Laser hair removal destroys hair follicles to stop new unwanted hairs from growing back in their place, often taking multiple sessions to achieve the desired result.
Before laser treatments, it is advisable to avoid bleaching, plucking or waxing the area being treated and stay out of direct sunlight as dark pigment can absorb laser light and cause burns.
How many sessions do I need?
Professional laser hair removal treatments offer optimal results. This form of laser hair removal employs pulsed light that converts into heat to eliminate dark pigments from hair follicles, thus preventing future growth. In a consultation session, an experienced provider will assess whether this life-changing procedure is suitable for you by checking your medical history and conducting patch tests to check for allergies; additionally they may apply numbing cream prior to commencing treatments on certain areas.
Professional laser technicians recommend that prior to attending their session, individuals should avoid sun exposure as UV rays from sunlight can lead to irreparable changes in skin color. One way of mitigating this risk is wearing sunscreen with SPF 30+ protection or discontinue any products which cause sun sensitivity, such as tanning products.
Dependent upon your skin tone and hair color, multiple treatment sessions may be required in order to achieve the desired results. “Typically it may require four sessions before seeing an effective reduction of unwanted hair growth,” according to Dr. Bernstein.
Within three to five days after treatment, you should notice your hair beginning to fall out due to damaged hair follicles that no longer produce new hairs. Once this phase passes, however, finer and less coarse hair growth should begin again.
To achieve long-term results, it’s essential that you commit to regular laser treatment sessions. This will ensure your hair doesn’t start growing back before reaching your desired appearance. For optimal and safest results, always book sessions with experienced and trained professionals.
Laser hair removal offers an alternative solution that’s faster and more efficient than shaving, waxing, or tweezing: saving both time and money spent on regrowth treatments. Plus it won’t cause constant irritation from constant shaving!
How long will the treatment take?
Laser hair removal treatment times will depend on the size and location of the targeted area. A single session on an area like your upper lip could last as little as five minutes; treating larger surfaces such as your back could take anywhere from an hour to more.
Before beginning laser treatment, it is best to shave and cleanse the targeted area, as well as remove any lotion or makeup from it. Furthermore, avoid sun exposure for at least a week prior to your session in order for your skin to absorb all of the light energy generated from laser treatment without interference from sun rays or tanning beds. You will wear special goggles during laser sessions in order to shield your eyes from laser beams; some individuals may experience slight discomfort but this shouldn’t be too severe.
Laser beams penetrate skin to heat up and destroy hair follicles, stopping them from producing new hairs and eventually thinned out over time. Results of laser hair removal typically last several years with periodic maintenance treatments required to keep up the results.
Your results from laser hair removal sessions typically take two or three sessions before becoming noticeable, though this varies according to each person’s hair growth pattern and skin color and thickness will also impact when they see results.
Once each laser hair removal treatment, you’ll begin to see that hair in the treated areas begins to shed and stop growing, eventually becoming hair-free in some places due to destroyed follicles not producing new strands and so your body no longer producing them.
Some individuals may require more than six treatment sessions to achieve the results they are after, as hormones and other external factors such as stress can alter how fast hair grows.
Once treatment sessions are over, many people do not see any further regrowth for months – sometimes years – when regrowth does appear, it usually appears finer and lighter colored than before.
How often will I need to come back?
Laser hair removal treatments typically produce long-term results for most people. It’s not an instantaneous fix; rather, multiple sessions over time eventually result in hair-free skin and save you money over time compared to waxing or shaving alone.
Many individuals require 4-6 initial treatment sessions before seeing significant reductions in hair growth, but results vary based on factors like hormones and the area being treated – for instance, facial hair is typically growing faster than leg hair so additional touch-up sessions may be required more frequently.
Reasons behind why it may take multiple sessions to achieve desired results is due to hair follicles needing to be in an anagen phase in order for pulsed light from laser to have any impact on them. Otherwise, any effects would only cause minor irritation on the surface of your skin or no change at all.
With each treatment session, the hair follicles will shift more frequently into anagen phase and eventually stop producing new hairs altogether. Once enough top-up treatments have been performed, your hair may start falling out naturally as its roots no longer produce new growth.
Remember that laser hair removal only works on hairs that contain melanin; thus blond and gray hair won’t respond as expected to laser treatment. To address these situations, electrolysis could be a better choice if they exist in abundance.
Skin tone also plays a role in how many treatments will be necessary; at-home laser devices work best for those with light or medium skin tones and dark hair, since pulsed light must distinguish the pigment of both surfaces, otherwise it could cause discoloration. People with deeper skin tones should not attempt laser treatments themselves at home as their deeper skin tones may be more sensitive to its pulsed light pulses and may become burned by it.
How do I prepare for the treatment?
Preparing for shaving may not require much thought, but laser hair removal requires more consideration and preparation. It is essential to follow specific guidelines so your appointment runs smoothly.
Before beginning treatment, ensure your skin is free of lotions and oils as this allows the device to access all areas of the hair follicles more easily. Furthermore, avoid sun exposure for at least two weeks prior to your appointment, as your skin will be particularly delicate after treatments so make sure you use sunscreen daily to stay protected from UV radiation.
Plucking, waxing and sugaring should be avoided to minimize disturbance to follicles which interferes with light targeting it accurately. Shaving should be performed 24 to 48 hours prior to an appointment as well as trimming any hair that might have grown above your skin surface to minimize burn risk during treatment and ensure more precise laser hair removal results.
After your treatment, it is normal to experience redness and swelling in the area treated. Over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream may help alleviate these symptoms; showering or bathing in that area for several hours afterward will ensure that all medication applied stays put on your skin.
Your laser hair removal treatments may take several weeks before you see results, as different parts of your body grow hair at different rates and it can be hard to predict exactly when light will reach the highest number of follicles. Once you’ve completed all sessions in a series, however, you should notice significant reductions in unwanted hair growth – and save both money and time in the process!
