Leg hair, back hair, chin hair — it doesn’t matter how many perfectly rational and functional reasons the science-set serves up in defense of body hair, the modern species simply does not care. We want our skin silky, smooth and bare, and by golly, we’ll go to high-tech lengths to get it.

As our taste in body hair has evolved (or devolved), so have our methods of getting rid of it. Tweezing, shaving and plucking are considered virtually archaic. In fact, the 2014 annual statistics released by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery state that laser hair removal ranks as the third most popular nonsurgical cosmetic procedure.

So wildly popular that it’s spawned an industry that specializes solely in smooth hairless skin, laser hair removal uses lasers to point highly concentrated, pulsating beams of light into hair follicles to destroy hair at the root. Laser hair removal does not guarantee permanent hair removal, and requires multiple treatments (typically six to eight), but what it does do is hinder future hair from growing, if and when it does grow back, the hair is remarkably finer, lighter and more sparse. This treatment can cause redness and swelling and works best on people with pale to light skin and dark hair, but there are also longer wavelength lasers that can treat darker skin without causing hyper-pigmentation.

Another popular hair removal method might do the trick. Electrolysis treatments insert a thin probe into individual hair follicles, destroying the hair at the root with short-wave radio frequency and then removing it with forceps. This is a great way to get rid of unwanted hair on the face and any other area you might want hair free. This is by no means a quick fix, the number of sessions necessary to eradicate unwanted hair vary from person to person and can range from 10 to 25, but there’s very little pain involved, so that’s a plus. Each treatment lasts between 15 minutes to an hour.

There’s also a hair removal cream called Vaniqa that is approved by the FDA to inhibit the growth of facial hair. You slap it on twice a day and then watch as, in four to six weeks, Vaniqa magically vanquishes the unwanted hair. It’s not permanent, nor is it without possible side effects (acne, redness, rashes and tingling,) but it is effective in reducing the growth of pesky hairs.

So, aren’t you glad there are a few options to get you smooth, silky and hair free just in time. Of course you are — and you’re welcome.