Traditional hair removal methods like shaving, waxing and creams can be painful, labor intensive and costly; laser hair removal offers a simple, quick and cost-effective alternative.
Lasers can effectively target and inhibit hair growth by targeting melanin in your skin and hair. Depending on how much melanin exists in both areas, three to seven treatment sessions may be necessary before any noticeable reduction occurs in hair growth.
Getting Started
If you have decided to invest in laser hair removal, it is crucial that you understand its process and what results to expect from it. This will enable you to determine if laser treatment is suitable for both your skin type and unwanted areas where hair growth needs to be eradicated.
Your skin and hair growth needs will likely require multiple sessions before realizing noticeable results, so the first step should be scheduling an initial consultation at a clinic that offers this service in your area. A laser technician can then evaluate both, to determine how many sessions will be required for maximum benefits.
As part of your initial consultation, your physician will gather details regarding your medical history and other relevant data before creating a tailored treatment plan for you. The cost will depend on which clinic and technology is being used; some offer flat fees while others charge per session – the number of sessions may also impact costs associated with laser hair removal treatments.
To optimize the effectiveness of laser hair removal treatment, it’s essential to avoid sun exposure in the area being treated. This means staying out of tanning beds and using self-tanners at least two weeks prior to an appointment as well as refraining from hot showers/baths for 48 hours post treatment – these steps will minimize risk while making sure laser treatments reach targeted hair follicles effectively.
Laser hair removal treatments only target hair that has reached the “Active” phase, with approximately 15-20% of all your follicles likely being active at any given time.
As hormones play a critical role in controlling how quickly or slowly hair grows, taking hormonal medication or experiencing sudden hormonal shifts could prevent you from realizing the full results of laser hair removal treatments and necessitate additional or touch-up sessions to fully remove unwanted hair.
Treatment Areas
Laser hair removal uses laser heat to destroy hair follicles in order to stop their growth, unlike shaving or waxing which may irritate skin. Laser treatments are safe and effective on all types of skin types compared to these other options, although multiple sessions are usually necessary for optimal results.
Men and women alike can benefit from hair removal treatments provided by cosmetic dermatology clinics to address hair growth that has become problematic due to hormonal imbalance, age or other causes. Hair removal sessions typically last four to eight weeks depending on the body area being addressed, which allows hair follicles to be targeted when they’re actively growing to stop any future unwanted growth and reach your aesthetic goals more quickly.
Most patients find the process tolerable and only mildly uncomfortable during laser hair removal sessions at Spa 361 at the Dermatology and Skin Cancer Institute, especially when performed on more sensitive areas like underarms or ankles. Their dedicated team at Spa 361 at DSC Institute are committed to making your experience as pleasant as possible and can offer topical anesthetic as needed if required. Laser hair removal pain feels similar to having rubber bands snap against skin for only a brief moment before being over.
Face treatments should take place every four to six weeks. Women typically require six sessions for complete hair-free results in areas like bikini line and armpits; hair has its own growth cycles that must be targeted with each new phase of growth.
Leg, arm, chest and back treatments typically require up to an hour per session for male or female patients. Due to thicker body hair than what can be found on facial areas, treating this larger area with laser hair removal may take more time and preparation compared with treating facial hair; however with proper preparation and an ongoing schedule, results from laser hair removal treatments with Dr. Green at her private dermatology office in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood should last much longer.
Preparation
Your practitioner will apply topical anesthetic before beginning laser hair treatment in order to ensure maximum comfort during the session. After pressing a handheld device against your skin and activating the laser’s energy source, the pulses of light attack pigmented hair follicles, disrupting their ability to produce new hair growth resulting in decreased growth rates or permanent loss.
For optimal results, multiple laser hair removal sessions spaced four weeks apart are necessary to achieve maximum effectiveness. Your hair grows in cycles that include anagen (growing), catagen (transitional) and telogen (shedding). Most people have hair in each stage at any one time – only those in anagen can be targeted by lasers; thus requiring multiple visits.
Waxing or plucking between laser treatments should also be avoided, as these methods remove hair follicles and roots from your skin’s surface, making it more difficult for laser to target those hairs for treatment. Shaving should only take place within 24 hours prior to an appointment as otherwise, pigmentation could make treatment too complex or ineffective.
After your treatment sessions, you should see less hair grow in the treated area over time. After several days, any that do appear are thinner and lighter in color compared to before; however, this doesn’t mean the problem has completely resolved itself: hairs currently in telogen or catagen stages could return back into anagen phase and start growing back; for optimal results you should continue having touch-up treatments every few months or annually after your initial laser sessions have concluded.
Laser hair removal’s effectiveness varies depending on the type of melanin present in your hair; Eumelanin, found predominantly in black and brown locks, is easier for lasers to target than Pheomelanin found predominantly in red or pink locks.
Results
Laser hair removal provides permanent removal of unwanted hair. Though some regrowth is possible over time, its finer and lighter characteristics should make it less likely to interfere with aesthetic goals. Treatment plans vary from person to person but typically consist of six sessions over about six weeks spaced approximately six weeks apart until you achieve permanent hairlessness – this means no more shaving, waxing, plucking or depilatory cream use!
Hair color and darkness play an integral role in determining how many laser hair removal sessions you require for desired results. Laser light targets pigment in your hair to turn it into heat that destroys its follicle, stopping further hair regrowth. Darker-colored hair absorbs more of this heat from laser treatment than its blonde or gray counterparts; consequently, additional sessions might be necessary in order to reach desired results with darker-colored locks.
Another consideration in hair growth is speed of growth. Certain parts of your body respond more strongly to hormones than others and thus produce hair faster; you may require additional treatments in areas like legs and armpits where this occurs faster.
Laser treatments typically last just minutes for smaller areas like the upper lip; larger areas may take over an hour. After treatment, avoid direct sunlight on the treated area and follow your dermatologist’s aftercare instructions; you may experience redness or swelling similar to mild sunburn symptoms.
Your first few sessions should demonstrate results, and over time you should continue to observe that your hair is thinned. Over time, it should become less noticeable as new growth comes back much finer and lighter; eventually you should even be able to go longer without shaving, waxing, or plucking as any stubble will eventually lessen over time. When ready, contact Spring Street Dermatology’s cosmetic dermatology team for a consultation appointment to finally eradicate unwanted hair forever!
