Recent technological advances have produced two exciting hair removal techniques which provide a more permanent option for those that are fed up with painful and repetitive treatments. Laser hair removal uses concentrated pulses of light that are transmitted by the melanin in hair follicles.
Laser Treatment
The light travels down the hair to the root, super-heating the follicle and altering its ability to re-grow. This process only works when the individual strand of hair is in its growth stage (experts estimate that one quarter to one third of body hair is in this process at one point in time), and so it takes three to five treatments for all of the hair to be removed. Once completed, the hair does not generally grow back.
Unfortunately this treatment does need to be done by a salon to achieve the desired result, and is not effective on blonde hair (lacking in melanin). The other new technology which is particularly ideal for facial hair is that of electrolysis. A tiny needle is inserted into each hair follicle and zaps the hair with an electric charge. This removes any possibility of the hair growing back.
Electrolysis
Like the laser treatment, electrolysis requires a few visits to the salon to be effective, and has the added disadvantage of being time consuming (so small areas are treated). For those with the patience and money, however, these new technologies are a worthwhile solution.