There are many different ways to remove body hair including waxing, tweezing, laser or electrolysis treatments, or applying depilatory products. However, the easiest and least painful way for mens grooming to rid himself of unwanted hair is to shave it off. The chest is a popular area to be shaved and the process requires a bit of care in order to yield the best result.

First, trim the hair using scissors, hair clippers, or a beard trimmer. This will take off the majority of the hair’s length, requiring shaving of only short hairs, thus less frequent clogging of the razor. Get into the shower and rinse off any excess hair trimmings, then wet the chest area so the stubble will be damp prior to shaving.

Grab the shaving cream and apply it to the area, lathering it thickly. Shaving cream is recommended over foams and gels that tend to dry out the skin. Use a razor with new blades in order to achieve the closest shave. Shave the chest in the direction of the hair growth, using short, gentle strokes and then rinse the area thoroughly.

Aftercare is perhaps the most important step in the chest-shaving process. Since the chest area is a relative stranger to shaving, a shaving rash or itchy bumps may develop there. To prevent these nasty side effects, spray the chest with an antiseptic spray or apply rash cream to the area. This will ensure a smooth chest on the beach making your mens swimming trunks look even better!

The hair will inevitably re-grow within a short period. During re-growth, ingrown hairs may develop, which can be quite painful. To prevent these, the chest area should be exfoliated several times per week using a body scrub. The chest area may be re-shaved as necessary in order to maintain a smooth appearance. Shaving requires minimal time and materials and is much less painful than many of the other hair removal methods available today.

The choice between Laser Hair Removal vs. Electrolysis depends on several factors. Laser hair removal has been primarily limited to people with light skin tone and dark-hair, since the success of the procedure depends on the ability of the laser to selectively heat the melanin within the hair follicle without damaging the surrounding tissue. Darker skin types can sustain permanent damage in the form of bleaching and the lasers simply aren’t able to effectively heat and thus destroy lighter colored hair. These restrictions are gradually being overcome as newer lasers are being developed that can effectively work with darker skin tones, but only if the hair color is still darker than the skin. The ability of lasers to permanently remove hair has always been called into question and since the procedure is still relatively new there is little longitudinal data to contradict this perception, but its growing popularity suggests that eventually this perception will also fall victim to gradual improvements in the technique.

When compared to laser hair removal, electrolysis seems primitive. With this technique the hair follicle is essentially electrocuted by a small electric current passing from a wire-thin electrode inserted into each hair follicle, thereby creating enough damage to prevent further growth. Since each hair follicle must be treated individually the technique is quite tedious and sessions take longer than with laser treatment.

Laser hair removal is less painful than electrolysis and the overall cost may be less depending on how large an area needs to be treated. The duration of the treatment period may also differ significantly, with Laser hair removal only requiring 5 to 6 sessions over a 6 month period and electrolysis requiring significantly more sessions over a period lasting up to 4 years. Notably, electrolysis is the only technique approved by the FDA for permanent hair removal and can work with any skin or hair color combination. The choice between Laser Hair Removal and Electrolysis therefore depends on skin and hair color, the cost and duration of the treatment regimen, the patient’s ability to tolerate pain, and concerns over the permanence of hair removal.

If you are looking for a way to remove unwanted hair where it will never grow back you don’t have to look far. There are really only two types of permanent hair removal methods: Electrolysis and Laser/IPL Hair removal.

These methods are not perfect (no method is) but at least they offer a solution if you can afford the time and the money for them.

Laser or IPL hair removal involves treating the hair with beams of high intensity light. This targets the color pigment in the hair and aims to damage the hair badly enough right down to the follicle so that it will not grow back. It has to make sure that the hair is treated with sufficient power while the surrounding skin is left undamaged however so it is a tricky process. And it means that laser hair removal is much less effective for those with light hair (such as blond, gray or red) or dark skin.

In electrolysis, each hair is treated with a current of electricity by inserting a probe near the base of the hair. The process has the same aim of damaging the hair follicle to such an extent that the hair does not grow back.

When comparing the two methods, laser hair removal is faster than electrolysis as several hairs can be treated at one time whereas with electrolysis each hair has to be treated individually. With electrolysis however you have a proven method of permanent hair removal and with laser hair removal just a proven method of hair reduction which can be significant if you want to be sure no hair will grow back.

The best thing is to use electrolysis for the smaller areas of the body such as the face and try laser hair removal for a larger area such as the legs to give the best combination of time required and effectiveness.