To perform laser hair removal, a doctor will press a hand-held instrument against your skin, with cooling devices attached at its tip or a gel applied for protection of the skin.
Treatment typically feels like a series of pinpricks, taking anywhere from minutes to an hour depending on the area being treated. You may notice an unpleasant sulfurous scent emanating from vaporized hair follicles.
What is the process?
Laser hair removal employs highly concentrated light beams to damage hair follicles, the tiny holes in your skin where hair grows from. Attracted to pigment in your hair, laser light converts it into heat that destroys the follicle and stops producing new hair follicles from growing back – quickly and painlessly eliminating shaving or waxing altogether! This process is quick and painless reducing reliance on shaving and waxing alone.
Laser treatments typically cause minimal discomfort; however, you may experience mild to moderate soreness during treatment. Numbing gel may be applied prior to starting and goggles should be worn to protect eyes from light exposure during laser sessions; treatment time could range anywhere between minutes for smaller areas like your chin to an hour for larger ones like legs.
Once your laser treatment is over, you may notice some hair has fallen out as well as redness and inflammation in the treated area; these effects should subside over time. To minimize side effects from sun exposure and other forms of hair removal until your session has concluded.
Your treatment course should take roughly six months and during this time you should continue to notice damaged hairs falling out or coming loose during normal skin-cleansing procedures. After finishing all six treatments, you should notice less and less hair growing back over time.
Laser hair removal depends on a range of variables, including hair color and skin type. Treatment tends to work best on those with dark hair and light skin because contrast makes it easier for laser energy to reach hair follicles; those with white, gray or red hair often struggle more because their locks absorb less of its energy than darker locks do.
When considering laser hair removal, it’s essential to find a practitioner with both experience and certification in this procedure. Your practitioner should possess a deep knowledge of skin conditions as well as its response to different treatments – make sure to strictly abide by all pre- and post-treatment instructions for best results.
How long will the treatment last?
Laser hair removal treatments must effectively destroy the hair follicle for them to work, which it does by emitting a beam of light into your skin and into your pigmented hair, where it absorbs as heat and destroys it from within, stopping further hair growth in the future.
However, this process is not permanent and repeated treatments will likely be necessary for optimal results. While your first session should remove most unwanted hairs, additional sessions may be necessary; typically five or four sessions spaced four weeks apart are typically necessary for maximum effectiveness.
On your appointment day, protective eye goggles must be worn as laser light can damage the delicate tissues in your eyeballs directly. Your doctor may also apply topical anesthetics to reduce discomfort during the process.
Before your appointment, it’s essential that you wait at least six weeks after plucking or waxing the area you plan on treating before plucking or waxing again – this allows the laser to target hair roots which were temporarily removed with other epilation methods and prevent sun exposure that will make the treatment less effective.
As with any medical procedure, laser hair removal must be undertaken by an expert and have an in-depth knowledge of skin color. Otherwise, side effects from treatment could include scarring and permanent changes to your complexion.
Your doctor will examine your medical history, including medications or supplements that might alter hormone levels, before conducting a full examination of the area to assess suitability for laser therapy treatment. They might advise against using sunless skin creams as this could darken the color of your skin and diminish effectiveness of laser treatment.
Men and women suffering from unwanted hair on their neck often require permanent solutions; shaving and waxing often result in razor bumps, ingrown hairs, pseudo-folliculitis and pseudo-folliculitis. Laser hair removal offers one solution; patients will typically require multiple sessions over time to achieve optimal results.
Will I experience any side effects?
As laser hair removal uses laser light to break apart your hair follicles, some minor discomfort is likely. Most clients describe this feeling as a pinching sensation lasting less than a second; less painful than other methods such as waxing, epilating or shaving. Most discomfort experienced by clients can be eased by applying topical anesthetic prior to starting treatment.
Post-treatment discoloration may appear temporarily. To maintain optimal care of the treated area, be sure to follow your physician’s advice for proper maintenance, as well as avoid direct sun exposure for the duration of your therapy plan.
Laser hair removal relies on targeting melanin-rich areas of hair to be successful; thus, treatments will fail on light, white, gray and blonde shades that do not contain enough of this pigment to target with laser light. Darker shades offer much higher success rates for permanent removal; yet not every patient may see success from laser treatment.
Most patients need between two and six laser treatments to experience significant results. Once complete, most will not experience unwanted hair growth for several months or years after treatment is finished; any regrowth is typically finer and lighter in color.
When choosing a laser hair removal practitioner, it is critical that they be board-certified in plastic surgery. This ensures they review your medical history as well as discuss any risks or benefits with you beforehand. Furthermore, it would be wise to avoid darkening skin creams as these can interfere with its effectiveness.
Honesty in setting expectations with your practitioner is also key, since unrealistic ones could result in disappointment and possible permanent skin damage. Take your time shopping around to find the most cost-effective laser hair removal treatment, some clinics advertise unbelievably low prices with flashy signage or websites; just make sure that it’s performed by an accredited physician!
How many sessions will I need?
Laser hair removal is a relatively permanent solution. Even when some regrowth occurs, it usually returns as finer and lighter hair than originally present, creating a much smoother complexion overall. Many people report immediate results after their first session but multiple sessions will likely be necessary for complete removal; continue repeating the procedure at regular intervals based on your individual body and skin type requirements.
For optimal results, waxing and plucking the areas to be treated between laser hair removal treatments may interfere with its ability to damage hair follicles and prevent future growth. Furthermore, sun exposure should be avoided for six weeks post treatment with at least SPF 30 sunscreen used as protection.
Laser hair removal treatments often cause some level of pain and redness after treatments; this is perfectly normal. Your practitioner may apply a numbing cream depending on your pain tolerance level and you might even smell smoke or burning hair afterward; this heat comes from hair follicles being destroyed by laser light energy.
Laser hair removal works more effectively when performed on pale skin as the contrast between hair and skin allows the laser to target any concentrated sources of pigment more easily. Some colors of hair may prove harder for it to target such as blonde and gray locks on darker complexions.
At your consultation, you will learn more about how many treatments sessions will be necessary to achieve the smooth and hairless appearance you seek. Your doctor will create a tailored treatment plan to meet your specific needs.
Considering laser hair removal? Make an appointment to meet with your dermatologist or another qualified practitioner first and get their opinion. They’ll assess your medical history, skin tone and hair color before providing details on benefits and risks of laser hair removal to make an informed decision about whether this treatment suits you or not.
