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Hairy backs

Hairiness is something to be proud of – hairy men are more intelligent. Hairy chests and backs are more likely to be found among the highly educated than in the general population. (However, there are also very intelligent men with little or no body hair. Einstein had hardly any body hair!)

If you want to get rid of the hair on your back or shoulders, you could consider waxing or laser treatment. Electrolysis is also a possibility.

Waxing

In 2000 Tesco, the UK supermarket chain, reported that sales of home-waxing kits rose by 41%. Their research showed that men were using them (but were asking women to buy the kits for them). Back waxing for men in beauty salons is also increasing. For best results, the hairs should be at least 0.5 cm long. In a salon, the process takes about 30 minutes. Waxing is not a permanent solution. It works by pulling out the hairs, but a new hair will then start to grow in the hair follicle. Regrowth will start to become obvious in 1–2 months.

Laser hair removal

For general information about laser hair removal, look at hairiness in women and useful contacts. To deal with your entire back you will need three or four treatments at 6–8 week intervals. Your back will be shaved first, and the treatment will then take about 30 minutes. Laser treatment does not get rid of hair permanently – after a few months, it will start to regrow slowly. However, the hair that regrows is likely to be less dense.

Electrolysis

Electrolysis removes hair permanently. Each hair is treated individually, so if you are very hairy over a large area, it might not be practical. Telephone the beauty salon first to check that they are willing to treat men.

Written by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Edited by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Last updated: Friday, February 12th 2010


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Comments on this article

Posted by Anonymous on 12/07/2009 at 08:02:00 pm

hya to the coarse haired girl.if you can't get it removed,you could try going to a salon and bleaching it so that it's not so dark and noticable? that or select an area and strategicly pluck out individual hairs (assuming you have hair on arms and what not) and just wax your lip.after a while it doesn't grow back so thick.I have PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome) means I have too much testosterone in my body.these were the options open to me when I started getting hairy and they worked for me.hope this can help?

Posted by Anonymous on 07/03/2009 at 08:37:00 pm

hiya am 22 female and i have hair everywhere all over thick and coarse i cant remove it as i have very sensitive skin what am i supposed to do its ruining my life!!

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