Depilation affects the part of the hair above the surface of the skin. The most common form of depilation is shaving. Another popular option is the use of chemical depilatories, which work by breaking the disulfide bonds that link the protein chains that give hair its strength, making the hair disintegrate.

Epilation is removal of the entire hair, including the part below the skin, and is therefore longer-lasting. Methods include waxing, sugaring, epilation devices, lasers, threading, intense pulsed light or electrology. Hair is also sometimes removed by plucking with tweezers.

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) epilators, though technically not a laser, use xenon flash lamps that emit full spectrum light. Laser and light-based methods, sometimes called phototricholysis or photoepilation, are now most commonly referred to collectively as "laser hair removal".