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.

When it comes to hair removal there is not much you can do that is natural apart from having the genes that mean you don’t grow unwanted hair in the first place and we know that not many of us grew up with those!

Or you could leave the hair to grow and just be as natural as you were born but there is not much beauty in hairy legs and a mustache on a girl.

You can shave the hair off your legs, of course, which is a chore but does not involve too much in the way of unnatural sounding processes or harsh chemicals like depilatories but you will have to repeat the process over and over and you will be cursing nature that gave you the hair in the first place.

You can use wonderful smelling wax which has been enriched with natural fragrance and smells wonderful but you will not feel too natural while you are yelping in pain and you will have to repeat the painful procedure every few weeks.

My favorite hair removal method which is the one used by the celebrity “natural beauties” is IPL laser hair removal. There is not much natural in zapping your hair with laser focused waves of light to destroy the hair follicles but after you have had a few sessions you will be able to go about with much reduced hair growth (if not hair free) as if that is the way you had been born. And after that you can tell yourself that you are naturally smooth even if you had to pay dearly for the privilege.

The candidate for an IPL hair removal treatment must be in good physical, mental and emotional conditions and understand the benefits, the risks and the characteristics of the IPL treatment. It is important to ask a doctor that can provide information on the treatment and help determine if you’re the right candidate.

One of the most important factors to be a good candidate is he color of the hair. As a general rule, the contrast between the natural color of the hair and the natural color of the skin is the key to effectiveness and general satisfaction. A combination of light skin and dark hair is perfect to obtain good results. Although dark skinned and light haired people can get good results, the IPL hair removal treatment can be less effective. Also gray, colored and blond hair can avoid to reach good results.

Another factor to determine who is a good candidate for an IPL hair removal treatment is the thickness of the hair you want to remove. Thicker hair are easier to remove than thinner ones. Thin hair require multiple treatments and even with that results can be poor.

Women that want to submit to an IPL hair removal treatment must talk to their doctor before taking a decision if they are or could be pregnant or are breastfeeding. Also people taking medicines for acne could talk to a doctor before submitting to IPL laser hair removal.