Body Hair
Body Hair
Any wicked witch worth a whit has a kettle brewing with eye of newt and toe of frog--and a nose with a hairy nevus. That''''s the medical term for a mole with hair growing out of it.
But hairy nevi aren''''t confined to wicked witches. Any woman can sprout mole hair--or hair in other unexpected places, including her upper lip, chin or chest.
Actually, body hair is all over us. But the fine body hairs that cover us from head to toe, called vellus hairs, are barely visible. It''''s the coarse terminal hairs--which are thicker and darker in color--that make us hair haters. This is the hair that shows up on a toe or a nipple or peeks out the edge of a bathing suit. In fact, the only body hair that most women like is their eyelashes.
Eyelashes at least have a job to do--shield our eyes from the dirt. Nose hair also has a function--to block particles like dust. It''''s the other kind of body hair that only serves to annoy.
And annoy it does. "It drives women off the old rock and roller," says Victor Newcomer, M.D., professor of dermatology at the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA School of Medicine.
A Little Shaver
Probably the most annoying, because it''''s most visible, is facial hair. "It''''s the mustache area that bothers women the most," says Seth L. Matarasso, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.
| Waxing Elegant If you don''''t mind pulling a sticky bandage off your own skin, and if you have too much unwanted body hair but too little time to run out to waxing salons, then you may be the perfect candidate for a home waxing kit. You can use a home kit to wax your bikini line, legs, underarms or facial hair. But a word of warning: Read the directions on the label and don''''t use the wax in nonappropriate areas--including the inside of your nose or ears, nipples, eyelashes or on irritated skin, warts, moles and sunburned skin. Also, you should not wax over recent scar tissue or too near the genital area. The kits run from about $6 for a simple pot of wax that you heat in hot water to a $30 box that contains an electric warmer for heating the beeswax, two disposable roll-on wax-filled applicators for the face or the body (replacement applicators are available) and wax remover strips. Also, read the label to find out how much time it takes. One kit, for instance, specifies that you do a patch test, then wait 24 hours to check for allergic reactions. If all is well, you can go ahead--but you have to heat the applicator for 30 to 45 minutes in the warmer. If you''''re waxing your chin or upper lip, you can''''t use soap or makeup in that area for the next 12 hours. The actual waxing and hair removal don''''t take long at all, however. You simply roll the wax-filled applicator along your skin in the direction the hair grows. Then you apply the wax remover strip, rub it four or five times and pull it off your skin. All you need is the fortitude to rip the strip from your flesh in one swift motion. "The first time I did it, it brought tears to my eyes," says Nancy Miller, an insurance agent from Phoenix who''''s been waxing at home for eight years. "But your skin gets tougher after four or five times. You get used to it." For your long-term preparations and short-term pain, you''''re rewarded with up to six weeks of hair-free skin. |
While you can''''t cover up a mustache the way you can hide underarm or leg hair, there''''s nothing to stop you from shaving it off. "Shaving isn''''t as irritating as waxing," according to Dr. Newcomer. And once you''''ve shaved, the hair doesn''''t grow back very fast. "You may only need to shave it once every week or two."
Some women, however, find shaving their mustaches a little too masculine for words, says Dr. Newcomer. Or they''''ve bought the myth that shaving makes hair grow in thicker--which it doesn''''t. "But you will feel rough stubble when it grows in." That''''s because shaving removes hair at the surface of the skin, where it''''s thickest. Hair removed by other methods, such as plucking or waxing, comes from deep in the follicle, the cradle of new hair. When new hair grows in, it has a fine, tapered end, compared with the blunt-tipped hair that grows in after shaving.
To shave a mustache, blot it with warm water until it''''s moist. Then apply a gentle shaving cream. Let the shaving cream soak into your skin for two or three minutes so the hair gets swollen. While that''''s happening, soak your razor in warm water.
Use a lightweight razor made for women--and be sure to replace it after three to six shaves, before the blade dulls. Shave in the direction the hair grows. Then rinse and blot dry.
Dr. Newcomer recommends following up with a moisturizer.
| Bleach for the Beach For legs to dye for, try a hair bleach kit available from your local pharmacy. Several highlights of hair bleach make it an appealing choice for some women--it''''s accessible, quick and, best of all, painless. For most people, bleaching works well, according to Anita Cela, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Cornell University Medical College in New York City. "However, it''''s best used by women with dark but very fine, not thick or coarse, hair. Especially in the upper lip area. If your hair is too thick, it will still be noticeable after you dye it." There are hair bleach kits manufactured specifically for facial hair as well as for more general body areas. The cost of each kit varies, depending on how many ounces of cream it contains and whether it is regular or extra strength. Most range between $4.50 and $9.50. To obtain a kit, check the depilatory or shaving needs section of your local drugstore--the kits are most often stocked there, not in the hair dye aisle. All hair bleach kits come with two essential components: the actual hair bleach mixture, which is most often in cream form, and the activator mixture, which is always in powder form. Follow the instructions to obtain the proper proportion of bleach to activator. Some words of caution, however: Never combine the two until you''''re ready to begin bleaching, always immediately discard any unused portions and never mix the two together in any kind of a metal bowl or container. Whatever bleach you get, be sure to do a patch test, says Dr. Cela. Instructions for the patch test come with the kit. If no redness, irritation or eruption occurs, you can proceed with the full application. |
A Smooth Upper Lip
For mustache removal, waxing is often the method of choice. Big beauty salons often have a waxing section where technicians work on facial and leg hair, underarms and the bikini line. When you go in, the technician applies hot wax to an area of skin with a wooden spatula. After the wax hardens, the technician yanks it off.
Waxing keeps the mustache area hair-free for about six weeks. The new hair that grows in is usually soft and silky. Some women find waxing painful, though. And it can irritate the tender skin above the lip.
"You can cut down on the irritation if you use a mild topical steroid cream such as WestCort and a topical antibiotic such as T-Stat before and after you wax," says Anita Cela, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Cornell University Medical College in New York City.
The medications should be applied immediately before and just after waxing, according to Dr. Cela. If the irritation continues, the topical steroid cream can be used twice a day for a few more days. Both the steroid cream and the antibiotic are available by prescription.
Lots of Pluck
If you have single little strands that crop up here and there on your face, they''''re easy to remove. Give these tricks a try.
Snip it. The easy method: Cut off the hair at its base with a pair of fine manicuring scissors, suggests Dr. Newcomer. Be sure that the sharp blades don''''t slice your skin, though. This technique is fine for any facial hair, and it also works with hair on your nipples or chest--places where plucking might be painful or irritating.
Opt for electrolysis. The only permanent way to remove unwanted body hair is with electrolysis in a salon or hair-removal office. The technician inserts a needle or probe about the width of a hair into each follicle, then turns on a mild current of electricity. That destroys the hair root about 75 percent of the time.
"It''''s a long and tedious process," says Dr. Matarasso. "You go for half-hour sessions every couple of weeks." Removing an area as large as the bikini line can take a year of treatments, so the method is best for small areas. And you may get problem reactions, such as acne or inflammation of the hair follicles. Electrolysis also carries some risk. There is a remote chance of infection by a transmissible disease such as hepatitis, and it''''s possible there could be some scarring.
"So you should go to an electrologist who has a lot of experience and does it all the time. It''''s wise to do a few small areas to see if you can tolerate it without scarring. I''''ve seen women with scars above their lips from electrolysis," says Dr. Newcomer.
Electrolysis is costly and often painful. Fees range from $15 or $20 up to $100 and over, depending on how many visits you need.
The Hardest Hairs
It''''s not just teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikinis that can make our pubic hair public. Some white aerobic tights and most bathing suits reveal some telltale signs of pubic hair. And that makes most of us self-conscious and uncomfortable. But getting rid of pubic hair is a very uncomfortable proposition.
It''''s not the only challenging area of our bodies. If you''''re one of the majority of American women who shave under their arms, you know that those hairs are equally difficult. Here are the best ways to handle both spots.
Snip it in the bud. If summertime is approaching and you''''ll soon be wearing a bikini, shaving is the quickest, cheapest, least painful way to draw the line on pubic hairs. Before you get started on a shave of the area, try on your briefest bikini to see exactly where you need to shave. Then soak the area, apply shaving cream and shave it just as you would a mustache.
| Zap Time If you''''re considering electrolysis and wondering what the experience is like, here''''s a firsthand report from Prevention magazine beauty editor Pam Boyer. "I''''d often toyed with the idea of electrolysis--specifically, for getting rid of my excess eyebrow hair for good. But the time and expense required, the incidence of regrowth and the risk of scarring all held me back. Most of all, I was afraid it would hurt. "I overcame those concerns, though, and began my hunt for an electrologist. I knew that the treatment involved a series of visits, so I wanted somebody local. Surely a doctor could refer me to a qualified practitioner, I thought. But the referrals weren''''t really recommendations; they didn''''t come with praise, just ''''no complaints.'''' "The first electrologist I met hooked me up to an electrolysis machine and gave me damp, felt-covered handles to hold in both hands. They were attached to the machine, so my body was acting as the electrical ground. "Surprisingly, the part I was most afraid of--the insertion of the needle into the hair follicle--wasn''''t even uncomfortable. The jolt that would kill the hair root (as long as the follicle was in its growing phase, not its resting phase) did hurt--but not unbearably. It felt like a mosquito bite at some times--at other times, like a hornet sting. Over the next few visits my discomfort increased; the jolts felt like a swarm of stinging hornets. On the third visit I had to ask that the treatment be cut short. "Later, I found out why it may have hurt so much. Some operators inaccurately zap both follicles and bare skin. Others apply the needle longer to hair roots that didn''''t die the first time. Some simply get sloppier as treatments continue. "So I searched for another electrologist and found one whose treatments were less painful. But after four treatments I had more hair regrowth than I''''d been led to expect. "I decided to look for one last electrologist before I gave in to discouragement. A Philadelphia dermatologist recommended an electrology group called Lucy Peters, International. First I visited Lucy Peters herself in her Manhattan office, where she told me about the equipment she helped develop. Instead of a needle, Peters said, they use an insulated bulbous probe that prevents the current from destroying anything but the hair. With this procedure, according to Peters, the skin is protected from damage or discomfort. "Treatments with the probe caused only occasional, minor discomfort. The job was complete after seven treatments. And there was no regrowth. Insulated probes are available to electrologists nationwide. They are a piece of equipment I would insist upon," says Boyer. |
Pamper the pits. The hair under our arms is so hard to shave that we pull and stretch and scrape the skin raw in the shower to make a level shaving field. We crane our heads like, well, cranes, to get a view through the shower waterfall.
To prevent nicks and scratches, Dr. Matarasso suggests a milder attack with the razor. Even an imperfect shaving job looks and feels better than the damage you do when you''''re overzealous, he points out.
Another option is an electric shaver, he says. It doesn''''t shave as closely, but it''''s kinder to your skin. And you can use it in front of the bathroom mirror--to actually see what you''''re doing.
The Depilatory Story
Depilatories don''''t win any awards in the Grammies of hair removal, but some over-the-counter drugstore products are easy to use at home. These are chemical agents that remove hair--and while they do work, you have to be ultra careful. "I don''''t like them. They''''re messy, they can have an offensive odor and they can irritate the skin," says Dr. Cela. If you do decide to use a chemical depilatory, here''''s how to prevent problems.
Hold tryouts. Depilatories not only irritate sensitive skin--a light-haired blond''''s, for instance--they can also cause allergic reactions: bumps, pimples and itching. So it''''s best to test a patch of skin first.
Apply a small amount to your inner arm below your elbow--a thin-skinned area that''''s not too noticeable. Cover that spot with a bandage. Leave the depilatory on the test area for the amount of time recommended in the instructions. If you''''re sensitive or allergic to the depilatory, the patch of skin will be red or broken out when you remove the bandage.
Count down carefully. You should time the application as closely as a knitter counting stitches. Set the timer when you apply the depilatory, and remove it as soon as the timer goes off.
"Depilatories have strong alkaline-reducing agents to soften the hair and break down the keratin that hair is made from. It''''s very easy to burn your skin if you leave it on too long," warns Dr. Newcomer. "Every time there is a big ad in the newspaper for Neet or Nair, doctors know we''''ll see a dozen people who have overused it and burned their skin."
Can a Doc Help?
Some women are more prone to dark-haired excess than others, and hormonal changes can change the body picture, too. Women with a Mediterranean background tend to have thicker body hair. And some women get more body hair when they hit menopause--including mustaches, chin hair, even cheek and chest hair. But sometimes body hair can be a sign of health problems that you might need to check out.
If excess body hair is caused by a medical problem, the reason is most often an excess of hormones, says Dr. Cela. The excess can be related to the ovaries, adrenal glands or thyroid. Problems in any of these areas can cause us to notice changes in hair growth. Unwanted body hair may become "terminal"--that is, get darker in color and grow thicker. Conversely, scalp hair may thin, recede and fall out.
When you have a problem with the hormones produced by your ovaries, adrenal glands or thyroid, you''''re likely to see three kinds of symptoms: acne, scalp hair thinning and hirsutism--the medical term for excess terminal hair on the body--according to Marty Sawaya, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Florida Health Science Center in Gainesville. If you develop all three, you should see your doctor, who will probably refer you to an internist or a specialist for testing. A dermatologist, gynecologist or endocrinologist (a specialist who studies hormone glands) can give you a series of blood tests to pinpoint the cause, he says.
