10.2.1 Shaving Shaving is by far the most popular and convenient method of hair removal. In the United States, more that 90% of women shave their legs and axillae, and about 50% shave their bikini line (Gillette survey). Shaving any area of the face is the least popular method of hair removal in the US […]

Gurpreet S. Ahluwalia The Gillette Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The P&G Company, Needham, MA, USA 10.1 Introduction 240 10.2 Physical Methods 240 10.2.1 Shaving 240 10.2.2 Epilation 241 10.3 Chemical Methods 242 10.3.1 Depilatory Creams 242 10.3.2 Enzyme Depilatories 243 10.3.3 Cosmeceuticals for Hair Reduction 244 10.3.4 Pharmaceuticals (Rx) for Hair-Growth Control 244 […]

The hair follicle cells can undergo either a programmed cell death (apoptosis) whereby they retain the ability to regenerate at the initiation of next growth cycle, or they can undergo a necrotic cell death where they lose their ability to regenerate. One of the markers of cell viability in hair follicle is Bcl-2, which is […]

The hair follicle is a multicellular structure, where each epithelial compartment is char­acterized by the expression of specific differentiation marker, and it can undergo dramatic tissue remodeling as a result of physiological or a pharmacological stimuli. In human hair follicles, the dynamics and tissue remodeling that occur during anagen-catagen transition and catagen progression were very […]

The proliferative activity of the follicular cells, which influences hair shaft production, could be assessed by applying immunohistochemical methods for visualizing the cell cycle Figure 9.5 Detection of apoptosis in the hair follicle melanocytes after laser treatment by simultaneous visualization of pMel-17 (Rhodamine) and TUNEL staining (FITC). A—in anagen hair follicle, pMel-17 immunofluorescence (Rhodamine) was […]

In order to identify the potential follicular targets for laser action and to define the onset of laser-induced apoptosis, Terminal deoxynucleotidyl Transferase dUTP Nick End Label­ing (TUNEL) staining can be performed to localize apoptotic cells in the irradiated hair follicles. TUNEL is the most commonly used method, which identifies apoptotic cells in situ by labeling […]

To evaluate hair follicle morphology, we use histochemical detection of endogenous alka­line phosphatase activity. Alkaline phosphatase is an excellent marker of dermal papilla cells, and is known to be expressed in dermal papilla throughout the hair cycle. This allows visualization of dermal papilla morphology as a useful morphological marker for studying the hair follicle cycle […]

As detailed earlier, the laser effects on hair follicle are highly dependent on temperature changes in localized compartments within the hair follicle. Various model systems can be used to determine the mechanism of laser-induced changes in the hair follicle, and from these changes, predict the short – and long-term effect of a laser treatment on […]

The molecular mechanisms involved in laser-mediated hair removal still remain obscure. It is well known that the response of cells to increased temperature is accompanied by elevated expression of superfamily of proteins termed “heat shock proteins” (HSP). Each subfamily of HSPs is composed of members expressed either constitutively or regulated inducibly. HSPs participate in essential […]