We’ll just go ahead and get this out of the way: having body hair is completely normal. After all, it grows pretty much everywhere on your body from your legs to your face to your underarms to your stomach. But normal as it may be, that doesn’t change some people’s desires to have said hair removed, particularly when it’s located on parts of the body that many of us don’t talk about, like, say, your chest.
According to board-certified dermatologist and founder of SkinTour.com Brandith Irwin, MD, hair growth on the chest is mostly seen as hair that grows on or around the nipples.
“The two things that control most of our hair growth are our genes (family traits) and our hormones,” Dr. Irwin told POPSUGAR. “Ask your mom, if possible, if she has or had growth around the nipples or on the chest.”
Hair growth in this area isn’t uncommon, but if you’ve recently noticed a change in the amount of hair that typically grows around your chest or nipples, it wouldn’t hurt to get a second opinion. “The best things to do, if any question, is to consult with your gynecologist, primary-care doc, or an endocrinologist to see if hormonal testing might need to be done,” Dr. Irwin said.
If your doctor doesn’t find any abnormalities when that’s all said and done and you still want to get rid of the hair, you can remove it using any of the more typical hair-removal methods like shaving and waxing.
“Laser hair removal is the most effective in the long run.”
“Laser hair removal is the most effective in the long run,” Dr. Irwin said. “Waxing, plucking, sugaring, and electrolysis are other options depending on the amount of hair and its exact location.”
You can get laser hair removal on most parts of your body, but depending on how much hair is there and its thickness, you’ll have to book at least six sessions before you’re completely hair-free. Waxing is also a viable option, though it’s looked at as being a little more painful than the others and gets to be pretty costly after a while. Though shaving is probably the least popular option in the age of laser hair removal and waxing, it also gets the job done.
In the end, what you choose to do with the hair on your body is up to you – even if that means not removing it at all.
