Laser hair removal is a safe and effective solution for unwanted hair removal, helping reduce or even eliminate the need for shaving, waxing or plucking altogether.
Hair growth and shedding follows a natural cycle, with some hair follicles active or growing phase and others dormant phase. To see optimal results, most patients require multiple sessions over several months for best results.
1. Hormonal Imbalance
Laser hair removal is an increasingly popular cosmetic treatment used to eliminate unwanted body and facial hair. During the procedure, intense heat from a laser is used to destroy hair follicles and stunt growth; additionally it prevents future hair regrowth in treated areas and thus drastically decreases how often you must shave, wax or pluck. While laser treatments have proven highly successful at managing unwanted hair growth cycles, many still experience hair regrowth after treatments due to natural cycles for hair growth and fall-out.
The hair growth cycle involves three distinct phases known as Anagen, Catagen and Telogen. Anagen is when your hair grows out while Catagen is when hair follicles develop; and Telogen occurs when hair stops growing out but instead hides beneath the surface of the skin; unfortunately laser treatments cannot target these follicles at this time; eventually they’ll grow back out again.
Your hormone levels and certain prescription medications can lead to an imbalance that leads to excess hair growth, known as paradoxical hypertrichosis. This condition typically manifests itself among women with dark complexions who possess thick and dense locks or those suffering from conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Laser hair removal treatments target only hair follicles in their anagen phase, thus stopping them from producing hair while not completely eliminating it. Damaged follicles will then stop growing hair but may still produce new growth; usually lighter and finer in texture than any previous hair removed by laser treatment.
To avoid this problem, it is recommended that you wait three days after shaving, waxing or plucking before any scheduled laser session before doing any manual methods like threading to remove hair between sessions – this won’t affect the laser-targeted hair follicles as much but will prevent new follicles from emerging.
2. Excessive Activity
Laser hair removal promises permanent results compared to shaving, depilatory creams or waxing alone, but it’s important to keep in mind that laser treatment only affects hair follicles in their anagen cycle, meaning some will continue growing despite multiple sessions. Some hairs might even appear darker or thinner after treatment due to being in their resting cycle known as the telogen phase or resting cycle.
Laser treatment does not impact this part of the hair growth process, nor should it. Follicles go through cycles of growth, shedding and falling out naturally – the anagen cycle being visible above your skin where laser treatments typically target.
But not all follicles remain in the anagen cycle at all times; some will exit and enter catagen later, creating lighter and finer hair that doesn’t appear thick or dark anymore. Therefore, to achieve desired results it may be necessary to undergo multiple laser treatments to get results that suit you.
Sometimes hair may begin to regrow during the telogen cycle as well. This occurs due to different stages being present at once and making it impossible for a laser treatment to hit every one simultaneously.
But this is only rarely seen, and is likely caused by hormonal imbalance rather than anything else. If this is happening to you, chances are high it’s because you have PCOS which may result in extra hair growth in some women.
Before experiencing permanent results from laser hair removal sessions, typically several months will need to pass before you can expect permanent effects. After treatment it’s also important to adhere to certain maintenance tips; plucking, tweezing or using hair removal creams could hinder their effectiveness; instead use loofahs or washcloths regularly on the treatment area to promote sheding of dead follicles and encourage anagen cycle entry for best results.
3. Medications
Laser hair removal works by using heat from a laser to damage hair follicles, thus stopping their future hair production. While this process may take months or even years to reach all follicles, permanent results cannot be guaranteed due to finer and lighter-colored regrowth requiring multiple laser sessions (6+) before reaching desired goals.
Keep in mind that hair grows in cycles. While unwanted hair might appear to go away after receiving laser therapy, it could just be transitioning to its telogen phase (hidden beneath the skin). That is why it is crucial to stick to your treatment plan and attend regular treatments at recommended intervals; otherwise, hair follicles could revert back into active growth mode, making removal impossible using laser.
Before scheduling any laser treatment sessions, it is important to notify your practitioner if you are taking medications that might affect the results. Certain blood thinners can increase risk for side effects like bleeding and bruising during and post procedure.
Other drugs that might interfere with laser hair removal treatments include sunless skin creams. Since these products could darken your skin tone, it’s wise to stop using them at least four weeks prior to laser hair removal treatment.
Retin-A is an anti-acne and wrinkle treatment drug used to accelerate cell turnover and treat acne and wrinkles. Unfortunately, however, Retin-A may make your skin sensitive to light which could impede its effectiveness during laser hair removal treatments; to maximise efficacy it should be stopped two or four weeks before commencing any laser hair removal sessions.
Some medications, like vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, may increase the risks of laser treatment side effects. They may lead to greater chances of bleeding and bruising during laser hair removal sessions when combined with other methods like shaving or waxing.
4. Genetics
Reasons why hair regrowth after laser treatment include insufficient time for it to take affect are numerous: laser light can damage hair follicles, disabling them temporarily before sending more energy through treatment to kill sleeping hair follicles that would normally produce new hair growth – in effect killing off more sleeping follicles until eventually they no longer produce new growth, thus taking an average of 6-10 treatments to achieve 70%-90% hair reduction.
At some point, these hairs will fall out in what’s known as the telogen phase. Although it might appear that hair has grown back during this phase, this is really just your follicle trying to push through into its next growth cycle and once this push has failed it will shed and not grow back again – an indicator of successful laser treatment! Shedding should be seen as a positive sign as this means all unwanted follicles in that area have been eliminated by your laser treatment and no longer exist to grow back again – sign that all unwanted follicles have been successfully eliminated as it means all unwanted hair follicles killed! Shedding should not be seen as something negative – rather it should be viewed as an indicator that laser treatment has managed to kill off all unwanted follicles before.
Shedding can be a sign of hormonal fluctuation and not related to how many laser sessions you’ve received. Once hormone levels have balanced out, your hair should stop falling out; otherwise, stubble or regrowth could appear on your skin until then.
If you have been following the advice given to you by your laser technician regarding how to prevent hair growth prior to laser sessions, permanent results should become visible within several months after receiving one treatment. Although multiple visits may be needed for complete hair removal, ongoing touchup sessions should occur at least every year afterwards.
Exfoliation scrubs are an excellent way to speed up the hair shedding process post laser hair removal, though too much exfoliation could trap hair in its follicles, leading to faster growth back than would otherwise occur. Your technician can advise you on how best to exfoliate safely.
