If you experience problems with appearance or body odor due to underarm hair that is too thick and growing fast, there is no need to worry anymore. There are several ways to remove armpit hair that you can do, from shaving it to undergoing laser treatment.
Armpit hair actually serves to reduce friction with the skin when a person is doing certain activities, such as running and walking. This makes the underarm skin not easily irritated.
However, the armpit is an area of the body that is often damp because it sweats a lot. The presence of armpit hair actually causes sweat to be trapped and bacteria easily multiply, thus triggering body odor.
Various Ways to Remove Armpit Hair
There are several ways you can do to remove armpit hair, including:
1. Shaving armpit hair
Shaving is one of the easiest ways to remove armpit hair. However, this method usually only lasts 1-3 days before the armpit hair begins to grow back.
To do this, you are advised to wet and apply shaving cream first on the underarm skin. After that, start shaving the armpit hair in the direction the hair grows.
Although easy to do, shaving armpit hair can cause irritation or skin injury when done with a razor that is already blunt. In addition, shaving armpit hair can also cause ingrown hairs.
2. Removing armpit hair
The next way to remove armpit hair is to pull it out with an armpit hair remover or tweezers. This method can last 3-8 weeks until the armpit hair reappears.
However, you should clean the tweezers with alcohol before and after removing the armpit hairs to reduce the risk of irritation and infection of the armpit skin.
3. Do waxing
Waxing This is done by applying liquid wax to the armpits and sticking a cloth over the wax. After that, the cloth will be pulled quickly until the armpit hairs are pulled up to the roots.
This method can be done every 3–6 weeks or when the armpit hairs are about 0.5 cm long. If it is too short, the wax used will not stick to the armpit hairs, while armpit hairs that are too long will also be difficult to pull.
Although it can remove armpit hair, waxing risk of causing a red rash, irritation, and inflammation of the hair roots.
Therefore, you need to know how to do waxing appropriate measures, such as not using a retinoid cream beforehand or pulling the cloth in the opposite direction to the direction of hair growth.
4. Using armpit hair removal cream
Armpit hair removal creams are now easier to find on the market. This cream works by breaking down the keratin of the hair, so the armpit hair will fall out or fall off easily.
In using armpit hair removal cream, you are not advised to leave it for too long, because it can cause the underarm skin to develop a rash and become inflamed.
In addition, you are also recommended to do a test first by applying an armpit hair removal cream on a small area of the skin to find out if you have an allergy to the ingredients contained in the cream.
5. Using the laser method or IPL (Intense Pulsed Light)
The laser or IPL method is a method of removing armpit hair that is considered more effective, because the results are much longer lasting than other methods. However, to get maximum results, this treatment needs to be done at least 6 times with a distance of several months.
The procedure for removing armpit hair with laser or IPL carries a risk of side effects, such as skin redness, irritation, skin discoloration, and the appearance of scar tissue. Therefore, this procedure is recommended to be carried out under the supervision of a doctor.
In addition to the above methods, in certain cases such as people who experience excessive hair growth due to polycystic ovary syndrome or hirsutism, armpit hair can be treated with hormone-lowering drugs. However, this should only be done according to the doctor's advice and instructions.
Various methods of removing armpit hair can be chosen according to your conditions and comfort. However, if signs of irritation or infection appear after removing armpit hair, immediately consult a doctor for proper treatment.