Written by Umair Hussain · Medically reviewed by Dr. Rizwana Hanif, Consultant Dermatologist and Founder (MBBS, MCPS Dermatology) · Updated October 2026
There is no “best” method of removing unwanted hair, as it depends on what body part is being treated, how much one can tolerate pain, their budget, and whether temporary or long-lasting results are sought. Here you will find the descriptions of all 10 available approaches to removing unwanted hair, differentiating scientific approaches from popular home remedies from Skinology Multan.
This category involves removal of hair close to or on the skin’s surface. These are arguably the cheapest and easiest to access means, although they provide a temporary solution.
The razor shaves the hair very close to the skin surface. This method is quick, cheap and totally painless, provided that one does not nick himself or herself during the procedure. Shaving can be done in almost all parts of the body but hair re-grows within 1-3 days. Regular shaving may cause razor burns, irritations and ingrowns.
The technician uses the technique of rolling the cotton thread, which is twisted, over the skin surface to remove the hair from the roots. This is a precise way of shaping eyebrows or hair removal on the face without causing irritation like that caused by hot wax. However, this technique can only last for four to five weeks and requires a lot of expertise to apply.
Either hot or cold wax sticks to the hair and is removed instantly, which helps in removing the hair from its root. It helps in maintaining smooth skin for weeks, whether it is a large area (for example, legs) or small parts of the body (for example, upper lip). However, it might be a painful process, leaves the skin reddened temporarily, and needs to be done carefully because the wax can rip the thin epidermal layer of skin.
A cream, lotion, or gel chemically dissolves hair at the skin’s surface. It’s quick, pain-free, and lasts slightly longer than shaving — but it can irritate skin, so dermatologists recommend a patch test 24 hours before full use: apply a small amount, leave it on for the stated time, and watch for burning or stinging before using it on a larger area.
These are widely used across South Asia and are popular because they’re cheap and use kitchen ingredients. It’s worth being upfront: none of these are clinically proven to permanently stop hair growth. They work mainly as exfoliants and mild hair-weakening agents, and results vary a lot person to person.
Sugar, lemon juice, and water are mixed together into a paste that is heated up, allowed to cool down, and then applied to the skin to remove the hair from the roots. It operates in a similar fashion as waxing, but is significantly more gentle on the skin due to the composition of the mixture.
Turmeric is mixed with milk into a thick paste, applied to the area, left to dry for about 20 minutes, then scrubbed off with a washcloth. The scrubbing action removes some surface hair and dead skin; any effect on regrowth is anecdotal rather than proven.
Papaya has papain, which is an enzyme that can be used in at-home remedies to hydrolyze proteins within the hair follicles, usually mixed with a little amount of turmeric and applied every alternate day. Oatmeal is a gentler scrubbing agent to be used on the face in case of sensitive skin. Although both are efficient exfoliating agents, they have no scientific evidence for hair removal.
These require a trained provider and multiple sessions, but have real clinical evidence behind them.
The treatment process involves using lasers to target the melanin pigment in the hair through heating, which causes damage to the follicles over several sessions. It takes about six or more sessions for people to experience significant hair reduction on the body areas. Nonetheless, permanent hair removal cannot be guaranteed in women’s faces due to hair growth that is greatly hormone-dependent.
This process is effective only for the removal of dark hairs because the light must absorb into the dark pigment. The tanning process must disappear before the process starts; otherwise, it may burn your skin.
One should also observe good sun precautions after the treatment to avoid the skin developing hyperpigmentation. This kind of treatment is not appropriate for blonde, white, grey, and red hairs.
A fine probe delivers an electrical current into each individual hair follicle, destroying it permanently. It’s the only hair removal method cleared by regulators as permanent for all hair colors, including light hair that lasers can’t treat — but it takes longer since each hair is treated one at a time, and poor technique can cause scarring, burns, or (in darker skin tones) raised keloid scars. Choose a trained, board-certified electrologist like Skinology in Multan.
Creams like eflornithine (Vaniqa) don’t remove hair — they slow regrowth when used alongside another method like shaving or laser. Effects fade within about 8 weeks of stopping use, so they’re a maintenance add-on, not a standalone solution.
If you want… | Best fit |
|---|---|
Cheapest, fastest, no pain | Shaving |
Natural, kitchen-ingredient option | Sugar waxing or turmeric paste |
Long-lasting without a clinic visit | Waxing or depilatory cream |
A permanent result and can afford sessions | Laser hair removal |
Permanent result on light-colored hair | Electrolysis |
Precise shaping (eyebrows, upper lip) | Threading |
The bikini region is one of the most sensitive and susceptible regions of the body when it comes to ingrown hairs, and this means that gentler procedures are required in this area more than any other. Sugaring is one of the popular alternatives for waxing in this region since sugar paste sticks to the hair instead of the skin. While shaving can be done to maintain neatness in this area, the likelihood of developing ingrown hair is higher due to the sensitive nature of this area.
For the removal of hair from facial regions such as lips, chin, or cheeks, methods that include threading, turmeric paste, or oatmeal scrub would be preferable as facial skin is more sensitive and responds very quickly to irritation.
Under no circumstances should one use the regular depilatory cream on his/her face because one needs to specifically buy depilatory cream for facial regions but in any case, one should try the product on a small area of his/her skin before application on the entire body. Laser hair removal also works fine for facial hair.
Men most often deal with unwanted hair on the back, shoulders, chest, and beard-adjacent neck area. Shaving and trimming remain the most common temporary options, but men who deal with constant razor burn or ingrown hairs — especially from shaving the neck and jawline — are good candidates for laser hair removal, which can permanently reduce or eliminate the need to shave that area at all.
For larger areas like the back, electrolysis is less practical due to time, making laser the more common clinical choice for men.
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FAQs
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Laser hair removal and electrolysis are the only two methods with real, clinically backed long-term results. Laser works best on dark hair paired with lighter skin tones when handled by an experienced provider, while electrolysis works on all hair colors and skin types—though it requires more time per individual follicle.
No natural home remedy—whether it’s sugar paste, turmeric, raw papaya, or oatmeal scrubs—is clinically proven to permanently halt hair growth. While these DIY options can lightly exfoliate the skin and reduce the visible appearance of fine fuzz, normal regrowth will always continue. At-home laser and IPL devices offer a solid huamznie alternative for long-lasting hair reduction when used consistently over time, though they operate at lower energy levels and yield slower results than professional clinic treatments.
Electrolysis and laser involve some discomfort (often described as a stinging or snapping sensation), but numbing cream can be used before either. Among at-home options, depilatory cream is the only pain-free method, though results aren’t permanent.
Threading causes less irritation and is more precise for shaping small areas like eyebrows, while waxing covers larger facial areas faster. For acne-prone or sensitive skin, threading is usually the gentler choice.
Most people need 6 or more sessions spaced several weeks apart, since laser only works on hair in its active growth phase and hair grows in cycles.
