Hair Removal for Men
Men have always taken a narrow approach to personal grooming, usually limiting the practice to shaving and their tools to a razor blade and some cream. Shaving hasn’t just been the trusted go to method for men to remove facial and body hair. It’s pretty much been the only method.
Men looking for alternatives to shaving have a ton of options. They could wax, seek professional waxing, or laser hair removal treatments, use depilatory creams or try an at-home hair removal device to permanently reduce unwanted hair.
Let’s look at some effective ways that men can treat facial and body hair. Then, we’ll introduce you to the Flash & Go Series so you can consider the benefits of performing at-home treatments. Finally, we’ll give you some amazing tips to help replace shaving once and for all.
What is Manscaping?
Manscaping is a fun term that has ingrained itself in our common vernacular. It describes the process of a man grooming his body hair, including the more sensitive areas. It’s become increasingly popular for men to invest time, money and effort to coral their copious amounts of body hair. Manscaping does refer to the practice of manicuring body hair but many of the tips and ideas relate to permanent hair removal.
Big, burly beards might be in style but that doesn’t mean that you should let your hair run wild. The trend is for men to sport a manicured beard and to remove pubic and chest hair. Research indicates that removing pubic hair has become the norm in the U.S., Australia and the UK. About two-thirds of men perform pubic hair removal to make themselves more attractive. Other reasons include hygiene, experimentation or to please their partner.
Areas of Focus for Men
With respect to hair removal, men typically like to focus on their chests, backs, neck, shoulders and pubic areas. We recommend choosing your treatment area or areas based on preference. It’s a personal choice and you should design a plan that will suit your desired look. There’s no right or wrong.
Ideally, we would recommend using a permanent hair removal device for your shoulders and pubic areas, seeking laser treatments for your back and simply trimming chest hairs.
Benefits to Male Hair Removal
There are some serious benefits to manicuring or removing body hair.
Hygiene
Hair naturally collects dead skin cells, sweat, urine and other substances that leave or encounter your body. Many of these substances can cause infections or become a breeding ground of dangerous bacteria. By grooming your body hair, a man greatly reduces the risk of bacterial infection and increases their ability to smell good.
Sweat Less
Less hair allows your body to regulate body temperature with more ease. This means you won’t need to release as much heat and will be more cool and dry even when it’s scorching outside. Less sweat also means you will smell better and won’t have to change your shirt three times a day.
Enhance your Appearance
You spend hours working out in the gym. You spend way too much on a fancy haircut. You eat right. Why do all this to hide your sculpted body under a permanent blanket of hair. A manicured or hairless body looks more defined, cleaner, younger and healthier. Less hair also gives the illusion of more size, which is great for showing off your muscles, of course.
Traditional and Popular Methods
Men have access to the same hair removal options as women, including shaving, waxing, plucking, threading, depilatory creams, laser treatments and at-home hair removal devices. Each offers a solution of varying effectiveness completely dependent on the area of your body you want to treat and how quickly you need the job done.
For instance, waxing, plucking and threading are great for eyebrow shaping. Trimming is perfect for one’s chest. Waxing and depilatory creams, on the other hand, are great solutions for arms, shoulders and back. A method is rarely designed to work on the entire body so design a regular grooming plan that considers your target areas and potentially features multiple methods.
Creams have become a popular option for men in search of a quick body hair fix. Creams work fast and are readily available and inexpensive. The cons, though, are that they typically have a strong scent, contain harsh chemicals and the results are short-lived. Many health and beauty experts agree that there are usually better options than depilatory creams to treat body hair.
More men have opted for laser hair removal in recent years with their pubic region being the most popular treatment area. This is a permanent treatment that targets hair at the root. The results are long-lasting but because the laser doesn’t harm the follicle, new hair can grow in place of the removed hair.
A session takes about 30 minutes and most clients need up to eight sessions to see results. Keep in mind that this procedure works best with dark hair on light skin as the contrast helps the laser locate the targeted hair.
Hair Removal Tips
You don’t want to start blindly grooming your body as there is a lot that can go wrong. Your skin could experience redness or irritation or you could develop stubble or ingrown hairs.
If you plan on trimming or waxing, follow these tips:
- Use the right tools. This means don’t use kitchen scissors to trim your chest. This is a hygiene issue and you won’t get positive results. Use proper scissors designed for hair.
- Trim really long hairs before shaving or waxing. If the hair is too long, it will snag on a blade. For waxing hair needs to be 1/4 to 1/2 an inch – any shorter and there won’t be enough hair for the wax to securely grasp.
- Take a hot shower before any body hair removal. The warm water and steam softens skins, opens pores and loosens any oils. The water also acts as a lubricant so that hair doesn’t pull during treatment.
- Most people think you should remove hair against the grain. This is wrong. You should remove hair in the direction that it grows.
- After treatment, apply a good moisturizer. Look for one that contains aloe.
Devices for Men
The latest trend among the manscaping crowd is permanent hair removal. Besides the smooth and clean look, the appeal is that you won’t have to shave stubborn body hair again or buy expensive razors and gels. Additionally, it means no more trips to the salon or spa or having to undergo painful waxing on your public area.
Silk’n launched a line of hair removal devices that can help men achieve silky smooth skin in their preferred areas. These devices allow men to safely remove and permanently reduce hair on their arms, underarms, shoulders, legs, bikini line, face below the cheeks and on their back.
Get Started with Silk’n
Whether you are looking to hop on the manscaping train or have decided to add a hair removal device to your existing regime, you need to commit to a treatment plan that can produce results. Remember, there are better options than simply taking a razor blade and some gel to your body hair. Devise a plan that will remove hair for longer and with more efficiency.
Read more about hair removal in the Hair Removal section of our Resource Center, or check out all the Silk’n hair removal devices.
