Laser treatments offer long-term and permanent solutions for unwanted hair removal, making this an excellent alternative to shaving and waxing.
Before your treatment begins, you will shave and wear protective eyewear to shave and protect the area being treated. Furthermore, avoid tanning both naturally and artificially as this renders laser treatments less effective.
Treatment Area
Laser hair removal targets hair follicles in a targeted area and pulses them with laser light to damage them and stop new hairs from growing back. Although treatment is generally safe and effective, some individuals may experience side effects. Minor skin irritation is common after treatment and typically lasts only a few days; you can reduce its intensity by using ice packs or taking a cool water bath. Some individuals also report experiencing crusting post-treatment which is generally harmless but should be prevented with moisturizers applied post-treatment.
A dermatologist will apply topical anesthetic to numb the skin before administering laser hair removal treatment, using a handheld device with laser pulses pressed against it and activated with laser light. You may feel something similar to rubber band snapping against your skin; the procedure typically lasts several minutes but could last as long as an hour depending on the target area’s size and may even produce smoke as hair is removed by laser heat.
Dependent upon your skin type, hair color and thickness, multiple sessions will likely be required in order to reach the results that you seek. This is due to hair follicles being at various points of their growth cycles at once; hence the laser damage only the ones which are actively growing at any given moment in time; typically four or six treatments should produce long-lasting effects.
Between laser treatment sessions, hair follicles should not be waxed, tweezed or plucked. Shaving can help ensure that hair follicles remain at an appropriate length. Furthermore, sunlight exposure should be limited for several weeks prior to and following sessions to protect your treated skin from further damage.
Before seeking laser hair removal, it’s wise to consult a board-certified dermatologist, as not all physicians are equally skilled at this procedure. Furthermore, MedSpas may pose greater health risks by performing this treatment in unhygienic environments.
Time Between Treatments
At your laser hair removal appointment, a technician presses a handheld device against your skin to activate the laser beams. This may feel similar to having an elastic band snap against it for several minutes to over an hour depending on which area and system are being treated. After your session has concluded, your skin may appear sensitive or even red with raised spots; these should fade within a few days on their own (if they don’t, applying cold compresses can help). It is also important to avoid direct sunlight so using sunscreen with at least an SPF 30 rating should also be considered after treatment has concluded.
Following your laser session, your body’s hair will gradually move from anagen (growth stage) into catagen or telogen phases (hair loss that makes way for new growth), necessitating multiple sessions in order to effectively treat all unwanted hair. With each subsequent treatment session more hair enters anagen phase and can be targeted by laser.
Your unique hair growth patterns will also impact how many sessions are necessary; those with naturally fast-growing locks typically need less treatments. Furthermore, color and thickness will have an effect on how quickly results appear – thicker dark locks on lighter skin tones will usually show faster improvement than thinner light-colored locks on darker tones.
Another factor to keep in mind when shaving or waxing hair is how long you’ve been shaving or waxing it. Over time, shaving and waxing could damage hair follicles in your desired treatment area, leading to reduced results or additional treatments needed to reach permanent solutions. Therefore, it is crucial that you follow your treatment plan as stated and schedule appointments at regular intervals for best results.
Preparation
Preparing for laser hair removal requires extensive planning. Before entering a treatment room, ensure you have chosen a trusted technician who is licensed and certified to administer laser treatments – they should provide you with an in-person consultation as well as explain each step in detail, including costs and benefits of treatment.
Before your appointment, ensure the area to be treated is free from lotions or sunscreen – these substances can reduce laser effectiveness while increasing risks of side effects.
Before your laser hair removal appointment, it is advisable to avoid tanning beds and self-tanners for two weeks prior. This is because laser hair removal may cause discoloration in the treated area if your skin has already been sunburnt, leading many professionals to advise rescheduling their appointment as opposed to treating.
Six weeks prior to laser hair removal treatment, it is recommended to discontinue plucking or waxing altogether as these methods interfere with active follicle growth stages that laser treatments rely upon for successful hair removal. Shaving can still work effectively since it cuts hairs off while leaving their roots intact.
On the day of your appointment, as directed by your laser technician, it will be necessary to shave the area which will be treated. Shaving allows the laser technician to have a greater chance of finding and treating individual follicles correctly.
Makeup should also be avoided as this could interfere with the results of your laser treatment, while sun exposure should be limited with use of high SPF sunscreen (SPF 50+) on areas being treated. You may experience reddening and swelling immediately following laser therapy treatments, however these symptoms should fade over time.
Follicles targeted by laser treatment require multiple sessions in order to see permanent results, so patience may be key when considering this form of therapy. Results will depend on you personally; if the commitment required doesn’t suit you then don’t go ahead with treatment.
Results
Laser pulses use light energy to penetrate hair follicles and cause their pigmentation to die, stopping future hair growth and thus the need to shave or wax unwanted hair. Treatment typically requires four or six treatments to deliver desirable results – depending on hair color, coarseness and hormonal influences (for instance if you have dark skin and thick hair, it could take longer for results to show up).
Before your laser treatment begins, it is important to remove all creams or lotions that could act as barriers between the laser and your skin. Tanning beds or natural sunlight should also be avoided to reduce exposure of hair follicles to laser energy and increase resistance from them. You should shave the area that will be treated a few days before your appointment and refrain from plucking or waxing any hair in this region during or prior to laser sessions.
On the day of your treatment, you’ll put on protective eyewear before meeting with your practitioner for the procedure. Some have described it as feeling like being hit with rubber band snaps against your skin, similar to being hit by an electric current. There may also be some smoky aroma or heat sensation due to laser’s heat energy dissolving hair follicles – these side effects are normal and should not cause alarm.
After your treatment is completed, hair follicles will begin to shed gradually over the following days or weeks, often mimicking new growth; therefore repeated laser treatments are essential to ensure lasting results. Any new growth that does appear typically has finer and lighter-colored locks; making the resultant regrow less obvious than before.
Some areas, like the face or neck, can take multiple sessions to achieve hairlessness, while most patients find they don’t require touch-ups after about six sessions have passed. Once desired results have been attained, however, you could potentially go years without needing to shave or wax again!
