gone from their chests, backs and legs. Some want the necessity of shaving their faces in the morning (and sometimes the afternoon as well) to be a thing of the past. With increasing pressures on time, many new products are marketed to exactly that.

The nose, ears and between the eyebrows can also be problem spots for guys. While the perfect arch may not on top of many men's to-do list, stars like David Beckham and Johnny Depp, with their suspiciously slaved-over looking brows (not a mono- or uni-brow in sight) certainly add to the pressure men already feel to look the part.

Men are also targeting the back of the neck, their pubic area, toes and knuckles. They're not necessarily going for full-on treatments like laser, electrolysis or even waxing (men's pain thresholds aren't what they're cracked up to be!) but they are looking into alternatives to shaving. Shaving can cause razor burn which is very irritating, and it's hardly a long-term solution anyway. Plus, there are some areas which simply need closer attention. While men are finding their feminine sides, and still on the look out for practicality and cost-effectiveness, it's no wonder the tides are turning.

For some men though, evolution will always win out. Why bother to wax your legs or your eyebrows, when your kids and grandkids will probably look back and wonder what the hell you were doing. Well, don't speak to fast. Repeated waxing or laser treatment can weaken a follicle so much that it grows back very finely, if at all. Give this kind of treatment a few years, and the next generation may not have the problem to begin with. So think of your poor unborn son and his dad's uni-brow while you consider whether or not to start waxing. You're riding an evolutionary wave as we speak!

If you're a guy and it's all sounding a bit too girly for your taste, fair enough. You're entitled to your hair (and you're lack of sexy smoothness!). But if hair removal could be the new you, get yourself on Ebay and start tracking down some decent tweezers, check out your local electrologist and raid your girlfriends waxing supplies (she'll thank you in the end, I promise).