Laser hair removal can be achieved with multiple treatments for most men and women, though regrowth will still occur from time to time.
Your doctor uses a hand-held laser instrument to press against your skin, which may include cooling devices or gel to protect and soothe. The laser then destroys hair follicles to stop future hair growth in that spot.
How long do I need to wait?
If you’re tired of shaving, plucking, and/or waxing to achieve soft skin, laser hair removal may be the perfect solution. This treatment uses a hand-held instrument to deliver a focused beam of light directly into the hair follicles; its intense heat damages these follicles which inhibits future hair growth. Many find the effects last months or even years with permanent reduction often being experienced after laser treatment.
To achieve optimal results, it’s crucial that all appointments are attended. Delaying laser treatments could result in your damaged follicles recovering and growing new hair again – often appearing finer and lighter in color than before.
Follow your laser specialist’s post-treatment recommendations carefully. Plucking or other forms of hair removal interfere with the results of laser therapy as the hair follicles must remain undamaged to grow new hair. In addition, avoid direct sun exposure on treated areas and invest in high quality sunscreen protection to preserve results.
Attributes that influence laser hair removal results, including your age and fluctuating hormone levels, such as pregnancy or menopause when hormone levels might impact hair growth more quickly than usual.
An effective way to determine how many laser sessions you require is by meeting with an experienced practitioner for a consultation session. They will take into account factors like skin type, hair color and thickness when determining a treatment plan tailored specifically for you.
When you are ready for laser hair removal, your practitioner will use a hand-held instrument to press against your skin, depending on which laser type they use a cooling device or gel may be applied at the tip of the instrument to ease any discomfort you might experience during treatment. Your treatment should last around 30 minutes, and to get maximum benefit it’s advised you refrain from shaving, plucking, or using depilatory creams during the weeks leading up to it so your follicles stay undamaged so as to maximize benefit of laser hair removal treatments full potential benefits.
How long do I have to wait for the hair to grow back?
Laser hair removal uses heat from a laser beam to damage and destroy unwanted follicles, with eventual growth depending on various factors, including which part of the body was treated and fluctuating hormone levels. When hair does reappear after some laser sessions, it typically grows back lighter and finer compared to before, hence why a regular schedule of laser appointments should be adhered to for maximum effect.
If your laser treatment does result in some hair regrowth after treatment, a follow-up appointment should be scheduled with your practitioner. Unfortunately it’s impossible to destroy every single follicle with one treatment alone; resting or “telogen” phase follicles contain extra melanin that the laser targets; when these hairs regrowth they tend to grow back much lighter and thinner than before.
Another reason that hair may return after laser treatment is due to its limited efficacy; heat from laser only kills hair follicles currently in their anagen phase, meaning other follicles take time to move into this stage and start producing new hair strands. For people who were previously shaving or waxing to remove unwanted hair before laser, this may provide welcome respite as all unwanted hair falls out over 14 days, offering relief and offering hope of smooth skin!
Clients of laser treatment frequently report seeing reduced to no hair growth for several years following their final laser session, both due to its efficacy and their consistent hair removal regimen that includes forgoing shaving, waxing and plucking in these areas. This may be attributed to either factor.
Not to forget, though – hair that does regrow after laser may have come back through due to hormonal changes associated with pregnancy causing some hair follicles to come out of resting or telogen phases prematurely, so it is crucial that full laser treatment be received prior to conception, pregnancy and/or hormonal fluctuations occurring.
How long do I have to wait for the hair to grow back thinner?
Most men and women will require six to eight laser hair removal sessions spaced four to eight weeks apart for optimal results. If new hair growth does occur after laser treatment, don’t panic; it is common and usually caused by hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy; on the bright side, any new growth should likely be significantly lighter and thinner than its original self; follow-up treatments should easily resolve the situation.
If your unwanted hair seems to have miraculously vanished after laser treatment, it could simply be in its telogen phase, lying beneath your skin’s surface. For best results it is essential that you keep on track with your schedule to eliminate these hair follicles; depending on your skin type it could take two months or so for new anagen phase hairs to return.
Avoid shaving, waxing, tweezing or picking at areas treated by laser light to stop thick and dark hair growth by not shaving, waxing, tweezing or picking. Heat from laser will have damaged these follicles naturally; alternatively scrubbing the treated area with a loofah or soft cotton washcloth can speed this process along.
At times, during a treatment session, you’ll feel slight discomfort; some have described it as feeling similar to tiny rubber bands flicking on their skin; most find this sensation tolerable; if any discomfort arises however, ask your aesthetician for a topical anesthetic solution.
As part of your laser hair removal treatment regimen, it is also vitally important to avoid excessive sun exposure and tanning. While the sun provides natural vitamin D sources, too much exposure to its rays may increase pigment in your hairs and make them appear darker after laser therapy treatments are completed.
After your laser hair removal treatment, you should see long-term results. Any hair that does return will likely be lighter and finer than before – meaning there’s no risk to regaining your desired appearance!
How long do I have to wait for the hair to grow back darker?
Laser treatments differ from other hair removal methods by only targeting melanin-containing follicles and hair shafts, leaving any remaining regrowth as significantly lighter and finer in texture than before. This ensures any future hair growth will appear significantly lighter and finer in texture than it had been previously.
How quickly you see results can vary depending on where the treatment area is. For instance, facial hair grows at a slower pace than leg hair does; so usually requires around 8 treatments before reaching desired results are achieved; after reaching them though they tend to stay put permanently while some clients may notice sparse regrowth occurring one or two years post treatment series completion.
Laser treatments offer an alternative to shaving that prevents new hairs from growing for a period of time; however, hair may eventually start growing back due to regeneration in your follicles and therefore it is important that you stay on your treatment schedule so as to not miss any sessions.
Before and after laser treatments, it is also crucial not to pluck, wax, shave, or use any other form of hair removal methods in the treated areas, as these practices disturb the surface of skin and interfere with laser light’s ability to target and destroy hair follicles. Sunless tanning should also be avoided in these locations.
If a laser fails to effectively destroy or damage a hair follicle, it may reappear thicker and darker – known as paradoxical hypertrichosis – after treatment with any part of your body that has been exposed to its light beam. In such an instance, additional laser treatments sessions or another form of hair removal might be required in order to achieve your ideal results. Usually this regrowth appears within several months without treatment, and we advise using top up sessions at 8-10 week intervals in order to control it and reduce its regrowth potential.
