It produces a tingly, hot sensation and is far less painful than other hair removal methods.

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In a single email, I may find a romantic, candle-lit dinner and a bikini-line laser hair removal.

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Gold treats a dozen hair removal patients a day, a third of them male, from 30 states.

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But the hair removal business Ive seen is five times that, says Michael Gold, a dermatologist in Nashville, Tenn.

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Hair removal goes back to ancient Egypt, where women applied hot wax and strips of gauze to their legs.

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Hair removal hype is a fairly new phenomenon, at least on Wall Street.

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For example, if it offers a deal on laser hair removal, the site provides detailed information on how well the service works for women with different hair color.

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In the last year five other similar technologies have been approved by the FDA. The most serious challenger to ThermoLase is Israel-based ESC Medical Systems, which makes lasers for treating varicose veins and for hair removal.

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So far ThermoLase has opened ten Spa Thira hair-removal salons in America, and is opening joint-venture salons in Japan, France and Saudi Arabia.

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