6 Ways to Remove Annoying Inner and Outer Ear Hair

Shaving and Trimming

Shaving and trimming is easy, inexpensive, and quick. Instead of using a wet razor on the outside of your ears where you could easily cut yourself, opt for an ear hair trimmer (like this one), which allows you to safely remove hair from the top of the ear canal on your own. Ask your barber or stylist to shave the ear hair when you get your haircut.

Tweezing

If you just have few stragglers, tweezing is an easy way to pull those hairs out and not see them again for a couple of weeks. Be sure to use a quality pair of tweezers like Tweezerman Slant Tweezers (get them here). Poorly made tweezers will slide off hair or break it instead of pulling it out from the root. Use angled tweezers, not pointed ones, for safety. But you should be aware that, yes, tweezing can hurt a bit.

Do not put the tweezers into your ear canal, or you could risk damaging your eardrum. If you don’t have tilting mirrors in your bathroom, you might just have to ask for a bit of help to be able to grasp that hair. Hold the ear firmly and tweeze hair out in the direction it grows.

Waxing

Waxing is a good option for removing hair on the outside part of the ear, but it's a bit more difficult to perform on yourself. But waxing removes the entire hair follicle from the root and keeps you hair-free for weeks. Unlike tweezing, you don’t have to remove each hair individually.

If you're trying this at home, choose the pre-made wax strips over a microwaveable kit, where you have to heat up the wax and use a stick to apply it. With a wax strip, you don’t have to worry about any wax dripping into your ear canal or things getting messy. If you find it hard to do on yourself, ask someone for help or make an appointment with a professional at a salon or spa. The downside is the risk of infection and other damage is slightly higher with waxing than with other ways of removing ear hair.

Sugaring

This method is similar to waxing in that you can remove a lot of hair at once on the outside of the ear from the follicle. It's generally thought to hurt less than waxing and is gentler because it doesn't stick as much to the skin. It's a great method if you have sensitive skin, but as with waxing, the risk of infection is slightly higher with this method than others.

Here again, you don’t want sticky sugar dripping in your ear, but you can't use strips for sugaring. You'll have to apply it with an applicator and place a small piece of cotton in your ear to protect your canal or find a sugaring specialist in your area. 

Laser Hair Removal

Laser hair removal uses pulsed light and multiple treatments to impair the hair follicle, and it is FDA-approved for permanent hair reduction. You'll get laser treatments over a specific time frame, and these treatments should eliminate most hair growth. What does grows back should be lighter and thinner. It will give you great results and is safer than electrolysis. Always seek out a professional and book a consultation first before getting treatments.

Electrolysis

Electrolysis has the best track record over any other hair removal method, and it’s the only FDA-approved method for permanent hair removal. Like laser hair removal, electrolysis also takes multiple treatments to destroy the root of the hair. This method involves inserting a tiny needle into the hair follicles, and the biggest risk is not having a properly trained electrologist doing the work. Only go with a licensed electrologist and find out what type of electrolysis will be used.