What Sparked An Obsession With Body and Facial Hair? Find Out
More About Unwanted Facial Hair And The Current Hair Removal
Craze.
More and more women are obsessed with removing unwanted facial
hair today. It is no surprise that the women in United Kingdom
spend £280 million in the quest of hair removal for silky smooth
legs, arms, face and more. But what sparks an obsession with
body hair? It is probably because of an unkind remark at a
vulnerable stage such as early adolescence that may have
triggered a preoccupation with a particular feature such as
removing unwanted facial hair. Some 30% of women and 12-15% of
men are overly concerned with some aspect of their appearance,
although an obsession with unwanted facial hair and body hair is
fairly uncommon.
Although the current hair removal craze dates back to the 20th
century, women and men have been removing body and facial hair
throughout history. In fact, today’s fashionable techniques for
removing unwanted facial hair – waxing, sugaring or threading -
were used by Egyptian and Middle-Eastern women thousands of
years ago. Other techniques of removing unwanted facial hair,
such as shaving with razors, plucking with tweezers and using
depilatory creams, date back just as far, if not further. Hair
removal methods have stayed basically the same for centuries,
but the body parts involved have changed.
Today’s trend for smooth legs and armpits started with one of
the earlier editions of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. It featured a
model wearing a sleeveless evening gown – with hairless armpits.
The hair removal craze was also aided by the Wilkinson Sword
Company who ran an ad campaign in the 1920s to persuade women
that underarm hair was unhygienic and unfeminine.
As hemlines rose above the ankles, women in many Western
countries started shaving their legs. During the Second World
War, a shortage of silk stockings led to the leg hair removal
trend.
Recently, there’s been the fascination with below-the-belt hair
removal, with the ‘Brazilian Wax’ and the ‘Hollywood’ feted by a
slew of celebrities. The history of hair removal is essentially
about fashion. But when is unwanted facial hair and body hair a
medical problem? Consult your doctor if you have a sudden
increase in body or facial hair, or if your periods are
infrequent or your voice has become deeper. The doctor may
recommend you to lose weight. This reduces the amount of
hormones in your body that cause increased hair growth.
If the problem is severe, the doctor may prescribe hormonally
based drugs designed to help rebalance levels of androgens. Such
drugs usually take three to six months to work. Although they
can reduce the amount of new hair growth, it does not usually
change the amount of existing unwanted facial hair. There is
also a cream-based medication which can slow unwanted facial
hair growth. It can start to work within four to eight weeks
although it may take longer. Always refer to your doctor before
using any form of medication.