MODEL RELEASED. Hair removal treatment. Man having hair removal treatment at a beauty salon. One of the most common forms of hair removal treatments is using wax strips. These use a wax or a similar chemical to grip the hair when applied to an area of skin. When the strip is pulled off the skin, the hairs are pulled out by their roots. This is known as epilation (depilation is removal of hair from above the skin surface, such as in shaving, or using chemicals to dissolve the hair). Hair removal by waxing can last for up to eight weeks. Photographed in Paris, France.