Unwanted hair growth can be both time consuming and troublesome, leading to razor shaves, waxing sessions or painful plucking sessions that leave raw skin behind. Laser hair removal provides long term relief.
However, it’s essential that you understand the best way to prepare for laser hair removal treatment. Waxing or tweezing between sessions interferes with its ability to detect and destroy hair follicles effectively.
Shaving
Unwanted hair growth can be an irritating and time-consuming problem to deal with, making life increasingly more frustrating for many people. Shaving is an efficient method for eliminating unwanted hair from face, legs, arms or underarms while keeping skin smooth. Unlike other methods such as waxing appointments or electrolysis treatments, shaving doesn’t require appointments in order to complete its task successfully.
However, shaving can make laser treatments difficult and less effective as it leaves the surface of the skin dry, potentially causing irritation if you use oils and moisturisers regularly. For optimal results, it’s recommended to wait at least 24 hours between shaving and laser treatment sessions.
When shaving, it’s essential to use a sharp razor with care not to cut or nick your skin. Additionally, we suggest using shaving gel or cream so as to ease razor strokes across skin instead of pushing too hard against it; too much pressure or using an outdated razor can lead to ingrown hairs, redness and swelling which is not healthy or attractive.
However, waxing and tweezing should be avoided four to six weeks prior to laser hair removal, as these techniques can damage hair follicles and make laser treatments ineffective in reaching the root of each individual hair follicle. In between sessions if there’s still light stubble that needs removal then shaving may still be an appropriate method of hair removal.
When shaving before laser hair removal, the day or night before your appointment is the optimal time. This ensures your hair has reached an appropriate length to be treated by laser and gives you the greatest chance of attaining smooth, stubble-free skin in the future.
As part of your treatment regime, it is wise to apply sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher protection to areas that will be treated. This will provide your skin with extra protection against UV rays which may cause uneven skin tones and discolourations while increasing the risk of burning during treatments.
Waxing
Unwanted hair can be an inconvenient nuisance. If you find it hard to remove stubborn strands of hair or find yourself repeatedly plucking them out, laser hair removal could be the perfect solution. With lasers delivering virtually zero maintenance costs and providing smooth and streamlined skin in just one treatment session. But before booking an appointment for laser hair removal there are a few things you should keep in mind before scheduling an appointment.
Initial steps before laser therapy sessions require refraining from shaving the area in question for at least several days prior. This is necessary because laser light needs to penetrate to the root of each hair follicle, and long hairs could impede its target area and absorb laser energy rather than redirect it directly there.
As laser hair removal treatments work by targeting the roots of hair, waxing or plucking can prevent laser hair removal treatments from reaching these targets and cause it to start growing back faster, interfering with your goals and hindering treatment progress.
As part of your laser hair removal treatment, it is advised to refrain from using any products with fragrances that could potentially irritate or inflame the skin, which could negatively impact results. Also make sure that on the day of your appointment no makeup or fake tanning products are worn as this could discolouration the area where treatment will occur.
As part of a laser hair removal session, you may experience heat or slight discomfort at the site of treatment. This is completely normal and will subside shortly afterward. Furthermore, hairs will begin to shed naturally over the following few days to weeks due to damage from laser irradiation – these hairs won’t grow back!
Once your course of laser hair removal is over, you will see permanent results. However, to maximize these outcomes it is imperative that you follow our hair removal guidelines for maximum effectiveness.
Tweezing
Women often turn to tweezers as part of their grooming routine; whether to fix an unruly unibrow or peach fuzz on their faces. But those living with hirsutism (excess hair growth) find this hair-pulling technique too time consuming when applied across larger areas such as arms and legs.
If you’re considering laser hair removal as a means to diminish stubborn stubble, preparation is key for an effective experience. Ideal Image, America’s premier provider of Laser Hair Removal services, has your back! Read on for top tips from their medical staff.
Before scheduling laser treatment, avoid shaving, waxing and other hair removal methods that do not target hair at its source. Furthermore, these other methods could cause skin irritation that would impede its effectiveness.
When shaving, do so gently to reduce the amount of hair removed. Any pressure applied may lead to razor burn or irritation of sensitive skin that makes laser hair removal sessions uncomfortable for you. In addition, investing in an ergonomic razor that glides easily across the skin without exerting too much force is also recommended.
Avoid shaving the same area repeatedly to avoid ingrown hairs – which can be particularly painful around your eyes and chin. Tweezing them out could result in infection and scarring; so it’s wiser to leave these areas alone unless absolutely necessary. It may also be wise not to pull any moles or pimples that sprout hair, as these could be signs of folliculitis – an uncomfortable skin infection which may be extremely uncomfortable and even painful!
For optimal results, tweezing should be performed in front of a mirror under natural lighting conditions. This allows you to clearly see any hidden hairs beneath a layer of dead skin cells. Exfoliation also can help prevent ingrown hairs by dissolving away dead cells that would otherwise clog your pores and potentially lead to ingrowns.
Epilation
Epilators work like electric tweezers for your entire body. It provides a quick and pain-free solution, suitable for even sensitive skin types (though regular usage will reduce hair removal time over time as your follicle strength weakens).
Exfoliating is often recommended before using an epilator, to lower the risk of cuts and nicks. Furthermore, you should ensure your skin is dry and pulled taut so the device can grasp hair more efficiently. After several epilator sessions, some people notice that their hair grows back much slower.
Waxing can be an excruciatingly painful form of hair removal, so it is vital that the waxing professional prepares a suitable temperature for your skin type and heats the wax accordingly. Failure to do this could result in burns to the skin or ingrown hairs; additionally, you should refrain from shaving or other forms of hair removal on that same area for a few days prior and post waxing appointments for maximum efficacy.
Laser hair removal and epilators both present various degrees of discomfort depending on your level of sensitivity and pain tolerance; however, laser hair removal provides long-term solutions which may eliminate the need for shaving, waxing, plucking or epilation in the future! It may be more expensive than epilation but many women and men consider it an investment which will save money from having to repeat treatments each month.
Laser hair removal can be performed either at home or in a clinic, but for optimal results you must abide by your doctor’s directions. He or she may advise against sun exposure before and after laser treatment as melanin content in your skin can influence its response; they might also use cooling devices or gel on the tip of their laser instrument to protect skin and limit discomfort.
