As a rule of thumb, it is best to refrain from tweezing, waxing, picking or threading your hair as this will remove hair follicles targeted by laser therapy. Also try regularly scrubbing and shaving the area so that any remaining hairs will be finer, lighter and easier for shedding when they enter their telogen phase.
Hair grows in cycles.
Understanding how hair grows in cycles is integral to achieving successful laser hair removal treatment results. An anagen phase hair can be seen above the skin, and its dark pigment allows it to best absorb and reflect laser light – this makes it the ideal stage for laser hair removal as it will be destroyed along with its follicle, thus stopping new growth.
Once treatment sessions have concluded, anagen hair will enter its catagen phase. During this brief transitional period, its follicle will shrink and break free from its dermal papilla (the knob-like protrusion at the base of hair follicles charged with developing and nourishing your fibers) before falling out, or shedding. Shedding typically lasts only several days.
The catagen phase of hair growth cycle is a natural part, which may explain why many individuals experience body hair thinning at this timeframe. When in this dormant state, follicles cannot grow new hair because they no longer connect to papilla cells for nourishment.
Laser hair removal during the catagen stage is less effective than during its anagen phase, so it’s essential that treatments continue until all follicles transition into their telogen phase.
The telogen phase marks the final resting stage in hair growth cycles. At this point, dormant follicles cease producing any new hair and naturally shed over time, eventually becoming dormant again until regeneration happens again. If you have reached the telogen stage, it may be beneficial to undergo another laser session to ensure all follicles have entered into anagen phase. Follicles that remain dormant will not be affected by laser treatments. Your hair cycle determines when unwanted strands enter telogen phase and become hidden under your skin until anagen phase resumes, so it is vitally important that you stick to your treatment schedule and visit the clinic at their scheduled times.
Hair is in a growth phase.
If your body hair is in its anagen phase – which is the growth stage – laser treatment could be an ideal way to target it. Visible and near to the surface, an anagen phase hair follicle makes an ideal target. Doing this prevents the hair from coming back into existence later.
However, once hair reaches its catagen phase it no longer makes an ideal candidate for laser treatment. When this phase kicks in, hormones push it upward into its follicle where it cannot be damaged by laser treatment.
Hair in its resting phase – or telogen phase – isn’t susceptible to laser treatments either, since hair follicles stop producing new follicles altogether at this time and you may notice some hair has shed and fallen out.
Shedding occurs due to normal hair growth cycles and should not be forced upon yourself by laser treatments alone. To speed this up, try rubbing or scrubbing the area where unwanted hairs are falling out; just be mindful not to overdo this process as shedding is part of normal growth patterns and should be seen as part of natural progression.
Your Tria device will produce optimal results if you follow its treatment schedule without missing sessions, ideally 6-8 treatments in total to capture most hairs in their anagen phase.
Shortly after beginning laser treatment, you should begin noticing that hairs targeted with laser treatment are growing slower, finer, and lighter. Over time, they should even begin to fade altogether in some cases, although not for all hair types or people – some users claim they require ongoing top-up treatments once or twice annually (though Tria does not disclose how frequently this should happen). You’ll want to monitor your skin closely and apply laser zap as necessary.
Hair is in a resting phase.
At resting (catagen) and telogen stages, hair becomes completely invisibile on your skin surface. After receiving treatment with Tria laser therapy, anagen-phase hair follicles become disabled; once this has happened, they cannot produce new hair growth. Over time as you repeat treatment regimens more and more hair follicles will enter their sleeping phase, eventually all remaining hair will fall out and you will have hair-free skin!
Before using the Tria Laser, ensure you shave before each session and adhere to your treatment schedule in order to disable all hairs within your treatment area. After treatment, your skin may feel as if it has been sunburnt or stung; if this persists apply a cooling gel or aloe vera as soon as possible and apply coolant if necessary if it remains. You may experience some itching; this should subside over time; please avoid plucking or waxing which could reenter anagen Phase and start growing again!
The Tria laser employs light energy to disable hair follicle pigment, thus inhibiting hair regrowth. It differs from IPL devices that use diffused light to heat skin cells that make hair grow by creating heat energy; unlike these systems, however, Tria doesn’t affect surrounding tissue or skin color as much.
Many Tria users report an almost painless or mild sensation when using their device, but others report discomfort from its highest intensity level – sometimes so much that ice or lidocaine is needed to numb their skin; other times users return their device due to discomfort and switch back down to lower intensity settings that are less painful.
Tria’s website makes an unsubstantiated claim of permanent hair reduction; they don’t provide any sources or studies to back this claim up, even professional laser clinics don’t make such promises, and any such assertion in the US violates FDA guidelines.
Hair is in a telogen phase.
At any one time, 10-15% of hairs will enter a phase known as the telogen (resting phase), where their growth stops but they rest without growing again. Around 10- 15% of eyelash and scalp hair will stay in this state from weeks up to years depending on length – from eyelashes being visible in this state when combed or brushed to being completely gone out due to next cycle’s pushing out process – before eventually leaving its follicle and being replaced by new growth cycle cycles that eventually push these out when their next growth cycle kicks back in and starts growing again!
Telogen effluvium (TE) refers to any event or factor which disrupts the normal hair cycle and causes an excess of hairs to enter telogen stage, including car accidents or surgery; certain antidepressant drugs; chronic stress can also have an adverse effect on hair follicle biochemistry over time, potentially leading to an TE outbreak.
Hair in its anagen stage can be effectively targeted with laser treatment; however, most hairs in their telogen or resting phase when treated by laser devices such as Tria 4X may not respond as effectively and thus won’t be destroyed by this means.
People often are relieved to discover that not all the hair in a treatment area will fall out after receiving laser therapy, due to laser treatments only targeting anagen stage hairs – this process takes three zaps before anagen hairs enter this phase and therefore regrow into their original positions without regreeseing and continuing shedding as would have happened without laser treatments. Some users report their hair no longer grows back completely after regular, bi-weekly laser sessions; for others though hair will continue to sprout back where before laser was used – others still experience regular sessions but theirs won’t stop growing back into similar spots where before it started!
