Questions from a man RE: Eyebrows

Hair Removal Methods Waxing and Sugaring
#21

I appreciate your New Years greetings, smoothlover.

Just by observation, you may see that hair on one side of the body doesn’t necessarily mirror hair on the opposite side of the body. If you draw an imaginary line down the middle of your body starting at your forehead, you may notice that one eyebrow grows more hair on one side and in a different pattern than the other eyebrow. Going down a little further, one areola has more hair than the other areola and the pattern of growth is different there, too. Since blood flow helps determine hair growth, that can perhaps explain why some people may have more hair on one side of their body than the other.

Eyebrow hair is different than scalp hair or hair on ones legs, or hair on ones arms. The growth of eyebrow hair depends on the blood supply to the frontal bone area of your forehead. In some cases there is not a sufficient blood supply to keep nourishing and replenishing hair growth here. If a person with diminished blood flow to the eyebrow area repeatedly tweezes this area, these hairs may never grow back. Also,scar tissue sometimes develops and the follicles of eyebrow hairs, from repeated tweezing may cause those hairs to never return. Any hair that returns after plucking your eyebrows obviously has a good blood supply,but that may not always be the case as time goes on.

I would never advise anyone to pluck, wax or sugar anything on their face. Eyebrows are the exception because they are a different animal altogether. You just have to make sure that when you pluck or wax that your eyebrows have a shape that is flattering to your face. If you change your mind in the future and decide to let your eyebrows grow out and re-shape them, you may not have all the follicles functioning as you did when you were younger.

If you have hair that bothers you on your upper cheeks, would you consider permanent removal with electrolysis? Long run, your better off.

Dee

#22

Hi Dee,

Thanks for your in-depth explanation. I’ve resisted plucking the fine hairs on my upper cheeks but they do annoy me–not ready for electrolysis or laser yet but maybe, sometime in the future. From your experience, does either electrolysis or laser prematurely age the skin–I’ve heard about some hairtell members writing that they got wrinkles after treatment–is this temporary or does treatment really age the skin that much? My face is dry and very sensitive and reacts allergically to the wrong cream–I don’t want to risk further irritation but would appreciate your input.

Going back to waxing for a moment. I read a lot of comments by members who noticed that their hairs became darker and coarser after waxing their arms or chests. Could this be to due to improper treatment or are some people just unlucky in this sense? I wouldn’t want to get caught up in having to continously wax to get rid of the darker hairs (which could just be worsening the problem), so I think that I’ll stick to shaving for now.

Take care,

smoothlover

#23

I have never observed or connected electrolysis or laser to premature aging of the skin. However, if the skin on the upper lip is overtreated by performing electrolysis insertions too close to each other, the possibilty of creating a wrinkle can occur.

I am aware of certain posts that swear their laser treatments caused their skin to age prematurely, but I do not know enough to say for sure that that is a cause and effect situation. I respect these posters and I think they add value to the discussion.

Many, many people are quite satisfied with their laser results and I have observed cases that are two years past their last treatment that are partially hair-free. This pertains mainly to underarms and bikini line. They come to me seeking electrolysis for the remaining hairs that laser can’t get. But, all in all, they are glad they started with laser and finished with electrolysis. The hormonal face is a little more complicated. I haven’t seen as good as results there, but why would I? If laser worked on someone’s face, they wouldn’t be coming to me for help. So, I only get to see the laser failures. Laser failures is not my term, but that of the discouraged that contract for my electrolysis services to fix their problem once and for all.

I have also observed the disgruntled laser clients who are heart sick that they spent a lot of money and have the same amount of hair as when they started or MORE hair than when they started. I don’t pretend to have an explanation for why this happens. My only concern is to improve their life by getting rid of the hair - FAST!

If your skin is dry and sensitive, there are strategies that one can use if you are having electrolysis done. Electrologist’s encounter and thus adapt to all types of skin on a daily basis. Your electrologist may decide to use thermolysis rather than blend, decide on the type of probe to use, decide on the intensity and timing, etc. All in all, the name of the game is protecting and working with your particular skin type whether it be oily or dry. The client takes an active part, too, by caring pre-electrolysis for their delicate skin and by following good aftercare instructions after treatments.

Waxing appears to especially affect hormonally fed hair areas with good blood flow, like the face, causing those coarse, deep dark hairs that we refer to so often. On the other hand, you may know of someone who has had diminished hair growth after waxing on the lower legs. It has been reported that this is most likely due to the aging process and the decreased circulation to the lower extremities. Blood feeds hair and if one had not waxed their lower legs even once in their life, this diminished hair growth would have happened anyway due to the decreased circulation to the lower legs.

Waxing your arms and chest MAY have the same effect. It all depends on the blood flow and if the circulating male hormones are attracted to a particular group of hairs. There are no cut and dry answers, but impressively, there has been over a century of observations that help us understand what seems to be happening in regard to the effects of waxing on hair growth in vulnerable areas.

Shaving is safe and effective until you decide on electrolysis, laser or both to solve your problem.

Dee

#24

Hi Dee,

As always, your comments are insightful and greatly appreciated! From what I’ve read on Hairtell, it seems that laser isn’t that reliable or that it really depends on the person’s skin type–as you mentioned, some members report that they actually have had an increase in hair growth because it was stimulated by all that light!

I’d really like to thin out the hair on my legs and arms but don’t think that I could go through the whole process of electrolysis. I think I’m getting a bit obsessed with this but I’ve become really self-conscious with the thick dark arm and leg hairs on my fairly pale skin. I have no back hair and very little chest hair which I often shave off–those thick dark arm and leg hairs seem rather inconsistent with the rest of my body appearance. I know some women on this forum seem to like hairy men but those hairy arms and legs really bother me and shaving and the subsequent maintainance is really time consuming. Laser seemed like a good option but the results seem mixed and often temporary, according to a lot of members. Are there any other effective “methods” to reduce the amount of hair? I’ve read that wearing long socks might be a way to “choke off” those lower leg hairs and this appears to be true with my lower leg and the so-called “sockline”–indeed, there are very few hairs there downwards. Is there any scientific proof to the restriction of circulation or rubbing by socks in that area which might led to fewer hairs?

Anyways, I’d appreciate any thoughts that you might have!

Thx,

smoothlover

#25

Hello, smoothlover.

Purposely restricting your blood from circulating to your lower extremites to reduce hair is not advice I would ever give. Just think if you were an undiagnosed diabetic and you cut your foot! This could lead to a nasty infection that wouldn’t heal, then to gangrene, then ultimately, to an amputation. No, we want all the blood that we can get to flow to our lower extremities.

For the amount of hair that you describe on your arms and legs, you have two choices in 2006: permanent thinning with electrolysis or hopeful reduction with a certain percentage of removal with laser.

I am not against people getting “lased”, especially if they have lots of coarse, dark hair on pale skin, as you do. Be it known that you are taking a gamble for results if you try laser. For many and a variety of reasons, people report back that they had side effects that left them with more hair or the same amount of hair than before, AFTER they plunked down thousands of dollars to make their situation better. Darker skin people have reported this also. I have one client that had her chin “lased” and long,dark medium hair appeared on her neck shortly after. This is called a rare side effect by the laser community.

It appears to me, after gathering information from varied and many sources, that laser-induced hair growth MAY result from using lower fluences in those early treatments or that the laser may actually be sychronizing the hair growth??? I just don’t know if this is true or not true, but I do know that laser technicians have made this observation along with some of their clients and are curious about this “side effect”. I’m sure it will be studied further because people always want answer’s.

I have said before that I have seen with my own eyes, in my daily practice, people that have had great results on certain body areas two or more years past laser and that they continue their quest for total removal with me because laser has reached it’s limit as to removing the remaining hair.

You may be a good candidate for laser, smoothlover, and get the thinning you desire for your arms and legs, but I don’t think it will end up even in appearance. It may be a good start followed by electrolysis to fine-tune the areas. You can always start the thinning with electrolysis and know that even though it will take more time you will actually end up with the look you like - permamnently.

There are no other effective options for the purpose of thinning these areas permanently except getting older, especially for the lower leg hairs.

Kind regards,

Dee

#26

Hi Dee,

Yes I agree that it’s still a bit too earlier to decide whether laser is really effective and a safe option. It’s also pretty expensive and the results might be temporary, although some people seem very happy with the results.

As far as the legs are concerned–I’m not planning on putting a turniquet (sp?) or ropes around them anytime soon in order to choke off unwanted hairs! LOL! However, I have thought about wearing high tube socks during the winter months regularly to see if it leads to any reduction in hairs–I know this might seem a bit crazy but do you think it would have any effect?

From your experience, at what age do men start to lose leg hair? Does the same hold true for the lower arms? Is it all due to poor circulation??? If that’s the case, it probably isn’t all that desirable and probably leads to other health problems too.

Take care,

smoothlover

#27

I wouldn’t count on the tube sock strategy to lessen those leg hairs (smile)!

Men may see hair diminishing and/or vanishing on their lower legs in later middle life on into their later years, 60’s, 70’s, etc. Women see this happen,too, and those women that have waxed the lower legs give waxing the credit for causing a complete loss of hair. We’re talking circulation here. If the blood supply is constricted, the tissues aren’t properly fed. Unrestricted blood flow feeds and nourishes hair and can be likened to fertilizer feeding and nourishing grass.

Circulation in your arms remains better in later life than in the lower extremities because the arms are closer to the heart, so don’t count on a lot of help with hair reduction there.

I purposely had hair removed in my early twenties so I could enjoy the results for a long time. It cost me a lot and I worked double shifts to pay the bill, but I can say that it is now just a fuzzy memory with a happy, satisfying ending thirty years later. I’m happy to say that I don’t own a razor.

There is no “EASY BUTTON” to push for permanent hair removal, but you can decide on a plan and move steadily forward day by day, week by week, knowing you’re going to be fine in the future.

Dee

#28

Here is the LAW on waxing

When I am asked if waxing is permenant my anwer is

Only when a mistake is made. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> This is called Murphy’s law.
Yes waxing seems to cause follicular damage always on the eyebrows never on the legs.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
Some say that the hair grew back darker and thicker or did they just start hair removal when the body was going through a hormonal change or maturation?

I know heavily bearded women who never waxed or tweezed and they did not get that way over night.

Controlled clinical study way too many variables. Control hormons, genetics.

Yes hair deminishes with age same as blood circulation and hormon levels change.

No I didn’t read your posts carefully and no I am not going to go back and do it.

I am not going to research this but my understanding is that harmonally stimulated hairs will get anchor themselves and fine hairs will give up under the irritation. This has also been my observation and the report of clients.

Popularly held beliefs are not always based on fact. They come from observation and misinformation.

So a 60 year old book could report on popular held beleifs that would get no argument in their day.

I have murphy’s law eybrows. You can see the pigment damage on my skin caused by wax (but this doesn’t happen to everyone. My leg hairs are itntact and they are not deep or terminal.