h a i r r e m o v a l
Salon Fundamentals
TM
Esthetics
372
Some individuals experience excessive hair
growth on various areas of the body. Hirsutism
(HER-se-tizm) typically affects women by
causing dark hair to grow in areas of the body
where men usually grow more hair, such as
the face, arms, legs and back. This excessive
hair growth occurs as a result of an increased
amount of the hormone androgen. Hirsutism
is often a result of the hormonal imbalances
women experience during menopause. Another
condition that causes excessive hair growth is
hypertrichosis (hi-per-tri-KOH-sis), which is
genetically determined and can occur anywhere
on the body in both men and women. The
production of androgen has no influence on
this hair growth.
The life cycle of a hair consists of three phases--
anagen, catagen and telogen. During the first and
longest phase, called anagen, the hair actively
grows. During the transitional and shortest phase,
called catagen, the hair begins to destroy itself as
it disconnects from the papilla. During the last
phase, called telogen, the hair sheds, and the
follicle rests and prepares to resume the anagen
phase. This complete cycle takes an average of
four to 12 weeks for body hair, depending on
individual factors such as health, nutrients,
vitamins and minerals as well as hereditary
factors. All the hair on a human being is in
one of these three phases at any given time.
Waxing weakens the papilla, which can
eventually inhibit the hair from returning.
However, because each individual hair within
the same follicle is in any one of the three stages
at once, waxing only destroys the hairs in the
follicle that are in the anagen phase with each
waxing service. With each subsequent waxing
service, more and more of the anagen-stage hair
is removed, causing the regrowth to appear to
grow more slowly and sparsely.
Temporary Removal Methods
Depending upon the method used, temporary
hair removal techniques result in different rates
of regrowth. For instance, shaving will cause
regrowth that may be coarse and stubbly within
a matter of hours or days, while waxing may
cause hair to grow back with an increasingly
finer texture over a matter of several weeks.
Shaving
Usually performed by the client at home,
shaving with an electric shaver, clipper or razor
removes hair from the surface of the skin.
Shaving is often used to remove hair from large
areas, such as the legs. Because none of the hair
ANAGEN
CATAGEN
TELOGEN
Why does the hair on your head grow long, but your body
hair stays short? It's because the hair follicles on your
body are "programmed" to stop growing every month or
two, while follicles on your head let hair grow for years.
Technical Hair Terms:
Capilli:
Hair that grows on the scalp
Barba:
Thick, coarse hair that grows on
the face to form a beard
Cilia: Eyelash
hair
Supercilia: Eyebrow
hair
Lanugo:
Soft, downy hair on the body
at birth
Vellus:
Thin, soft, unpigmented hair
covering the body
Terminal:
Thicker, pigmented hair that grows
on areas of the body after puberty
