I am 24 years old. I have short hairs around my nipples. Is it safe to use a hair removal cream or wax to remove these hairs?

The different ways of removing hair are by waxing, threading, electrolysis, laser therapy, etc. Hair removed by waxing takes much longer to grow than hair removed by shaving and waxing also weakens the hair's root, making the hair on the treated area to grow thinner. Types of lasers used for hair removal are Diode, Ruby, YAG laser, etc. Please consult a Trichologist so that the mode of removal of hair around the breast nipples can be advised.

I’m 16 years old and have a lot of facial hair. Is there any method of removing facial hair at home?  Also, I have dark spots on my underarms. How do I remove it?

For hair removal, please read the previous answer.  The dark spots are most probably secondary to chronic skin irritation secondary to friction and continuous sweating in these areas of the body. Dark underarms could also be caused by regular use of deodorants and anti-perspirants, so try and keep your underarm region deo-free when you are at home, and apply when needed. Some home remedies are — rub lemon slices on the armpits. Try applying Vitamin E oil on the black spots. Mix 1 tsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp of cucumber juice and a pinch of turmeric powder. Applying this mixture proves to be beneficial for removing dark spots in the underarms.

My wife is now aged 64 years.  She had abundant hair during  her younger days.  About 5 to 6 years back, hair started to fall. She took Ayurvedic treatment/allopathy and Homoeopathy.  Hair fall stopped for sometime. We stopped all treatment about an year ago. Since 15 days she is losing hair again. Please advise.

Normal hair loss per day is 50-120 strands per day. Whatever hair you have lost will grow over a period of time. What we eat reflects on our hair. Drink atleast eight glasses of water, herbal teas and unsweetened fruit juice. Stress causes the hair cells to slow reproduction. Try to avoid stress and do yoga or relaxation exercise. You can take a course of multivitamin tablets with Zinc after consultation. For effective hair growth here are few natural remedies: Soak ½ cup fenugreek seeds for 4 hours and then grind. For ¼ cup neem juice, take neem leaves, a little water and grind in a mixer, then strain. Mix the ingredients to a paste and apply to the hair and scalp and leave for sometime and wash the hair.

This improves hair texture and stimulates the scalp to effect good growth. Also look to coconut oil to plump up hair texture and quality.

Dr Vandana Jayaprakash
Consultant dermatologist
vandanjp@hotmail.com