Bleaching
Although this isn't really a hair removal method it is an alternative. A chemical - like bleach, is usually applied to areas like the face, neck and arms to help lighten the hair. This works best in these areas because the hair is thin, and hides well when bleached to a blonde color.

Shaving
This would be your next choice and probably what most of us guys are used to doing. It has it's downsides that we all know well -ingrown hairs, razor burn, cuts, and just the general hatred a lot of us have for the 20 minute ordeal every morning. You notice I said every morning which brings up the worst part of it all. The hair grows back. Common belief is that it grows back thicker and more courses but this is not true, so at least we can put that in the plus column.

Plucking
There's not much to say about this one. It takes forever if you have much to do. It's painful to a varying degree depending on your threshold of pain and although last longer than shaving it still grows back. The other stipulation to plucking is that you have to let the hair grow long enough in order to grasp it with tweezers.

Waxing
So how do you feel about having hot molten wax smeared on your skin? Well that's what waxing is all about. Warm(almost liquid) was is spread over your skin in small areas at a time and then left to dry. The wax captures the hair when drying so when removed quickly takes the hair with it. This works well but the cleanup can sometimes be a pain not to mention the actual "pain" that comes from ripping out hundreds of hairs by the root at the same time.

Sugar Waxing
Waxing with sugar sounds strange to most of us but when you get all the info it makes perfect sense. The whole process is the same as normal waxing but instead of wax a sugary substance similar to molasses. The only real difference this makes is that the cleanup is a bit easier being the sugar substance is water soluble.

Depilatories
This method of hair removal requires a chemical to be applied to the skin that actually "melts" the hair. The chemicals used are a combination of thiogycolate mixed with sodium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide. I have no idea what those do but it sounded serious until I found out that you can pick these products up at your local outlet and use apply them at home. So I guess it's not that serious. The chemical disrupts disulfide bonds (the things which bond hair to skin) especially those that contain cystine that is found with the hair follicle. Downsides include skin irritation and minor discomfort when used properly. Be sure to test the chemical on a small area at least 48 hour prior to full use.

Electrolysis
Before laser hair removal there was electrolysis. What used to be "the" choice has now faded quite a bit for a few reasons. The most important one would be that there are no standardized licensing guidelines concerning how and who can perform the procedure and as you will find out is one of the more evasive procedures. A person has to have a small needle poked into each individual hair follicle one at a time in order to "burn" the hair root. How well this works depends on who is performing the procedure and how experienced and skillful they are. Some people might still be ok with this if it was a one treatment kind of thing but it's not. You will have to continue going back as long as you desire to keep the hair away. If you quit within 8 weeks you will be right back where you started.

Vaniqa
Last but not least is a prescription only topical cream that is used on the face only. It has the active ingredient eflornithine hydrochloride which has also been used to treat African-Sleeping-Sickness as well as certain cancers. Strange that that it has such a broad appeal but it works and is prescribed all the time. The cream is applied to the skin once or twice a day for as long as you want to keep the hair away. If use is discontinued hair will re-grow within 6 weeks.

As you can see there are a lot more choices out there to have unwanted hair removed than just laser hair removal but they all come with their own spoilers and problems. I hope you will be able to use this information to help you make a more informed decision about hair removal.