It seems that as many as 80% of women and 50% of men have to cope with unwanted hair in some shape or form.

Although women have removed unwanted hair for decades while men just shaved their faces, it is a relatively new but growing phenomenon for men to remove body hair.

Today, salons report that between 35% and 60% of their clientele are male.

But does removing hair make any difference to how attractive you are?

Well it certainly seems that way for women. Experiments have shown that women with body hair are viewed by both males and females as less intelligent, less sociable and less happy.

Images in magazines have a lot to answer for

For men, the jury is still out – except where hairs between eyebrows (the “unibrow”) and on shoulders and backs are concerned plus those pesky hairs sprouting from nose and ears. Any more is probably unnecessary but hair is often removed to show off good musculature (body builders have a task and a half here) and for sexual reasons.

The bottom line is that, no matter what anyone else thinks or believes (and different cultures view body hair in different lights anyway), the need for hair removal is purely personal.

If removing hair makes you feel better than not removing it then you’ll go through the hassle of waxing, shaving, depilatory or laser hair treatment. And the more you dislike that excess hair and the more attractive you feel without it the more hassle you’ll be prepared put up with!

One thing is certain the more images we see of beautiful people in magazines and on TV the more we compare ourselves unfavorably with them and want to do whatever it takes to achieve a similar super sleek smooth body. Of course, we don’t always have the money or dedication it takes to succeed but more and more of us are trying, visiting spas and salons and spending more and more on hair removal.

So if you’re trying to get rid of hair, you’re in good company.