Hair growth can be a problem with regard to proper disinfection of the wound or applying a comfortable bandage. However, shaving or depilating hair causes tiny cuts. After several hours, more bacvteria will be alive in these cuts than can be found in normal skin, a problem you can do without during surgery. For that reason it is best to shave the hairs off two to three days prior to treatment, to allow the skin time for full recovery. Do not do this the day before surgery.
Shaving at the hospital is done just before surgery, so that bacteria do not the have time to multiply. Depilation using cream can be done at any given time: this does not cause cuts. However, you need to be sure that your skin on the relevant part of your body tolerates the depilatory cream well: irritated skin is not a good basis to start a procedure.
These guidelines do not apply to the face and hair of the head.
