If you think, it is just women who are conscious about unwanted hair on their faces and body, well, time to think again! Both men and women have hair-overgrowth problems to handle. Looking good is a prerogative for both the sexes and well; this is one problem, which haunts both the genders. Removing unwanted hair permanently is the key and both men and women have taken to laser hair removal therapies.

MEANS FOR MEN
Areas of treatment:
-Between eyebrows
-Ears
-Shoulders
-Back
-Chest
-Legs
-Beard area
-Arms
-Underarms

In some cases, men remove body hair to smoothen their bodies to cut down on wind resistance while playing sports. Those who have tattoos done on their skin also perform laser hair removal on those particular areas.

Beards are a recurrent pain for men and the daily process of shaving can get to their nerves. That is why, some men, prefer to go for laser treatments for the beard and moustache area. Laser hair removal is also a popular treatment for men with overgrowth of hair on the back, chest and legs.

WHAT WOMEN WANT
Areas of treatment
-Lip
-Chin
-Eyebrows
-Sideburns
-Neck
-Bikini Line
-Abdomen
-Breasts
-Forearms
-Underarms
-Genital area
-Full Body
-Full Face

Though earlier, clean and hairless bodies were exclusive to women of the glamour world, it is definitely not the case, today. All women want to be hair-free and have smooth bodies. Stereotypes too, have compelled women to consider clean bodies as appealing bodies.

Loss Through Laser
Lasers do not remove hair -- they kill the unwanted hair by targeting the melanin in the hair follicle. This disables the further growth of the hair. Hair removal lasers use low-energy settings to gently disable unwanted hair, thus putting an end to routine shaving or waxing. These systems scan the skin and don't treat the hair, one at a time. This makes treating larger areas, such as back, shoulder, arms, legs, face and neck easy and quick.

Irrespective of the gender, lasers work well for hair removal. How do they work and what are the key benefits?

Lasers work by emitting light at various wavelengths, energy output, and pulse widths. The use of these wavelengths will determine the skin structure that it will affect, such as veins, melanin or water. Most of the lasers that are used for hair removal target the melanin in the skin and thus are designed in such a way that they burn structures that contain melanin. The theory is -- the more melanin, the more damage. Hair follicles in the anagen phase (the active growth phase of hair follicles) are more easily destroyed than those in the telogen phase (resting phase of the hair follicle). Having different follicles in different phases means that the process needs to be performed repeatedly..

Monochromacity -- is one of the basic properties of laser that helps in the selective targeting of structures in the skin (chromophore). These selectively absorb light of that wavelength and are destroyed in three different ways:

1. Photo thermal destruction: A particular pigmented target structure is selectively damaged, thermally, when sufficient fluence at a specific wavelength is absorbed by the target, when delivered during a time equal to or less than the thermal relaxation of the target.

2. Photomechanical destruction: Short nanosecond pulses are targeted toward hair follicles. This makes the melanin in the hair shaft and hair follicles to get heated up at a very high temperature.

3. Photochemical destruction: This is photochemical destruction by use of laser light. A chemical reaction is induced in the light sensitive material. These chemicals reach with hair follicles and cause chemical damage to the hair shaft and hair follicle structures.

In simple words, the procedure involves:

1. A hand-held laser is pressed against the skin and is activated for a fraction of a second through an automatic switch.

2. The laser light passes through the skin's surface and reaches the hair follicles, which include the hair shaft, hair bulb and hair follicle matrix. The melanin present in these structures is highly laser-sensitive.

3. The laser destroys the hair bulb and hair follicles.

4. A carbon lotion, depending on the laser wavelength, is used to enhance the effect of the laser.

5. If the laser energy suffices, and adequate numbers of hair follicles are damaged, then the old hair growth is stunned and stopped completely after some sessions. The best results are seen when the appropriate equipment is used with the appropriate selection of recommended laser parameters for that equipment.

The Last Look
The results depend on the patient's skin pigmentation and the color of his/her hair.

So, what are the general benefits of lasers for men and women?

* They do not cause the irritation as against other hair removal methods. If performed in the right manner, they are the perfect way for hair reduction and removal.
* Larger areas may be treated at one shot.
* They are effective on almost any area of the body
* If performed properly, laser hair removal therapy is relatively considered safe.
* Even if there is re-growth, the hair comes back lighter in color and finer in texture

Gone are the days when men don't bother about bodily hair and women use traditional techniques to remove bodily hair. When you can do away with unwanted hair once for all, why not?