Men ditch razors for laser in bid to cut back on shaving

WORLD

Australian men are increasingly opting for cosmetic procedures to cut back their need to shave, a doctor says, but there appears no move to ditch the razor altogether.

Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia (CPSA) president Mary Dingley said men were increasingly seeking the permanent removal by laser of hair from their face and neck.

Reasons included allergies to shaving cream, acne scars, a skin condition which involved persistent ingrown hairs, and transgender people who wanted to avoid a "five o'clock" shadow, Dr Dingley says.

"There aren't too many guys who do it purely so they don't have to bother with it," says Dingley, who was attending a joint conference of the CPSA and the Australian College of Cosmetic Surgery in Sydney.

"Some (men) will want the whole area treated so they don't have a beard, but others will do it in problem areas.

"Some guys do want to have that five o'clock look ... they just don't want it around the collar area."

The development in beard hair was part of a growing acceptance by men of cosmetic hair removal in general, Dingley said.

The number of men attending her Brisbane-based clinic for hair removal had increased over the past ten years from about one a month to one or two every day, she said.

A national poll of CPSA members shows these men are seeking removal of back, chest and then beard hair.

Despite the move on facial hair, Dingley said there appeared little desire by men to ditch daily shaving altogether.

"For many men it is a right of passage, its a sign of growing up, men look forward to it," she said.

"It probably becomes a little bit of an inconvenience after a while, but I don't think they really object that much because it is a sign of their masculinity."

The cost of permanently removing facial hair starts at about $600 - while a pack of disposable razor head replacements can cost $10.