Laser hair removal treatments will likely require multiple sessions on your facial area, depending on your skin complexion and hair color.
Be aware that laser treatments only target melanin-filled hair follicles. Before beginning treatment, you must shave the area thoroughly. This ensures maximum efficacy of laser sessions.
Targeted hairs will fall out, though some may reappear. In such instances, take steps to slow or stop its regrowth.
Treatment Time
Unwanted hair on the face and body is a widespread problem among both men and women, making removal difficult with traditional methods like shaving, waxing, or plucking. Laser hair removal offers an effective permanent solution; however, multiple sessions will likely be needed before results become noticeable.
The number of treatments necessary will depend on your hair color, skin type and area being treated. In addition, treatment time will also depend on your hair thickness and coarseness; thicker diameter hair requires additional treatment time as they are more difficult to target with laser. It is wise to avoid sun exposure prior and post treatment in order to reduce risk factors like hyper or hypo pigmentation complications.
Hair removal with laser technology can be painful. To minimize pain and discomfort, a topical numbing cream should be used prior to treatment, while some people may experience mild redness or swelling post-procedure (though usually only temporary). For optimal results, multiple sessions should be separated by at least 4-6 weeks to allow hair follicles to be damaged sequentially and provide for higher probabilities of permanent removal.
Hormonal areas of the body often require additional treatments than non-hormonal areas like legs. For instance, neck and facial regions have high concentrations of hormones that make traditional hair removal techniques more challenging to use successfully in this region; also often in this region there are ingrown hairs or pseudofolliculitis present which complicate matters further.
To effectively eliminate unwanted hair in the face and neck area, six to eight treatment sessions may be necessary. This is due to hair follicles in this region being in various stages of growth at any one time; only those actively producing will be targeted by laser while any others that remain will still continue producing hair at a much slower rate than before.
Recovery Time
Unwanted hair can be an ongoing struggle for men and women alike. While shaving and waxing offer temporary relief, new growth will soon return. Laser hair removal provides permanent solutions by permanently eliminating unwanted hair growth; however, the process takes several sessions before optimal results are reached; therefore it is crucial that one understands what they can expect when considering laser hair removal as a viable treatment option.
Before beginning laser treatment, it is recommended to shave your skin to create a smooth surface. However, following laser treatment it is wise to avoid shaving for several days afterward to protect hairs from being damaged by laser light, as well as plucking or using hair removal creams. Shaving should only resume after two days provided there are no redness or swelling present and light moisturizers should be applied liberally over treated area to keep it moist and avoid rubbing/scrubbing it or applying heavy creams to keep moist in this regard.
Laser therapy works by targeting pigment in hair follicles, damaging many hair follicles with each pulse of its light beam, rendering them incapable of producing more hair follicles and thus leading to your hair falling out approximately three or five days post treatment. Anagen-stage hairs will begin falling out first; for all your anagen phase hairs it could take up to one week for them all to be gone; to expedite this process shave or pluck them to speed things along faster.
Your skin may be especially vulnerable and sensitive for several weeks after laser hair removal, making sun protection essential. Use sunscreen with at least an SPF 30 rating, as well as zinc oxide-containing formulations to minimize risk of burns.
Laser hair removal is generally safe and effective treatment option, though some users may experience pain during their session. You may notice a mild burning sensation for only seconds during treatment; additionally, redness or swelling may appear afterward but should subside after several hours.
Results
Laser hair removal works by disabling hair follicles, which prevents further growth. While initial results will become noticeable within several sessions, multiple treatments may be required before your desired goal of permanently eliminating unwanted facial hair is reached. Your number of sessions depends on factors like hair color, skin tone and growth cycle; your doctor can work with you to develop a personalized plan to meet this objective.
Before your treatment begins, your doctor will disinfect and apply numbing gel to the area being treated, before covering it with protective materials and providing goggles to wear during laser procedures. You will feel some slight discomfort during laser processes – similar to warm pinpricks or light rubber bands snapping against their skin. Treatment time could range from minutes up to an hour, depending on which area needs treating.
After receiving treatment, your face may experience some redness and swelling that resembles mild sunburn symptoms. To soothe these reactions, aloe vera gel, calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream may help. Also be sure to use sunscreen on treated areas for two to three weeks following therapy; avoid direct sunlight as much as possible when going outdoors.
Over time, you will notice your facial hair gradually diminishing and becoming less dense, creating a hairless complexion and saving both time and effort by eliminating the need to shave or wax this area. Most patients require multiple sessions before seeing desired results; each session reduces the number of hairs present.
As opposed to other parts of your body, facial hair grows at various rates and stages. Laser treatments target only active-growing follicles; thus multiple sessions may be needed before reaching desired results; additional visits should occur every four to eight weeks for maximum effectiveness.
Most people can experience permanent hair reduction after six to eight treatments, though permanent removal may not always be guaranteed; touch-up sessions will still need to be scheduled in order to maintain your smooth complexion and hairfree complexion.
Cost
Laser hair removal is a cosmetic procedure that utilizes light-based technology to destroy hair follicles responsible for unwanted facial hair growth. The procedure is safe for most people and can take as little as an hour for treatment; during sessions, practitioners press handheld devices against your skin while emitting pulses of light to activate them – you may feel something similar to a rubber band snapping against it, and smell burnt hair scent.
At least 24 hours before an appointment, avoid sun exposure as laser hair removal does not work well on tanned skin. Furthermore, an open cut or cold sore should be postponed; waxing, plucking or shaving the area prior to your laser hair removal treatment could result in bleeding. In addition, avoid chemical peels or similar chemical treatments which could irritate skin further and alter results of treatment.
Your hair has its own natural growth cycle, and the laser only attacks active-growth-phase follicles – that’s why it takes multiple sessions before seeing significant hair reduction; to maintain permanent results, maintenance treatments may need to be continued once every year.
If you have light skin with dark hair, the laser will quickly absorb melanin pigment and destroy follicles; however, the technique has evolved and now works on all skin tones and textures.
After treatment, you will likely notice some hair regrowth; however, the new growth typically has lighter texture and color than what was present before, as well as being thinner in thickness than its predecessors. Over time, most patients report their hair either completely disappears or returns only sparsely after several months and years have passed.
After your session, it is safe to return to normal activities; however, be careful of exposing treated skin directly to sunlight. Furthermore, using high-quality sunscreen every day could protect it against potential sun damage.
