Hair growth follows a cycle, and laser therapy works best on hair that is actively growing at its current phase. Hair color, thickness and skin tone also have an impactful result on results. Hormonal imbalances may interfere with this natural cycle and necessitate additional treatments to achieve your desired goals.
Some women experience excessive facial or body hair due to hormonal fluctuations caused by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), diabetes, or family history with hirsutism. Laser hair removal treatments have proven highly successful at helping these women reduce unwanted hair by 75-95% over several treatments.
Darker Hair
Laser hair removal can be an effective treatment to eliminate unwanted body hair on those with darker skin. This noninvasive process uses gentle beams of light to target hair follicles without harming surrounding tissues; melanin in hair follicles absorbs the light which heats it, stopping production. Over time, unwanted body hair should begin fading or stop growing altogether.
As laser light is attracted to melanin, targeting darker hair is easier. People with light-colored or white-colored hair and skin tones contrasting well can also enjoy effective results from this form of treatment; however, treating blond, gray and finer strands may prove more challenging.
For optimal results, it’s recommended that prior to beginning laser hair removal treatments you refrain from using any sunless skin creams or traditional forms of hair removal such as waxing or plucking for three weeks prior. You should shave the areas to be treated and remove any sun tans or discoloration in those areas that you wish to have treated; if you are uncertain as to your eligibility for laser treatments please speak with an experienced dermatologist who can provide more information.
Though permanent hair reduction is certainly achievable, it typically requires multiple sessions before achieving success. Since hair grows and sheds in cycles, multiple treatments at each growth cycle stage should be undertaken in order to destroy all the appropriate follicles in time. After treatment has taken effect, any remaining hair will likely become thinner and finer than before treatment began.
When seeking laser hair removal treatment for unwanted hair, ensure you contact a reliable provider with extensive training to treat all skin tones and hair colors. An assessment using the Fitzpatrick scale should help them select an optimum wavelength suited specifically for you.
At Allura, we use the most cutting-edge laser hair removal technology available – Fotona Dynamis system is specifically designed to deliver high-power energy at optimal wavelength for targeting blonde, light brown and red hair follicles. Contact us now and book an initial consultation to determine if laser hair reduction could be right for you!
Lighter Hair
Laser hair removal can provide both men and women looking to rid themselves of unwanted body hair an effective means to do so. The procedure works by targeting and destroying hair follicles to stop future hair growth; results usually last months or years without needing to shave, wax or use depilatories. Treatment sessions vary according to hair color and skin tone – for optimal results best candidates for laser hair removal are those with dark, thick locks contrasting against their skin tone, allowing laser beams to better spot melanin within their hair follicles – those taking blood-thinning medications as well as not having tattoos within areas being treated would benefit most from laser treatment sessions.
Before beginning laser hair removal treatment, it’s important to meet with an esthetician in order to discuss your goals and address any queries that you might have. You should avoid sun exposure and sunless tanning products for several weeks leading up to your appointment, while shaving the area that will be treated will help prepare it; however it should not be done during treatment as this could damage skin surfaces and interfere with absorption of laser light into hair follicles. You should also avoid plucking or waxing of this area prior to this meeting in order for laser light targeting to be successful in targeting each hair follicle directly by laser.
At your appointment, your doctor will press a hand-held laser instrument against the surface of your skin, creating an unpleasant pinprick-like sensation before activating it with its intense heat beam to target hair follicles and stop their production of new hair growth. Light energy from this laser then damages these follicles through light energy damage that affects their cells directly – thus inhibiting new hair growth.
Electrolysis is more laborious and time consuming than laser hair removal, typically taking three months for noticeable results to show up. This is due to hair growing in cycles; thus the laser targets only active growth cycles of hair follicles.
Blonde Hair
Laser hair removal treatments don’t work for all people with blonde, gray, or white hair due to lacking sufficient melanin content; therefore laser removal doesn’t offer permanent hair reduction solutions without multiple sessions of shaving, waxing or electrolysis. But there are methods available which provide permanent reduction of unwanted hair growth – these solutions may take multiple visits, but are long-term solutions without shaving, waxing or electrolysis treatments!
Laser hair removal works by heating up melanin in your hair follicles to transform energy into heat, which destroys its roots and prevents future growth. While the procedure can cause some discomfort in certain areas, to ensure optimal results 1-2 days prior to treatment it is wise not to wax or tweeze in those areas, as such actions disrupt melanin absorption by disrupting it or by tweezing or waxing, which disrupt the melanin in hair, setting back its progress.
Before booking your initial session with any provider, ask about their experience dealing with laser hair removal for different skin types and hair colors – specifically blonde and lighter-haired clients. If the practitioner doesn’t possess much expertise with such matters, perhaps searching for another practitioner would be best.
Your hair’s growth cycle plays a key role in how effective treatments will be. Ideally, laser hair removal should start during its active growth stage; however, everyone’s rates of hair growth vary and for this reason multiple sessions must be scheduled to ensure effective results.
Some factors that could contribute to an uneven growth of hair include hormonal imbalance, diabetes, obesity or family history of hirsutism. If any of these are present it is essential that a medical professional be consulted prior to scheduling laser hair removal treatment as hormones play an integral part in developing facial and body hair growth, as well as other natural processes.
Red Hair
With recent advances in laser technology, virtually all skin types can now benefit from permanent hair reduction. Results tend to be best when treating lighter skin tones with dark coarse hair. Blonde, gray and red hues tend to be harder to treat as their pheomelanin pigment may not respond as easily to laser wavelengths; multiple treatment sessions may be needed and results vary according to hair thickness and density. You will experience some stinging during treatment as the laser energizes its wavelength to destroy follicles – the pain level varying according to hair thickness/density.
One of the more commonly seen side effects in patients with darker skin tones is pseudofolliculitis (bumps), and this usually resolves quickly following laser treatment. Tanned skin may present additional challenges since laser light tends to target pigment instead of hair follicles and scarring may result from this targeting method.
Laser hair removal works by targeting melanin in the pigment of hair follicles, making dark-haired individuals ideal candidates since the contrast between their hair color and skin tone allows the laser to detect it more readily than lighter-colored locks do. Lighter colored locks require much more effort for treatment as the contrast is reduced significantly and make detection more challenging.
But there is good news: Modern lasers can now be used on all skin colors and hair types with positive results; with the exception of blonde, gray or red hair colors. While positive outcomes with these hair colors may still be achievable with enough sessions (preferably 6-8), sun exposure, self-tanners or epilation methods such as waxing or plucking should be avoided between treatments to increase success rates.
Unwanted facial or body hair can be embarrassing and frustrating, yet treatable with laser treatment. If you are interested in permanently eliminating unwanted hair, Rita Medical Elite provides consultations to educate on treatment outcomes, frequency of treatments required and costs involved – everything needed for you to become fully informed before beginning a laser journey.
