| our ape-like ancestors first evolved into | | | | meticulously shaved several times a day, |
| more-or-less humanoid form, man has had a close | | | | removing any missed hairs with tweezers. During |
| relationship with his hair. From ancient times | | | | that same period, the straight razor became |
| forward, men have grown beards of all lengths, | | | | popular, followed by the safety razor which, in the |
| widths and densities, along with curious hairstyles | | | | 20th century, grew to two blades, then three, |
| that have ranged from the bangs of Julius Caesar | | | | then four in a cartridge. |
| to the sideburns of Elvis and Kookie to the Afros | | | | Despite these eons of concern over hair removal, |
| of the 1970s. | | | | however, neither razors nor depilatories have |
| But it has been hair removal that has set the | | | | offered a permanent way to eliminate unwanted |
| stage for epic stories and social development. | | | | hair. Now, though, 21st century science gives both |
| Sampson supposedly drew his strength from his | | | | men and women the opportunity to once and for |
| locks, but Delilah performed the first hair-removal | | | | all be rid of excess hair through the use of lasers |
| procedure of Biblical proportions, leading to | | | | that are literally on the cutting edge of |
| follicle-chilling results. Long before that episode, | | | | technology, incorporating both heat and light. |
| however, man - and woman - worked hard at | | | | In the skilled hands of a clinician, these new lasers |
| hair removal. | | | | destroy hair follicles virtually without pain and |
| According to the Quick Shave, Inc., shaving | | | | without causing damage to the skin. Interest in |
| historical timeline, Neanderthals devised the first | | | | laser hair removal is growing rapidly. The |
| set of tweezers, using two seashells to pluck | | | | American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery |
| hairs from their body. Blades made of flint date | | | | found that, between 2002 and 2006, the number |
| as far back as 30,000 B.C. These stones, which | | | | of laser hair-removal treatments in the United |
| could be finely sharpened, were used both to | | | | States among both men and women increased |
| remove hair and carve designs in the user's skin. | | | | 100 percent. In 2007, nearly 1.5 million laser hair |
| By 4000 B.C., women were blending such daunting | | | | removal procedures were performed. |
| substances as arsenic and quicklime with starch, | | | | Damaging the follicle is the only way to |
| producing homemade depilatory creams to | | | | permanently reduce the amount of unwanted hair, |
| remove body hair. The development of | | | | anywhere on the body. The comfortable and |
| metalworking allowed humans to create the first | | | | effective technology used today for laser hair |
| permanent razors, fashioned from copper. | | | | removal with new technology heats hair at its |
| Danes carried ornate bronze razors around 1500 | | | | roots, killing the follicle without irritating the skin. |
| B.C.; and around 500 B.C., Greeks began mimicking | | | | Optimally, laser hair removal entails several |
| Alexander the Great, who was fanatical about | | | | sessions. Follicles produce hairs at different rates |
| shaving his face. Women in Rome, meanwhile, | | | | and are most effectively destroyed in the hair's |
| found ways to remove hair by employing razors, | | | | growth stage. To catch each set of hairs at the |
| pumice stones and more homemade depilatories. | | | | right point in their growth cycles, and to ensure |
| A few hundred years before the Common Era, | | | | that a proportion of the follicles will not keep |
| men in India cared for their beards but shaved | | | | producing hair, physicians normally recommend a |
| off their chest hair, while women removed hair | | | | series of hair-removal treatments over a period |
| from their legs. | | | | of months. While an individual evaluation is |
| During the Middle Ages, 476-1270 A.D., women | | | | important for each patient, most laser hair |
| adopted the practice of removing all their hair | | | | removal centers recommend, on average, a |
| from eyebrows, eyelashes, temples and neck, a | | | | minimum of six treatments, with each of them |
| daily plucking chore that became quite fashionable. | | | | delivered about two months apart. |
| By 1500, Aztecs in North and Central America | | | | Consumers should avoid some of the older |
| were shaving with obsidian, a form of volcanic | | | | equipment used in non-specialty clinics, since |
| glass, and later in the 16th century, Queen | | | | treatment with these devices may be somewhat |
| Elizabeth popularized the removal of hair from | | | | uncomfortable. The newer lasers in clinics |
| eyebrows and around the forehead. | | | | specializing in laser-based treatments offer |
| In the second half of the 18th century, men and | | | | procedures that are virtually painless and highly |
| women alike not only removed all the hair from | | | | effective. These modern devices combine pulsed, |
| their forehead, but they subsequently applied | | | | high-intensity light with precisely controlled |
| press-on mouse-skin eyebrows. In 1770, | | | | radiofrequency waves to damage follicles. |
| Jean-Jaques Perret wrote a treatise in which he | | | | It's been a long time coming, but an effective |
| proposed the idea of a "safety razor," which | | | | treatment for permanent removal of unwanted |
| ultimately was manufactured in a crude form. | | | | hair now is a growing business and a safe, |
| In the early 1800s, men began following the | | | | welcome treatment for consumers. |
| fashion of London's "Beau" Brummel, who | | | | |