Latest Fact Sheet

Season 3, Ep 8 - Hair Removal

· Hair grows at different speeds depending on its position on the body – hair on the chin grows fastest followed by hair on the scalp, armpits and then thighs. The hair in our eyebrows has one of the slowest rates of growth.

· Hair grows almost everywhere on our bodies – the only parts that are hairless are our palms, soles and lips.

· We have two types of hair – terminal hair is the thick hair found on our heads and in beards. Vellus hair is the soft downy hair found on arms and body.

· Broadly speaking there are two types of hair removal – epilation and depilation. Epilation involves the removal of the hair from its follicle (like plucking) whereas depilation is cutting it off above skin level (like shaving).

· Neither epilation or depilation result in more hair growing back or the hair that does grow back being thicker. Repetitive epilation can damage the hair follicle resulting in future hairs being somewhat finer.

· Shaving foams and soaps are used to help wet and lubricate the skin to make shaving a smooth process.

· Shaving foams, gels and creams all have slightly different ingredients but they all work in similar ways so which is best for you simply comes down to personal preference.

· Research does suggest that more blades in a razor provides a closer shave – as well as cutting the hair, each razor pulls it out slightly so that the next blade cuts it even closer to the skin.

· We tested the sharpness of disposable razors and cartridge blades for razors with disposable heads – cartridge blades were slightly sharper.

· As well as the blades, razors often have other special features such a moisturising strips and rubber fins to help improve the quality of the shave – these features do work but they can push the price of products up quite a bit!

· There are two types of aftershave – alcoholic and non-alcoholic. While people may use alcohol containing aftershaves to soothe their skin, alcohol is actually slightly drying to skin.

· Non-alcoholic aftershaves contain moisturising ingredients which can help to sooth the skin after shaving.

· Depilatories work by chemically dissolving hair so it can then be wiped or rinsed off the skin. As the name suggests, depilatories only remove hair above the skin, the root remains intact.

· The chemicals used in depilatories are called thioglycolates, and work by dissolving the keratin which makes up hair. Skin also contains keratin but it’s a slightly different type so isn’t as easily dissolved as the keratin in hair.

· Thioglycolates are also responsible for the smell associasted with depilatories – they are also found in the products used for permanent waves. Depilatories used to smell a lot stronger because they contained sulphides but these are now less common.

· Some people may experience irritation after using depilatories especially if they are left on too long – this gives them a chance to start working on the skin as well as the hair. It’s a good idea to patch test a small area of skin before using depilatories in larger areas.

· Scientists have tested and proven what everyone already suspected to be true – waxing does indeed last longer than shaving.

· Waxing doesn’t only involve the removal of hair, some of the top layers of skin are removed also. However, there is no long term damage to the skin associated with waxing as long as it’s done properly.