The Hair Growth Cycle

The growth of human hair in all body sites cyclic. Phases of active hair growth (anagen) are separated by periods of quiescence or rest (telogen) [1]. In addition, an intermediate stage of transition, known as catagen, occurs between the active growth and cessation of growth. Between 85 and 90 percent of hair are in the anagen phase at any one time, with the majority of the remainder in telogen [2].Hairs that are in the anagen phase during removal are more sensitive to the various treatment modalities than hairs in the telogen or catagen phases. The cycle’s length varies on different parts of the body. For eyebrows, the cycle is completed in around 4 months, while it takes the scalp 3-4 years to complete. This is the reason why eyebrow hairs have a fixed length, while hairs on the head seem to have no length limit [3].

Why We Remove Hair

Body hair is a sign of sexual maturity for both women and men, but in women femininity is actually associated with a lack of body hair [4], such that "feminine" does not mean "womanly" when applied to body hair. For women, body hair is seen as embarrassing and sometimes repulsive, and many women do not venture out without first removing their visible body hair [5]. Statistically, hair removal is one of the most frequent ways women alter their bodies to achieve the ideal of youthfulness and attractiveness. There has only been one previous empirical study which has investigated the meaning of hair removal and the reasons women remove their body hair. Basow (1991) investigated the practice in a sample of professional women in the United States with a mean age of 44.0 years. The results showed that the majority (81%) of professional women do remove their body hair, at least occasionally. The main reason they gave was to avoid social disapproval. Respondents were also asked to rate a set of reasons for why they began and why they continued to remove body hair. Factor analysis identified two main factors: reasons to do with femininity and attractiveness, e.g. "It makes me feel attractive"; and social/normative reasons, e.g. "Women are supposed to shave". The most important reasons for continuing to remove hair were the feminine/attractiveness ones, and the most important for starting were the social/normative ones. On the other hand, it is socially acceptable for men to have body hair. However, today men have become a lot keener on positive image portrayal and being an excessively hairy man does not render the manliness quotient on the same scale it did once upon a time. Men frequently remove excessive body hair, particularly on the chest or back, because it makes them feel confident and more sexually attractive. Many sportsmen such as cyclists, swimmers and football players, routinely remove their body hair to enhance sporting performance.

1. Olsen EA (1999). Methods of hair removal. Journal of the

American Academy of Dermatology, 40(2):143-155.

2. Shenenberger DW, Utecht LM (2002). Removal of unwanted

facial hair. American family physician, 66.10:p1907.

4. Hope C (1982). Caucasian female body hair and American

culture. Journal of American Culture, 5:93-99.

5. Freedman R (1986). Beauty bound. Lexington, MA. DC Health..