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Hair removal, also known as epilation or ''de''pilation, is the deliberate removal of body hair. Hair typically grows all over the human body. Hair can become more visible during and after puberty and men tend to have thicker, more visible body hair than women.〔p. 67 in Victoria Shellow, ''Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006 (ISBN 0313331456).〕 Both men and women have visible hair on the head, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits, pubic region, arms, and legs; men also have thicker hair on their face, abdomen, back and chest. Hair does not generally grow on the lips, the underside of the hands or feet or on certain areas of the genitalia. Forms of hair removal are practised for various and mostly cultural, sexual, medical or religious reasons. Forms of hair removal have been practised in almost all human cultures since at least the Neolithic era. The methods used to remove hair have varied in different times and regions, but shaving is the most common method. ==Cultural and sexual aspects== Each culture of human society has developed social norms relating to the presence or absence of body hair, which has changed from one time to another. Different standards can apply to males and females. People whose hair falls outside a culture's aesthetic standards may experience real or perceived social acceptance problems. For example, for women in several societies, exposure in public of body hair other than head hair, eyelashes and eyebrows is generally considered to be unaesthetic, unattractive and embarrassing.〔Heinz Tschachler, Maureen Devine, Michael Draxlbauer; ''The EmBodyment of American Culture''; pp 61–62; LIT Verlag, Berlin-Hamburg-Münster; 2003; ISBN 3-8258-6762-5.〕 In Middle Eastern societies, removal of the female body hair has been considered proper hygiene, necessitated by local customs, for many centuries.〔Kutty, Ahmad (13/Sep/2005) (Islamic Ruling on Waxing Unwanted Hair ) Retrieved March 29, 2006; Irvin Cemil Schick, "Some Islamic Determinants of Dress and Personal Appearance in Southwest Asia," ''Khil’a'' 3 (2007–2009 ()), 25–53.〕 With the increased popularity in many countries of women wearing shorter dresses and swimsuits during the 20th century and the consequential exposure of parts of the body on which hair is commonly found, there has been an increase in the practice of women removing unwanted body hair, such as on legs, underarms and elsewhere.〔(The Straight Dope: Who decided women should shave their legs and underarms? )〕 In the United States, for example, the vast majority of women regularly shave their legs and armpits, while roughly half also shave their bikini lines.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.depilatory.com/core/twentieth.html )〕 People may also remove some or all of their pubic hair for aesthetic or sexual reasons. However, some women in Western cultures choose not to remove hair from their bodies, either as a preference or as an act of defiance against what they regard to be an oppressive ritual. Many men in Western cultures shave their facial hair, so only a minority of men have a beard, even though fast-growing facial hair must be shaved daily to achieve a clean-shaven or hairless look. Some men shave because they cannot grow a "full" beard (generally defined as an even density from cheeks to neck), because their beard color is different from their scalp hair color, or because their facial hair grows in many directions, making a groomed look difficult. Some men shave because their beards are very coarse, causing itchiness and irritation. Some men grow a beard or moustache from time to time to change their appearance. Some men shave their heads, either as a fashion statement, because they find a shaved head preferable to the appearance of male pattern baldness, or in order to attain enhanced cooling of the skull – particularly for people suffering from hyperhidrosis. A much smaller number of Western women also shave their heads, often as a fashion or political statement. Within the gay, bi and straight male cultures, some men are known to eliminate or trim the pubic hair especially from their nether region, a practice that is referred to as being a part of manscaping (portmanteau expression for male-specific landscaping). This custom can be motivated by reasons of potentially increased cleanliness and hygiene, heightened enjoyment during fellatio and analingus, and/or the desire to take on a more youthful appearance. Some women also shave their heads for cultural or social reasons. In India, tradition required widows in some sections of the society to shave their heads as part of being ostracized (see widowhood in Hinduism). The outlawed custom is still infrequently encountered mostly in rural areas. The society at large and the government are working to end the practice of ostracizing widows.〔(Shunned from society, widows flock to city to die ), 2007-07-05, (CNN.com ), Retrieved 2007-07-05〕 In addition, it continues to be common practice for men to shave their heads prior to embarking on a pilgrimage. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「hair removal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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