Back hair including on the shoulders area is an issue that men often deal with and wonder how to cope with. Certainly, you can do nothing and leave it be but is that the best option for you given the views that both men and women tend to have on the subject of back hair?
While some studies suggest that up to 25% of men have back hair to some degree, other studies state slightly different numbers.
A poll from OnePoll conducted on behalf of BakBlade suggested that 35% of men have a hang up regarding back hair. And in general terms, women tend not to be a big fan of back hair when it’s really noticeable and visible.
According to Statista they found the following regarding men who deal with back hair to one degree or another:
During the June 2017 survey, 24 percent of respondents aged 30 to 59 years reported grooming the hair on their back several times per week.
Statista
Statista also surveyed young UK men aged 16-24 and found that most recently in 2018, 12% of them opt for back hair removal. The number is lower than the prevalence of back hair removal quoted above but often unwanted hair doesn’t grow until later in life. Many men may not develop significant back hair until they’re older and thus don’t have to deal with it that early.
So the prevalence of back hair on men is somewhat up in the air in terms of how common it is.
If it’s something you deal with, you might be less concerned about how many other guys have it and be more interested in knowing why you have back hair and what you can do about it!
What Causes Back Hair To Grow?
Genetics is the most common reason. You’re simply predisposed to growing back hair due to genetics passed down from both your mum and dad.
Hormones can play a secondary reason why you grow back hair. In men, our testosterone can be negatively impacted by our genes that cause hair to grow in places we’d prefer not to have it.
So while there is nothing you can do to stop the hair from initially growing, there are options to get rid of it.
Men’s Back Hair Removal Options
There are several common ways to get rid of back hair depending on how much hair you have, the options available in your local area and ultimately how much money, time and effort you’re willing to put it into.
Here are the common back hair removal choices in increasing order of how long you will be hair free with each:
Shaving or Depilation
Shaving with a razor or using a depilatory cream like Nair, Veet, Nads, or a similar product provides the shortest amount of hair free bliss. Within a day or two of shaving or using depilation, hair stubble has already started growing back, no pun intended.
You can obviously cut yourself shaving but beyond that, another side effect is that you’re going to be shaving your back regularly if you use this option. On the other hand, if you incorporate that into your regular shaving routine, it may not add a lot of time on your schedule unless you have a lot of back hair and in hard to reach areas.
Depilation products often have a chemical odor too so if you don’t like strong smells you may not like depilatory products. They can also burn the skin too given their ingredients: Remember the purpose of depilation is to dissolve the hair at skin level so these products tend to use chemicals to accomplish this.
And since it can be difficult to access your back yourself, you might need help to shave or use depilation given the location of the hair.
Waxing
Waxing your back hair will leave you hair free for several weeks or longer in general terms. Waxing removes hair by the root so on the one hand it’ll provide you with longer term results than shaving or depilation.
On the other hand, waxing your own back can be very difficult too. You might need to get some help and you may want to leave it in the hands of a professional and go to a spa or clinic and pay them to do it.
It hurts too. With waxing, you’ll feel a bit of pain.
Since you’re removing hair by the root, you may experience temporary acne (whiteheads) when the hairs start to grow back and reddening of the skin. This typically passes quickly though and exfoliating the skin can help.
In my experience, anytime I have waxed any part of my body, I had temporary acne and whiteheads for the few first days after treatment every single time.
Laser/Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
I’m talking about a professional doing this work, not a home use product you bought online. I have no experience with those but I do have experience with both laser and IPL for back hair removal.
Once you get to laser and IPL for hair removal, now you’re getting to hair removal methods that were really designed for back hair removal, among others. Both processes were designed to take care of large areas (back, shoulder, legs, chest, arms) in a time-effective manner. Both processes are more expensive and require a visit to a clinic staffed by a trained professional on the machine that is being used.
NOTE: At this point in time, the best that laser hair removal and IPL hair removal can offer for anyone is permanent hair reduction, not permanent hair removal. If you read the words permanent hair removal utilized with either option in advertising or promotional material, it’s not genuine.
NOTE 2: Laser and IPL tends to work best on guys with dark hair and light skin. The light has difficulty picking up lighter colored hair (ie. blonde) and working on darker skin. That includes tanned skin. Check with the practitioner you’re considering to be sure.
Laser and IPL use a handheld wand that zaps a flash of light on the area being treated to attempt to kill the hair down to the root. The flash of light travels down the hair shaft and zaps it. So hair is typically shaved first to concentrate the zap of light on a shorter hair shaft. The feeling you get from these processes is often described as like flicking a rubber band against your skin. Within a day or so of treatment, the hairs that were treated start curling and will fall out.
The hairs will tend to grow back thinner than before and over time with multiple treatments, you can achieve permanent hair reduction. But the cost and time involved is of course determined by how much hair you have to remove.
Plus hair grows in cycles (please click the link to learn more about the hair growth cycle as it’s important for hair removal). Laser and IPL can only treat hair that is slightly above the skin at the time of treatment. So new, previously dormant hairs may start growing several weeks or months after your treatment that will then need to be removed.
In my experience, I had around 16 treatments with IPL and one with laser for back hair removal. I definitely achieved hair reduction that has lasted many years since my last treatment in the early 2000s. But I didn’t get 100% hair removal. I am happy with the results though.
The only hair removal option approved by the FDA to offer permanent hair removal is the option we’ll discuss last.
Electrolysis
The first and only hair removal treatment approved by the FDA to offer permanent hair removal is electrolysis.
Before you get too excited though, electrolysis involves treating each hair to be removed individually. So from a cost and time perspective, it’s really only suitable for small areas of hair removal like the area between the eyebrows, chin, above the lip, etc.
In general terms it has traditionally be an option for woman who have some hair in those places that they’d like to get rid of ie. chin, lip, eyebrows, etc. For men with more significant hair to be removed, you’re really looking at the aforementioned options as electrolysis simply isn’t doable.
Conclusion
- How common is back hair on men? Various reports suggest that 25%-35% of men deal with back hair to some degree.
- Back hair grows on men due to genetics and possibly hormones. While you can’t prevent it from growing you have options to get rid of it.
- Laser and IPL are the hair removal options that offer the longest term results for back hair but are also the most expensive and require multiple treatments in many cases.
- Waxing also offers several weeks of hair removal when done properly. It’s cheaper than laser or IPL but doesn’t last as long.
- Shaving and depilatories are the cheapest hair removal options but don’t leave you hair free for more than a few days.
How did you deal with your back hair? Let us know in the comments below!