There’s a wide range of ways to remove hair from various parts of your body, but as we’ve discussed here often, the top three methods are shaving, waxing, and laser hair reduction. Each of these techniques removes a significant amount of hair with varying levels of completeness and durations of effectiveness. Here are the pros and cons you need to know about these three different types of hair removal to help you decide on the right option for you.
Shaving
Shaving is overwhelmingly the most common method of hair removal. It’s the way that most people start out removing hair. It’s cheap, simple, and just about anybody can do it just about anywhere.
Pros
- Cheap & Easily Accessible
- Takes only a brief time to remove a lot of hair
- It can be done just about anywhere, including while traveling
- Takes very little skill
Cons
- Have to do it frequently, typically every day or even more often to avoid uncomfortable and unsightly stubble
- Leads to sharp and uncomfortable hair as it grows
- Can lead to minor injuries
- Often leads to ingrown hairs, razor burn, and general irritation
While it’s cheap & accessible, shaving is one of many people’s least favorite beauty routines for good reason. While it typically only takes a few minutes to do, most people need to shave every day or even more often to maintain smooth skin.
When hair grows back, it tends to feel sharp and uncomfortable because the individual hairs have been cut off. It’s easy to nick yourself, especially if you’re in a rush. Razor burn, ingrown hairs, and general irritation are common, especially in sensitive places like the bikini area, underarms, and on the face.
Waxing
Waxing is a relatively long-term solution to hair removal that pulls hair out from the roots. Commonly coated in hot, soft wax, a strip is placed on top of the skin, and ripped off, taking with it the unwanted hair.
Pros
- Results last several weeks or up to a month
- Achieves extremely smooth skin
- Hair grows out soft
- Can be done at home or at the salon
Cons
- Waiting time between treatments
- Painful, especially in sensitive areas
- Often leads to ingrown hairs
- Can cause bacterial infections under the skin
- Can become expensive
Waxing can lead to extremely smooth skin, and hen hair grows back, it tends to be less sharp and irritating than with shaving because new hair grows back from the follicle. However, waxing hurts since it’s basically ripping the hairs out of the follicles in your skin. It is particularly painful on sensitive parts of the body like the face, bikini area, and underarms.
There are also a couple of downtimes with waxing: the skin is sensitive and red for a few of days after waxing and hair needs to grow back at least a quarter of an inch before waxing can be repeated. In addition to the wait times, there are often ingrown hairs as the hair grows back from the follicle.
Because waxing creates small wounds in the skin, infection can potentially be a serious problem. While it can be done at home, doing it incorrectly can lead to skin burns, a lot of pain, infections, and other problems. For this reason, people tend to trust professionals. Waxing at the salon generally costs between $50 and $150 depending on how much hair is removed, which is relatively more expensive than shaving or at-home treatments.
Laser Hair Reduction
Laser hair reduction is a relatively new technique for hair removal, but it’s becoming extremely popular for great reasons. Relatively painless, laser hair reduction is the only technique that can achieve permanent results.
Pros
- Most permanent solution for hair removal, typically eliminating most hair in only six months of treatments
- Relatively painless, particularly when compared to waxing
- If hair grows back, it grows back lighter, softer, and less noticeable
- Won’t cause bacterial infections and very unlikely to cause ingrown hairs
Cons
- More expensive in the short-term than other methods of hair removal
- Doesn’t eliminate all of the hair in a single treatment, so you may not instantly see the results
- Important to choose a quality laser spa since the laser and the application are very important to success and comfort
Laser hair reduction does typically cause a little bit of discomfort, but it’s nothing compared to the pain that comes with waxing. It can be especially useful when you want hair to be less noticeable but don’t necessarily need to remove hair altogether. If Hair grows back at all, it tends to come in softer, thinner, and much less visible than other methods.
From a health perspective, you won’t have to worry about bacterial infections or injuries. In addition, ingrown hairs and irritation are minimal if at all.
It usually takes six months of monthly treatments to achieve the desired results, but after that, you may not have to do anything to control hair for years or possibly forever. That’s why it’s important to have this performed at a quality laser spa.
Considerations for Hair Removal
Laser hair reduction is extremely popular in New York. New Yorkers don’t have a lot of time to spare, so achieving permanent or nearly permanent results is really valuable.
Men typically look for laser hair reduction to treat their:
- Back. Laser hair reduction for a man’s back can make back hair dramatically less visible. If you’re embarrassed by noticeable back hair and tired of shaving constantly, laser just may be the perfect solution. Start treatment in the fall and you’ll look amazing in your bathing suit by summer.
- Legs. Laser hair reduction for men’s legs can also be very useful. Whether you’re an athlete looking for a more streamlined performance or you would just like smoother legs, considering one of our treatments.
- Face. Laser hair reduction for men’s faces in New York can save you time and make you look sharp. In this demanding city, you want your beard to look perfect. However, shaving or waxing under the chin, on the neck, and everywhere else that you don’t want hair can result in unsightly razor burn and ingrown hairs. Laser hair reduction for men’s beards in NYC is a great way to eliminate unwanted hair so that all you have to do is trim your beard and be on your way.
Choose the Best Hair Removal Method for You
Almost everybody removes some hair from some parts of their body. The hair removal method that you choose will be an important part of your lifestyle. Do you want to shave every day, get a wax every month, or choose laser hair reduction and not worry about unwanted hair for years to come?
Laser by Monica uses a state-of-the-art laser that is customized to your skin tone, the area that you want to have treated, and your specific goals. Get in touch with Laser by Monica to get a quote and find out how laser hair treatment can permanently eliminate your unwanted hair.