Male vanity used to be a subject left aside up until not too long ago. Nowadays, it has become a subject as important as the appearance you want people to notice in you. Anti-aging creams, specific shampoos for your hair type, laser hair removal, permanent straightening... the list goes on and on on the female world and is now an important part on men´s universe, too. One of the services which is more common on the male environment is hair removal.

What you should pay most attention to are the best treatments for your type of skin and what parts of your body you’d like to apply that on. It is possible to depilate your whole body, really – from your back to your legs, from the abdomen to the genital area and, obviously, the face.

The faster and cheaper way of doing it is using the depilatory creams or blades, items which can be easily found in supermarkets or drugstores and good for those who don’t suffer from allergies to those. These two are mainly recommended for depilating chest, back, genital area and feet. The only problem you can find with these two options is that the hair is cut superficially and grows really fast – which means you’ll have to do it constantly, just like it happens to your beard when you shave it. Attention! Do not use these methods for removing hair from your nose or eyebrows!

Talking about eyebrows, tweezers are great for facial hair. A different technique which is also common among men is the one called threading, which consists on the use of a thread (duh!) for removing the tiny and sometimes almost invisible hair off your face.

One of the best methods of hair removal is waxing – which can be hot (less painful) or cold. If you pick this option, the ideal is to have it done by a professional. Go for a clean place and make sure the wax used on you is disposable and the professional is responsible (your girlfriend or a female friend might be able to help you with a good tip on the place and/or person). Either hot or cold, the waxing gives a better result. It lasts for about two weeks, much longer than shaving, for instance, which means less trouble for a longer period of time.

If you suffer from ingrown hair or chronic or constant folliculitis (inflammation of one or more hair follicles that cause red pimples with pus), maybe it’s a good time for you to go after a dermatologist to whom you can address the problem and who should help you with an effective treatment. On your hair removal day, avoid sunbathing, swimming, wearing perfumes or other products which can harm or irritate the area to be waxed or shaved. Wear sunscreen on the following week. It is important for you to know when it´s a good time for waxing. The hair must be long enough for this technique to work, so you gotta be patient and wait for it to grow enough before you remove it. If you´re in a hurry or can´t wait any longer (in case you have a meeting the next morning or something), shave!


Laser
Laser treatments have two inconveniences: they’re expensive and they hurt as hell. On the other hand, they´re great options for those who suffer from folliculitis. This hair removal method can be done in any part of the body, but it doesn’t work on fair or white hair. You´ll have a better result if you´ve fair skin and dark hair.

Facial hair (beard and moustache) require special attention in this case, for laser may cause stains and even rash when badly applied. For the technique to work well it is important that the procedure is done by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon to avoid complications such as burns and stains. Although it’s called permanent hair removal, this method isn’t effective in one session only, you’ll need at least five of those to see it work. Price varies from region to region and we gotta say, it isn’t cheap, really. 

If you still think hair removal methods aren’t for men, please be aware that in many cases it is a matter of hygiene. Excessive hair may make you more sweaty and, in many cases, smelly. Some guys opt for trimming the longer ones instead of removing them all. No matter what you do, it is about time men stopped caring about what others think or speak about them, don’t you think?