Facial Hair Removal FAQ

Facial hair is an unpleasant topic for many women.  And why wouldn't it be?  Visible facial hair can cause serious self-esteem problems, and based on that alone, makes it well worth spending some money on to correct.  However, there are a wide variety of solutions available, everything from a $10 home solution to a multi-thousand dollar surgical procedure.  But what do they all entail, and what's best for you?

This Hub is designed to answer that question.  It will go through a number of facial hair removal solutions on the market, and help you decide what will work best.  So let's dig in, and take care of that hair!

What causes facial hair for women anyway?  If we want to really make the right choices to get to the right solution, then it will help to have a deep understanding of the problem itself.  For women, if you're suddenly finding that you're growing an excess of hair on your face, there's possibly some kind of hormonal shift in your body that's causing the change.  All women have very fine hair on their body naturally, and these hormonal shifts can make the hair darken and become more visible on your body.

When this happens the hair is referred to as 'terminal' hair, an unfortunate name, but that's what it's called.

In case you're interested, this is exactly what happens in men, which is why they get their darker facial hair when they go through puberty.  For women it can happen at puberty, or just in general through their lives - it seems women have more hormonal shifts than men during their lifetime, and so the possibility of this kind of thing seems to be more prevalent.  Or maybe men just don't care as much.

Okay, enough explanation.  What are we going to do about it?  Let's go through a few of the possibilities, and see what's the best option in your situation.

The fastest and cheapest way to get rid of the hair is by bleaching it.  This will artificially turn the hair back into the light, invisible hair that it used to be.  Bleaching works for a fairly good amount of time, typically 2-6 weeks, and you're not risking any complications, like ingrown hairs or even expense.  A hair bleaching kit is only about $7 or so, and it's not a bad thing at all to try.  You won't be out much if you don't like it.

Now bleaching is all well and good if you don't mind leaving the hair on your face.  But what if you want to take it off?  Then the next cheapest and easiest route - actually it's extremely easy - is to use a facial hair removal cream to remove it.  These creams work by dissolving the base of the hair, and so you just put it on your face, wait a few minutes, and wipe it off.  It is, quite literally, like magic.

Now there are just a couple caveats here though.  For one, it works better for some people than others, so it's possible that it will be less effective for you than other people.  For another, there are different hair removal creams for different parts of the body.  If you have a cream that's designed for pubic hair, then only use it for pubic hair, as the chemicals in it could be slightly different, and may cause you discomfort.  It doesn't typically cause any injury though, so it's not particularly dangerous.  But still, use caution.

Nothing like a hot wax to get rid of hair!  The bane of men everywhere, waxing will tear the hair right out, and it will take weeks to grow back.  This is a step beyond what we've talked about already, though for this you'll either need to go to a salon or have a home waxing kit, both of which are a little pricey, compared to creams and bleaches.

The good thing is this is just as easy, but a little more time consuming.  Checking the phone book or online will almost certainly turn up multiple places to go.

Now we're getting a little more advanced.  Electrolysis is using either chemicals or heat to destroy the hair follicle.  It typically doesn't include laser hair removal, but they're similar enough that I don't want to really break it down into different categories.

All three of these methods are permanent - they destroy the follicle entirely, and you will not grow hair again.  They usually take several treatments (hair is stubborn) but are quite effective.

These are advanced enough that you'll want to speak to a doctor and see what he or she recommends for you.  Be aware that some of them have side effects - heat rashes are the most common - and they are fairly expensive.  But they are also permanent, which is quite possibly what you're looking for.

With all these options available, what is best for you?  Well, it mostly depends on how permanent you want this hair removal to be.  If you're done with your hair, you want it gone forever, then it may be worth your time and money to get rid of it for good.  If you don't have the money, or you're not as quick to make a permanent change, then go for one of the more temporary fixes.  It's up to you.

Thankfully, you have full control over unwanted facial hair.  There are so many methods available, that something is going to work for you.  I hope this article has helped make you more aware of what's out there, and will guide you to the best answer.