Dependent upon the area being treated, shaving may be beneficial prior to and the night before laser therapy treatment. However, post-treatment shaving could compromise results.
Avoid waxing or plucking hair before your treatment session as this can diminish its efficacy, as laser light beams cannot reach hair follicles beneath the skin when you wax or pluck.
What to Expect
After your treatment, you may experience swelling and redness that requires medication for relief. A cold compress or ice wrapped in cloth can soothe skin discomfort while alleviating pain; for best results avoid hot water for several days to reduce blistering of skin areas. While most don’t need medication to manage discomfort, paracetamol may be taken if necessary; make sure you use cold compresses regularly instead of rubbing, which could damage it further while scrubbing may irritate and worsen swelling significantly.
At least 24 hours should pass before and after you undergo laser hair removal treatments on any areas of your body, since shaving strips hair away from its root and can lead to thermal injury of tissues. Tweezing or waxing before going in for laser hair removal appointments should also be avoided since this can damage hair follicles; laser treatments work most efficiently when strong light beams target each individual hair follicle; waxing or tweezing may prevent these beams from targeting hair roots effectively thus rendering laser treatments ineffective.
Protect the area where you were treated from sunlight by wearing sunscreen for at least a month prior and post laser therapy, since sun exposure can increase melanin in skin surrounding hair follicles, making the laser less effective in targeting them directly.
Most patients require six or more laser treatments for long-lasting and noticeable results, usually spread four to six weeks apart depending on the area being treated. You may still shave between sessions but it isn’t required for long-lasting effects. If laser treatments don’t produce desired results after several attempts, try electrolysis or waxing as other forms of hair removal methods to see which best suit your skin type.
Once you’ve completed your laser hair removal treatments, you will see that hair regrowth in the area has decreased substantially – possibly eliminating or significantly reducing it! Shaving may become unnecessary altogether or only once or twice weekly thereafter.
Preparation
Laser hair removal is an increasingly popular non-invasive cosmetic procedure that provides people with an effective non-surgical means to eliminate unwanted hair on the face and body. Although treatment may cause discomfort for some individuals, pain can often be minimized through proper preparation. Finding a registered practitioner who meets set standards for training and skill can also be important.
At first, it’s essential that you ensure you’re ready for treatment. Achieveing desired results could take multiple sessions and may involve growing back some hair between treatments if they weren’t fully effective. Be sure you understand any risks involved which will be discussed during a consultation appointment.
Make sure that the area of skin that will be treated is clean and dry prior to laser therapy; shower the day before your treatment using a gentle cleanser to remove any dirt or oil that might be present on your skin. In addition, avoid moisturizing too heavily as this could interfere with how the laser works.
As it can reduce effectiveness, it is also advised that four weeks prior to your appointment you refrain from plucking and waxing skin areas that could potentially interfere with laser treatment. Furthermore, bleaching hair could alter its pigment and make it harder for laser to target roots of hairs.
Your practitioner will apply a handheld laser instrument against your skin and activate it, depending on which laser type they choose to use. A cooling device or gel may be applied at the tip of this instrument in order to protect and alleviate discomfort caused by laser light passing through your skin into hair follicles, where it will damage them, eventually leading them to stop growing hair altogether – although you may feel some slight pinpricking sensations during treatment as it penetrates.
As soon as the treatment has concluded, your practitioner will apply a cool compress to your skin and instruct you not to sweat in the area for several hours afterward. Once this period of restful time has ended, normal activities can resume; loose-fitting clothing that won’t rub against treated areas would be advised; they also offer aftercare instructions that might include applying ointment or medication to reduce redness that might arise – follow all directions given as failing to do so could thwart its success! It is vitally important that adherence could result in non-effective results or even failure – failure would mean treatment not taking place and failure could render treatment ineffective!
Treatment
Shaving is time-consuming and damaging to the skin. To save both time and money by ditching this unnecessary task, laser hair removal offers an excellent alternative that reduces unwanted hair growth significantly. Just ensure that you follow all appropriate procedures when having this done.
Before beginning laser hair removal, the area must be properly prepared in several ways. You should shave the area a few days in advance so that laser can target only hair follicles; this will also prevent surface damage to skin. Furthermore, any use of sunless skin creams or waxing would interfere with results from laser hair removal; additionally any blood-thinning medication should also be avoided prior to treatment.
After your treatment session, it is normal to experience some hair shedding in the treated area; this indicates that hair follicles were damaged. With time, however, you should notice lighter and less noticeable growth as damaged hair follicles no longer produce hair growth.
After your initial laser hair removal treatment, it is crucial that you receive follow up treatments every four to six weeks in order to ensure all of the treated area’s hair has been effectively eradicated and any regrowing hairs are as light and small as possible. If time or resources prevent follow up appointments from being possible, a series of regular trims after your procedure can still help show positive results from laser hair removal.
Most treatments provide up to a 90% permanent reduction of hair growth in treated areas, though hormonal fluctuations may still cause some hairs to return. To guarantee this doesn’t happen again, multiple sessions should be held over several years for best results.
Maintaining cool skin after treatments may also help limit hair regrowth between sessions, whether this means soaking your area in cold water or using an ice pack for several minutes after each session, to ease transient pain and swelling that might follow them. Furthermore, exfoliation may help remove any dead hairs which might be contributing to new hair regrowth.
