After laser hair removal, some treated hairs may regrowth as normal – while this is completely normal, it may hinder its effectiveness and compromise results.
Before having laser treatment, we advise either shaving or plucking to access hair follicles beneath your skin more efficiently. Waxing is not advised since this prevents accessing them through laser technology.
Shaving
After laser hair removal treatment, it’s common to notice patchy areas of regrowing hair. Shaving between laser treatments is fine, but care must be taken not to damage newly vulnerable follicles. A premium shaving kit may also help ensure no harm comes to follicles – and exfoliation beforehand will allow all the hairs to lie at equal levels and ensure more efficient shaving sessions.
As a rule of thumb, only shave the area around your follicles rather than directly above them. Plucking or waxing before laser hair removal sessions may make your treatment less effective; rather shave a few days beforehand to eliminate new growth while keeping the desired length for laser treatment.
Although many hope that one laser hair removal session will deliver permanent results and eradicate their need to shave, this typically isn’t the case. Instead, six to eight sessions (and possibly an annual top-up session) is typically necessary to see noticeable reduction in hair growth. To be as effective as possible with laser hair removal treatments, hair follicles need to be actively growing so light beams can effectively destroy them.
After receiving laser therapy, your hair may grow slower. This is perfectly normal as destroyed hair follicles will take several days to shed their remaining hairs and stop producing new ones – creating the appearance that they’re growing back when in actuality they only appear this way temporarily.
One of the main blunders people make when it comes to shaving is overdoing it, which can prevent your skin from healing properly and cause results of treatments to diminish over time. Aim for shaving only several days prior to an appointment in the direction of hair growth and never immediately post treatment – as doing so may disrupt healing processes and cause irritations.
Waxing
Many people struggle with shaving or waxing their bodies, particularly sensitive areas. Laser hair removal offers a solution, using light energy to target and destroy hair follicles without harming skin cells in between laser sessions. Some may question if continuing shaving between sessions is okay; in general it should be tolerated, but keep these key considerations in mind:
Between laser treatments, it is okay to shave the treatment area, but waxing or plucking should be avoided as these methods remove hair from its source and could interfere with laser treatments. You should try to maintain a regular schedule with your sessions so as to obtain optimal results over time.
One reason it’s essential to adhere to a regular treatment schedule is due to how your hair grows at different rates and stages, with those in anagen (hair-growth phase) phase being targeted best with laser treatments. Therefore, shaving ideally should take place the day prior or on the day of a laser session session.
After receiving treatment, it’s also wise to avoid exercise or hot showers immediately following. These activities increase body temperature and may increase sweat production resulting in skin infections due to sweat. If this does happen, use a clean towel to wipe away excess liquid.
After your laser hair removal treatment, the days after can be somewhat uncomfortable; your treated area may feel itchy or dry – this is normal, and it indicates that the treatment is working. Some individuals also report experiencing some shedding after their laser treatments which indicates that hairs have been effectively destroyed.
Once you have had multiple treatments of laser hair removal, you should notice a decrease in shaving frequency – many people only require shaving once every 4-6 weeks following their laser hair removal treatments!
Exfoliating
Within days of receiving laser hair removal treatment, your hair will start shedding naturally – this is perfectly normal and indicates that the treatment is working. Unfortunately, however, if you’re not careful when shaving these stray strands could get caught under your skin and become ingrown. To stop this happening regularly exfoliate in between treatments with either sugar or salt scrubs to exfoliate. Note that harsh chemicals could potentially harm skin tissue and cause irritation.
Before attending a laser appointment, it is also advisable to avoid applying lotion as this could hinder its ability to target hair follicles effectively and make your skin too slippery, leading to razor bumps or ingrown hairs. As an alternative, body oil or moisturizer with high SPF might be more appropriate.
Along with not using lotion between laser appointments, it is also crucial that you shave properly between appointments. Shaving is an excellent way of eliminating any remaining hairs from the surface of your skin while at the same time encouraging natural hair growth by shaving in the direction of it rather than against it; this ensures your hairs reach an appropriate length prior to meeting with a dermatologist for an appointment.
Prior to your laser appointment, it’s wise to avoid waxing and tweezing as these methods pull hairs from their roots, interfering with its ability to destroy follicles with laser light. Instead, shave the area before, or on the morning of, your appointment so that all hairs are at an appropriate length.
People may require more frequent shaving after laser treatments than others; this varies according to individual. When making decisions regarding when and how often to shave between sessions, it is also essential to understand the hair growth cycle; each hair in its different phase either anagen (growing), catagen (middle phase), or telogen (falling out). By adhering to these tips you will ensure maximum effectiveness from your laser therapy treatment.
Massage
As soon as you’ve attended several laser hair removal sessions, you should begin to notice that your body no longer produces as much hair – it might even stop growing altogether! However, it’s important to note that laser hair removal isn’t permanent and you might require follow-up sessions in the future.
Between laser treatments, it’s essential that you shave or use hair removal cream; waxing should be avoided at all costs as this pulls out hair from its roots under your skin, undermining their effectiveness of laser therapy sessions. Lasers work best when light beams can target hair follicles directly; waxing would obstruct this pathway.
Note that lotions or creams should not be applied directly on the treatment area as this could aggravate irritation further and prevent proper healing after your laser session. Likewise, you should wait several days before shaving the treated area once more; to help maximize effectiveness of laser light beams reaching hair follicles more efficiently.
Before embarking on laser treatment, it may also be wise to exfoliate in order to achieve a smoother shave and remove any damaged hair that was not completely destroyed during your laser session. While exfoliation is not a must-do step, doing it could reduce risk of razor bumps or irritation on the skin’s surface and allow a more effective post-session shave experience.
Once your series of laser hair removal treatments has ended, you should observe that any new growth is shorter and less noticeable than previously. This is because there will be fewer anagen or catagen phase hairs to deal with; when they do reappear they were damaged by laser during your sessions.
People often assume that one laser hair removal session will provide permanent results; however, multiple sessions are typically necessary to influence your hair growth cycle and make it harder for new hairs to grow in. Most men and women require six-8 sessions (with occasional touch up sessions in between) in order to experience permanent results from laser hair removal.
