Urushibata, 1995

Title: A comparative study of axillar hair removal in women: plucking versus the blend method.

Authors: Urushibata O, Kase K

Journal: J Dermatol 1995 Oct;22(10):738-42

PMID: 8586752, UI: 96116589

Affiliated institution: Second Department of Dermatology, Toho University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Cited in: Solomon

Fourteen healthy adult Japanese females were selected to participate in a comparative study of hair plucking (a temporary hair removal technique) and the blend method (a permanent hair removal technique). The effectiveness of permanent hair removal and the safety of the blend method were examined in this study. If hairs of the left axilla were removed by the blend method, then hairs of the right axilla were removed by plucking, and vice versa. Every hair was removed and the number of hairs was counted each time. Sessions were conducted every three weeks, and the experiment continued until no new hair growth was seen using the same experimental standard. Electrologists with more than 1000 hours of experience were selected to perform electrolysis. Examinations of the axilla, before and after each test, were conducted by the authors. The results showed that the number of hairs decreased in the axilla with each session using the blend method: permanent hair removal was achieved in an average of 26.8 weeks or 9.9 sessions. However, the number of hairs did not decrease in the axilla after plucking. Also, there were no reports of hair removal related side-effects in this study. It was thus demonstrated that the blend method is a safe and effective way of achieving permanent hair removal.