BODY HAIR

All hair is made of keratin, the same hard protein that is found in your nails. Hair grows from a hair root inside a hair follicle (it looks a bit like a flower bulb) underneath the surface of the skin.

There are two sorts of hair on the skin.

• Vellus hair– the soft fine hair that grows all over the body. It helps to keep the body at a regular temperature. The only places that vellus hair does not grow are on the palms of our hands, the soles of our feet and our lips.
• Terminal hair– thicker, darker and longer.

There are several types of terminal hair:

• Short hairs of the eyebrows and eye lashes.
• Long hairs which grow on our heads.
• Hairs start to grow when our bodies go through puberty (when our hormone levels change), such as underarm hair, hair in the pubic area, and hairs on our legs.
• Men start to grow hair on their faces and chests (and sometimes their backs) near the end of puberty.

Unwanted hair

Body hair naturally grows for a reason, maybe to keep your body temperature. However, hair nowadays might be considered removed base to the persons:

• Culture or religion
• Fashion and choosing to follow that fashion
• Feeling that he/she has too much hair. For example, maybe a person is suffering from a condition called hirsutism in which the strong dark terminal hair grows over much of the body.

Doctors are good people to talk to and can advise what medication or treatment is available. If you choose to remove any of it, talk to someone first about your options and your reasons. What other people want to do with their hair is up to them.