What determines the amount of hair on the body. Male hairiness: should hair be removed on the chest? Hair on arms and legs

Males have thick hairiness - in a similar situation, a lot of hair is formed on the body of a man. Some representatives of the stronger sex have a lot of body hair and are proud of it. Other young men, on the contrary, reduce body hairiness - more often, in the summer. According to statistics, young men who are 16–24 years old are adherents of body hair removal: 58% of young people shave off hairs from their entire bodies. Men who are 50-65 years old, on the contrary, are proud of their hairiness - only 22% of them, according to studies, remove hairs from the entire body.

Body hair acts as a skin protector

In most cases, modern guys want to have smooth skin, unlike their fathers and grandfathers. According to studies, 60% of young men feel the need to shave off hairs from their entire body.

In addition, on the covers of glossy magazines, many men have smooth chests. This article covers the little-known facts about male hairiness and answers the question of how to get rid of back hair.

WATCH THE VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS

Hair on the male body: causes of increased hair growth in the womb and other little-known facts

Not all guys know that hairs begin to grow even before they are born. At first glance, the baby does not have any hair. However, before the birth of a male baby, he loses his first hairs - lanugo.

Lanugo are considered fine hairs that form on the baby's body.

Also, at birth, a premature baby is covered with hair fluff. However, soon such hairs fall out on their own - and the child's skin becomes perfectly smooth.

3 different types of body hair

Lanugo is considered the first type of hair. After the appearance of lanugo, fluffy hairs form on the baby's body. They are not formed on the sebaceous glands - and other places.

After the appearance of such a hairline in young men in adolescence, rod hairs begin to grow. They are the strongest, grow on the skin tissue and on the sebaceous glands - on the armpits and other places. As a result, the young man has a body odor.

Many girls prefer natural and neat male hair.

What do girls think about guys being hairy? From time immemorial, they have been referring to the hairiness of the male representatives - the hairiness of a young man was considered acceptable in society.

At the moment, guys want girls to have flawless smooth skin - any vegetation on the female body is unacceptable.

At the same time, according to the results of various surveys, girls also want guys to take care of their bodies and remove excess hairs - although more often women's requirements in this matter are much more modest than men's.

According to doctors, removing hair on the leg, arm and underarms is a risky business. All men have hairs on their chests. In such a situation, there are 2 female points of view:

some women are aroused by male chest hairiness;

other girls want a guy to have smooth breasts.

Also, some men grow hairs on their backs - many women do not mind this. However, in such a situation, if a guy takes care of his body, then he removes extra hairs from his back.

Men's hairs are protected

In teenage boys, vellus hairs stop growing - rod hairs begin to grow instead. Rod hairs are composed of sebaceous glands. They prevent bacteria from entering the skin and hair roots. This is a plus.

However, the bacteria then decompose, resulting in an unpleasant odor under the armpits and elsewhere.

Replacing body hair with fat

At the moment, some historians believe that the appearance of hair on the human body was associated with a decrease in fat and vice versa.

When living near the sea, people became. The less hairline grows on the male body, the easier it was for the guy to swim and catch fish. A lot of fat made up for the heat losses of the body.

Benefits of body hair

During evolution, a significant part of the hairline fell off in people - today hairiness is not in demand in modern human life.

However, male hairs have such useful properties:

retains heat in the cold season;

in summer - when sweat is formed in a person - the hairs absorb moisture from the skin, cooling the body.

The relationship between the amount of body hair and the intellectual abilities of a man

According to one US psychiatrist Aikarakudi Alias, male hairiness is associated with human intelligence. In 1996, the doctor conducted research and came to the conclusion that chest hair in men grows more often in such people:

students;

college educated guys.

When examining the hairiness of students, the doctor concluded that guys with thick hair on the chest or on the back get the highest marks. However, men with smooth skin should not lose heart - there are smart guys among non-hairy ones (for example, Albert Einstein).

Body hairs have muscles

The hair on the male body is made up of muscle cells. Hair muscles make themselves felt when a guy has goose bumps or goosebumps.

The hair muscles on the male body contract and the hairs rise on their own under specific conditions - in particular, when in contact with cold, when fear appears, and in other situations.

In the warm season, body hair growth accelerates

According to research by Brian Thompson, a US specialist in hair diseases, body hairs grow faster in the warm season (spring, summer) than in the cold season (autumn, winter).

According to the American doctor, in the spring and summer the metabolism in the hair is accelerated, which leads to the activation of their growth. However, accelerated growth is observed only in the scalp and pubis.

Male hairiness is sexually attractive: testosterone is off the charts

It is the hair on the body, and not on the head of the guy, that attracts girls. In particular, pubic and underarm hairs release pleasant-feeling hormones. Such hormones impress girls.

How to permanently get rid of excess hair: laser hair removal and other methods of hair removal

With the help of a laser, specialists in this field remove hair from men on the body - hair on the lower back of men, hair on the shoulders of a man and on the chest.

In addition, cosmetologists remove hair on the arms of men with a laser. The duration of laser hair removal is 30 minutes, the number of sessions is 8. The results of laser hair removal are stored for a long time

After passing through all the sessions of laser hair removal, a man may not go to the salon for 6 months - during this time, hair does not grow at all in the places treated with the device.

Razor for the back - removing excess hair

This razor has 1.5 inch blades and has a long handle. With the help of such a razor, masters remove hair on the back of a man, shoulders and buttocks, and hair on the legs of men.

The duration of such a procedure is 20 minutes at least. However, after a few days, the hairs reappear in the same place.

There is a special razor for hard-to-reach places on the body

As a result, in order to permanently get rid of hair, it is better to contact a specialist in this matter and do laser hair removal.

The growth of hair on the body is a normal phenomenon, and moderate vegetation in certain areas of the body indicates the health of the body. However, excessive growth of body hair or its abrupt loss can be due to a number of factors that indicate some health problems that need to be urgently addressed with the help of a doctor. So, as a result of which increased body hairiness or a sharp loss of hair on the body can be observed? Let's look at a few reasons.

1. Genetic predisposition

The intensity of body hair growth may depend on your genetic characteristics and your nationality. Too dense vegetation on the body is usually characteristic of people of southern and eastern blood. The hair of representatives of "hot" nationalities is usually dark, thick and coarse, so in their case there is no need to worry about their presence. If you are ethnically non-eastern and southern, and your parents do not have dense, stiff vegetation, then the sudden appearance of thick dark hairs on your body may indicate hormonal disorders, especially if you were not previously prone to increased hairiness.

2. Autoimmune disorders

Sometimes malfunctions of the immune system can affect the functioning of hair follicles. In this case, there may be a sharp loss of hair on the head and body in whole handfuls, "bald spots" form in certain areas or throughout the head and body. Such disorders are treated with systemic steroids, but it is not always possible to restore the vegetation completely.

3. Hormonal disorders

A sudden increase in body hairiness or sudden loss of body hair can be the result of a disruption in the production of male hormones in the body in both men and women. If testosterone levels are higher than normal, then body hairiness rises sharply, and the hair begins to become darker, stiffer and thicker, and can also begin to grow even in areas where it was not there before. A sharp loss of hair on the body may indicate a sharp drop in the production of female hormones, which is also not favorable for your body. In both cases, it is necessary to contact an endocrinologist so that he prescribes the appropriate treatment with hormonal drugs.

4. Problems with the ovaries in women

If women have irregular critical days in addition to increased body hairiness, this most likely indicates problems with the ovaries. Most often, increased hairiness in combination with irregular periods indicates the presence of a disease such as polycystic ovary syndrome. In this case, in addition to the above symptoms, there is also a sharp increase in weight. Contact your doctor immediately for timely treatment.

5. Tumor

A sharp and sudden increase in body hair can be a sign that you have a tumor in your body. As a rule, in this case, the tumor most often affects the adrenal glands or ovaries, so it is these glands that need to be examined with particular care.

6. Iron deficiency or thyroid disorder

A sharp loss of hair on the head and on the body may indicate a lack of iron in the body or thyroid disorders. Most often, people who abruptly switch to vegetarianism suffer from iron deficiency. Thyroid disorders are often accompanied by the loss of eyebrows, the formation of grooves on the nails and severe baldness of the head and body. In this case, it is urgent to donate blood for analysis and begin treatment of the thyroid gland. Also, a sharp hair loss can be observed in women due to pregnancy or abrupt discontinuation of contraceptives. In this case, hair loss is short-term, and does not require enhanced medication treatment.

7. Bad habits

Smoking and the use of narcotic substances lead to the death of hair follicles, since the nutrients necessary for hair nutrition and growth do not enter the hair follicles and roots. The obvious solution to hair loss in this case is to stop smoking or taking drugs.

Most men have hair on their chests, and this is normal. But not all representatives of the stronger sex have hair on this part of the body, this is due to many factors. But where does vegetation come from?

Why do men have hair on their chests?

Hair growth in men depends on the amount of androgen hormones produced. The more of them, the more vegetation on the chest. These hormones control the development of male sex characteristics. Hair follicles respond to androgens and thus hormones stimulate them to work more actively.

The skin on the chest is very sensitive to androgens, which is why hair appears on it. Both sexes have them - both women and men, but nevertheless, this sign is more pronounced in the representatives of the stronger sex.

For most guys, chest hair begins to appear between the ages of 16-18, this is an average. Much depends on genetics, hormone levels, individual development of the body. For someone, vegetation begins to appear at the age of 14-16, for someone - only after 20 years.

Bad or good?

Many guys worry about this, because they think that a lot of chest hair is embarrassing. But this is not so, since this is a sign that the man's body has matured and there is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, the absence of hair on the chest in guys and men suggests that the body lacks male hormones.

You can also often hear from girls saying that they do not like it when a man has a hairy chest. You should not pay attention to such statements, since everyone has different tastes, and many girls will be delighted with a man with dense vegetation on his body.

How to get rid of chest hair

If you think that the vegetation in this area does not look very aesthetically pleasing and you want to get rid of it, you can choose one of several methods:

Hypertrichosis is a condition in which body hair grows excessively.

They can appear in any area, even in those areas where normally there is practically no hairline: in the upper part of the face, on the ears.

If excessively increased hairiness in men, this may indicate the presence of serious pathologies in the body, including malignant neoplasms, endocrine disruptions. Also, excess hair makes hygiene difficult and causes complexes.

Hypertrichosis (increased hairiness in men), depending on the location, is divided into:

Localized. Thick hairline is located on certain areas of the body and does not affect other areas. Often the place of localization are birthmarks. Localized hypertrichosis is treated more effectively, and excess hair is easier to control.
Total. The hairline is very common. The disease is more difficult to treat, and it is difficult to control hair growth.

There are also a number of varieties of hypertrichosis, which differ in the features of occurrence.

We will tell about the functions of SHBG in men and the connection of the hormone with sexual dysfunction.

Congenital

Congenital hypertrichosis is a disorder that develops as a result of a genetic mutation of the epithelial tissue, and a child is born with excess hair on various areas of the body, including the face, buttocks, thighs, and back.

The fetus that develops during pregnancy is covered with lanugo - thin hair.

They are formed in the sixth month and fall out shortly before childbirth, in rare cases they remain on the body of full-term babies even after birth, but fall out after 1-2 weeks. In premature newborns, the hairline is more pronounced, but normally the hair also falls out and does not indicate the presence of hypertrichosis.

If the baby has a genetic disorder, hair loss is not observed or is mild. Lanugo is actively growing: the length of the hairs can be 8-10 centimeters. Hairiness caused by a genetic fault does not always spread throughout the body. More often, excess hair is observed in certain areas.

Causes of a genetic mutation:

Infectious diseases during gestation, especially during the first three months of pregnancy.
Complications during pregnancy.
hereditary factor. The abnormal gene persists, so a parent with congenital hypertrichosis passes it on to the child.

This disorder is rare, and for this reason its developmental features have not been carefully studied.

Hairy nevi also belong to localized congenital hypertrichosis.

Congenital hypertrichosis is commonly diagnosed in South Asians.

Acquired

Acquired excessive hairiness can occur at any age under the influence of various adverse factors, such as stress, traumatic injuries, endocrine disruptions.

If acquired hypertrichosis manifests itself in the form of active growth of vellus (soft, thin and long) hairs, which gradually replace healthy hair, including hair on the surface of the head, this indicates the presence of a malignant tumor process in the body in more than 90% of cases.

Usually during this period, other symptoms of cancer are absent and appear after a few years.

This type of hypertrichosis is three times less common in men than in women.

Drug

Medicinal hypertrichosis manifests itself in separate areas and rarely captures a significant part of the body.

Drugs that lead to excessive hairiness include:

steroid medicines;
Psoralen;
Cyclosporine;
Kuprenil;
Diazoxide;
Streptomycin;
Minoxidil;
Phenytoin;
Dexamethasone;
Cetuximab.

Also, prolonged use of ointments with an irritating effect, hormonal gels, warming patches, which increase the speed of blood flow in the contact zone, leads to excessive hair growth.

Drug-induced hypertrichosis affects athletes who use corticosteroids for rapid weight gain. Steroid drugs are common in bodybuilders and weightlifters.

Traumatic

This type of hypertrichosis develops under the influence of prolonged skin irritation that has arisen due to shaving the hair (sensitive skin, shaving the hair without foam or other emollients), traumatic injuries and chemical burns.

Also, hair can actively grow in the scar area.

Gradually, the hair becomes darker, thicker and tougher, quickly grow back after shaving. Traumatic hypertrichosis does not spread to other areas of the body.

Causes of increased hairiness in men

There are also other reasons for the development of hypertrichosis in men:

Intense nervous shocks and chronic stress. They negatively affect hair growth processes and can trigger hypertrichosis.
Dermatomyositis. An autoimmune disease in which endocrine disorders are often observed.
Anorexia nervosa. In men, this disorder is several times less common than in women, since society is more favorable to male overweight, but a relatively small part (0.28%) of the male population suffers from this disease. Anorexia nervosa is more common in male models. Hypertrichosis in anorexia is manifested by the appearance of small hairs on the skin of the back and face.
Skull trauma. If the damage affects the pituitary and hypothalamus zones, hormonal disorders occur.
Overproduction of testosterone. If the production of testosterone is impaired, body hair becomes coarse, dark and grows more actively. There are also suicidal tendencies, excessive aggression, baldness of the head.

Diseases associated with disorders in the formation of the skeletal system can be combined with excessive hairiness.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis is aimed at identifying the cause of hypertrichosis. If you suspect this disease, you need to visit a dermatologist, trichologist, andrologist and endocrinologist. These specialists conduct an initial examination, ask clarifying questions and find out what medications the patient regularly takes.

Depending on the characteristics of the symptoms, they give direction to these diagnostic measures:

blood chemistry;
tests that detect the concentration of androgenic hormones.

When the diagnosis is made, the optimal treatment tactics is selected, which depends on the characteristics and cause of the disease.

If serious pathologies are suspected (malignant neoplasms, consequences of head injuries), additional consultations and diagnostic measures are indicated.

Treatment

When the cause of the disease is identified, it is necessary to eliminate it, and hypertrichosis will disappear.

If a hormonal disorder has been detected, medications are prescribed that restore the normal concentration of hormones.

Also shown:

change in diet;
lifestyle correction (exclusion of bad habits, sufficient sleep);
refusal of corticosteroids if hypertrichosis is caused by their intake in order to increase muscle.

Anorexia and other nervous diseases are treated under the supervision of a psychotherapist.

Depending on the symptoms, medications can be prescribed to improve the mental state:

sedatives;
tranquilizers;
antidepressants;
nootropics.

It is also necessary to reduce the level of stress in life, to rest and sleep more. Men with anorexia need to restore the lack of vitamins and minerals, gain weight and cure other diseases that have developed against the background of the disease.

To cure traumatic hypertrichosis, it is required to eliminate irritation and prevent its reappearance: exclude dry shaving or use an electric razor, reduce the frequency of use of skin-heating substances (ointments, gels, patches) or abandon them.

If a drug prescribed by your doctor has led to increased hairiness, you should contact him: you may need to change the medicine.

Hypertrichosis caused by a genetic failure cannot be cured.

Excess hair can be removed using various methods:

Shaving. This method is common and affordable, but ineffective: hair grows back very quickly.
Creams for depilation. Eliminate hairline for a longer time: 1-2 weeks, but can cause an allergic reaction and are not suitable for areas with sensitive skin.
Waxing. The effect lasts three to four weeks, but hair removal by this method is extremely painful. It should not be used if there are wounds, scratches, burns and other damage on the surface of the skin. It can also cause skin irritation.
Laser epilation. An effective way: after one procedure, the hair does not grow back for five to six months or more. But the method is expensive and not suitable if the hair is blond. It cannot be used for malignant neoplasms and diabetes.
Electrolysis. Allows you to stop hair growth forever. Expensive and requires a large number of procedures, each of which lasts approximately 30 minutes. Removing hair from large areas will take a very long time.

Acquired hypertrichosis in most cases can be successfully cured, you just need to go to the hospital at the first sign of pathology, identify the cause and undergo treatment.

Causes of increased hairiness in men

It is unlikely that any man will complain about thick and rapidly growing hair on his head, but if the hairline on other parts of the body begins to grow beyond measure, this becomes a cause of discomfort and anxiety even for the stronger sex.

When the process of excessive hair growth turns into a pathology, it is called hypertrichosis. What causes increased hairiness in men and how to deal with it? Let's figure it out. The term hypertrichosis refers to excessive hair growth in the area of smooth skin or on the hairy parts of the body in places where, taking into account age, gender and national characteristics, they should not be.

Increased hairiness actually gives men a lot of trouble both physically and aesthetically. They begin to feel embarrassed and uncomfortable at the thought that everyone is looking at their hairy back, shoulders, arms, etc. Hypertrichosis, of course, needs to be fought, but for this it is necessary to find out the causes of increased hairiness in men.

Types and causes of hypertrichosis in men

Pathological hairiness in men is of several types. Let's look at each type of hypertrichosis and the reasons for its occurrence.

1) congenital hypertrichosis in men

Congenital hypertrichosis in men refers to all variants of excessive hair growth that can be detected in a child at birth. In this case, a person is already born with a pathology. The point here is the mutation of genes, which results in a change in the structure of epithelial cells.

In general, in a child in the womb, the body is covered with primary downy hairs, which are replaced by secondary ones after birth. But with a gene mutation, this process partially or completely does not occur. The embryonic hair continues to grow and can be up to 10 cm long.

The occurrence of congenital hypertrichosis is possible both on the skin of the whole body and on its limited areas. The causes of the mutation can be infectious diseases during pregnancy, its abnormal course. In the future, the mutated gene is fixed in the genome and causes increased hair growth in all subsequent generations.

It should be noted that this disease is very rare, mainly in South Asia. Also, local congenital hypertrichosis includes birthmarks with densely growing hair. At a later age, such nevi are usually disposed of surgically.

2) acquired symptomatic hypertrichosis in men

Acquired cannon hypertrichosis often indicates the development of cancer. According to statistics, about 90% of people who were previously diagnosed with hypertrichosis soon after found malignant processes in any organs. It usually occurs several years before the onset of the first symptoms of cancer.

Also, hypertrichosis can be a symptom of traumatic brain injury, epidermolysis bullosa, anorexia nervosa, alcohol syndrome, endocrine diseases, ringworm. Excessive hairiness is especially pronounced in nervous exhaustion. Often, malformations of the psyche and the skeletal system are combined with clinical manifestations of hypertrichosis.

3) drug hypertrichosis

It often happens that hair begins to grow after taking certain medications - this type of hypertrichosis is called medicinal. The cause of increased hairiness in this case is the use of drugs such as corticosteroids, cyclosporine, psoralens, diazoxide, penicillamine, minoxidil, streptomycin.

In this case, hair growth mainly occurs only in some parts of the body. In this case, the development of hypertrichosis is a side effect. Also, some hormonal or locally irritating ointments, plasters, which increase the intensity of blood circulation in the area of application, cause increased body hair growth.

4) traumatic hypertrichosis

Traumatic hypertrichosis is caused by constant irritation of the skin, for example, after shaving, trauma (including a chemical one), at the site of the scar. This leads to thickening, coarsening and darkening of the hairs, as well as to their enhanced growth. The rest of the body at the same time have an ordinary hairline.

Diagnosis and treatment of hypertrichosis

So, we examined the types and causes of hypertrichosis in men, it remains to answer the most important question - how to treat hypertrichosis. It is necessary to start acting by determining the cause of increased hair growth. Without identifying it, you can not cope with the disease, and self-medication often leads to an increase in symptoms.

There is no single scheme for dealing with hypertrichosis, each case is individual. With this problem, a man needs to contact an endocrinologist and a dermatologist. With excessive hairiness caused by taking medications, they just need to be replaced. It is important to exclude the hormonal nature of the disease. If everything is in order with the hormones, the treatment for hypertrichosis is to remove the hair in various ways.

There are many ways to get rid of hair these days. In addition to the usual shaving of excess hair in problem areas, there are more radical and effective methods: wax and laser hair removal, removal with a cream. The most effective method of dealing with excessive hair growth is electric hair removal. Let us dwell on each method of dealing with hypertrichosis in more detail.

Shaving

The easiest and most affordable way to deal with increased hairiness is shaving. There are even special razors with a wide blade, designed just for shaving a large area, such as the back, although many people use a regular disposable razor.

The main disadvantage of this procedure is that already a couple of days after shaving, bristles appear, bringing discomfort. Also, after shaving, irritation and dryness of the skin, burning often appears, which does not allow the procedure to be carried out often.

Hair removal creams

Special creams for hair removal are very popular in our time. Their peculiarity is that the chemical component promotes the breakdown of protein in the hair, due to which the hair root weakens, and as a result, the hair falls out easily. The effect of the cream lasts up to 1-2 weeks, but there is always a risk of an allergic reaction to the components of the drug. It is also not recommended to apply hair removal cream to sensitive areas of the skin.

Waxing

Waxing is quite an old and effective method with which even men can fight hypertrichosis. The essence of the procedure is that melted wax is first applied to problem areas, then special strips are glued on them, cooled and then they are torn off along with the hairs.

The method is painful, but the cosmetic effect lasts up to a month. To reduce discomfort, wax is often replaced with soy. Possible local skin irritation. Contraindicated in severe skin lesions.

Laser hair removal for hypertrichosis

Laser hair removal is one of the most popular ways to remove unwanted hair. It consists in the destruction of the hair root with the help of laser radiation. The hair follicle remains, so after some time the hair begins to grow again, but the effect of laser hair removal is quite long - about six months.

The procedure is practically painless, however, there are a number of contraindications for its use: cancer, diabetes, gray hair, etc. It is also worth noting the high cost of laser hair removal, which not everyone can afford.

Electric hair removal for hypertrichosis

The most modern method of hair removal for hypertrichosis is electrolysis. To reduce pain before the start of electrolysis, a local anesthetic is rubbed into the hair removal area. Then, a needle bent at a right angle is inserted deep into the follicle, acting on the hair follicle with an electric current.

How deep it needs to be injected depends on the thickness of the hair. At the end of the session, after removing the needle, the hairs are carefully removed with tweezers. Their extraction must take place without any effort, otherwise the electrolysis will have to be repeated. It is important that the procedure is performed only by a qualified specialist.

The duration of an electroepilation session for hypertrichosis is about 30 minutes. During this time, you can remove from several to several dozen hairs, it depends on how the patient tolerates the procedure. So, with hypertrichosis of the chin, it is necessary to carry out about 50 electrolysis procedures during the year, hair removal above the lip takes about 3-6 months.

For the entire period of electric hair removal, it is important to use sunscreen to avoid spot hyperpigmentation on the skin. Electrolysis works well for men with hypertrichosis of the chest, abdomen and pubis, since the usual shaving of these areas of the body leads to even more hair growth.

Removing excess hair in men with the help of electric hair removal is a very effective way to get rid of hair forever. Its only disadvantages are that the effect is not achieved immediately and requires considerable investment.