If you have undergone laser hair removal and noticed regrowth after treatment, this may cause despair; but take heart – this is quite normal.
Success with laser treatment lies in not plucking or waxing before starting laser sessions, as this disrupts the anagen stage of hair growth that lasers target for results. Therefore, shaving the area beforehand will maximize their efficacy.
Hair Growth in Telogen Phase
Laser hair removal works by heating up the hair follicle to disable it and stop new growth from appearing. Over time, some hair will regrow, though much lighter and finer than before your laser treatment began – hence multiple sessions may be necessary for full stoppage of new growth and giving you smooth, hair-free skin!
Your hair and skin color will impact how effectively laser treatments work for you, but they won’t change the results once completed. While you may require additional sessions than someone with similar hair and skin colors, each area of your body has a distinct growth cycle; for instance, your upper lip could take only 4 weeks while 8-10 weeks may pass before your legs need attention.
Laser treatments only affect hair follicles that are in the anagen phase, leaving any in catagen or telogen phases undisturbed by laser treatment. Although you may notice some hairs falling out immediately following your laser session, pulling these hairs out could result in skin irritation or ingrown hairs if attempted.
Certain women suffer from hormonal conditions that lead to facial or body hair growth, known as hirsutism. These include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), menopause, postmenopausal hormone fluctuations and family histories that include excessive hair growth.
Your lifestyle and hair care habits also play a factor. For instance, shaving or waxing more frequently could require additional laser sessions in order to achieve results; tanning or sunbathing should also be avoided within weeks of receiving treatments.
Sometimes hair regrowth after treatment occurs in an adjacent area to where it was removed. This condition, called paradoxical hypertrichosis, affects any part of the face or body, often occurring among those with dark hair and light skin tones; but anyone could be affected.
Hair Growth in Epidermal Phase
Laser treatments destroy hair follicles by sending heat down their shaft, disabling their function and stopping growth. Unfortunately, however, this method only works when active hair follicles are in their anagen phase; therefore results of laser hair removal vary and you may require multiple sessions before permanent hair reduction is achieved.
Keep in mind that hair growth and loss occur on an intermittent cycle, meaning unwanted hair could emerge gradually over days or weeks. While it might look like continued hair growth, your body’s natural process of burning off dead follicles might actually be doing just the opposite – hence why multiple laser hair removal sessions are recommended; each can target new anagen hair follicles.
Also, after laser hair removal it is important to refrain from tweezing, waxing, picking plucking or threading the area as these actions may interfere with laser targeting and cause skin irritation. Instead, scrub or shave gently so as to hasten shedding process while using loofah or gentle washcloth can remove dead hairs more efficiently.
Maintain your desired results through regular laser maintenance treatments; the exact number will depend on you and will be discussed during your initial consultation.
After six to eight laser hair removal sessions, your hair growth should slow significantly. Touch-up sessions might be necessary twice annually in order to maintain hair reduction; these regular treatments help prevent regrowth while treating stubborn follicles as necessary. Over time, your unwanted hair should become finer and lighter; any time it starts coming back it likely won’t be as noticeable due to being sensitive to laser treatment than someone with darker hair and lighter skin tones.
Hair Growth in Growth Phase
Laser hair removal uses light energy to permanently eradicate unwanted body hair by dissolving melanin in each individual hair follicle. This process usually requires six to eight treatments performed over several months and should result in significantly reduced regrowth than what existed prior to treatment.
Regrowth after laser hair removal is typically due to remaining anagen phase hairs still growing out. A laser session only kills hair follicles at this phase, meaning some will still sprout once the other follicles have moved on to telogen stage growth.
After laser treatment, most individuals will see hair that regrows to be much finer and lighter in color than before, with less dense coverage overall. Hairs that do appear again will typically have thinner shafts.
To maximize the benefits of laser hair removal, it is important to maintain good skin hygiene and follow the recommendations provided by your laser technician. In particular, avoid shaving, waxing or plucking in the weeks leading up to and following laser treatment; sunbathing or tanning could affect its results negatively.
Your doctor will apply a hand-held device with laser technology directly onto the area to be treated, activating it and attaching a cooling system or gel at its tip to reduce discomfort.
Your laser device will then launch a beam of light at the area you have designated for treatment, creating a warm pinprick or feeling similar to tiny rubber bands flicking against your skin. As soon as this occurs, a slight discomfort should follow such as warm pinpricking or small rubber bands flicking against it.
LH Spa & Rejuvenation takes your safety very seriously, which is why they will provide a topical numbing cream for use 24 hours prior to any appointment so that the area being treated will be thoroughly numb by session time.
Hair Growth in Resting Phase
Laser treatments only affect active (anagen) phase follicles. As such, some hair may still grow after your treatment session but will not regrow as quickly or thickly; so it is wise to schedule multiple laser hair removal sessions over several months in order to treat all unwanted hair before it has a chance to regrow again.
Hair color or skin tone could impede the effectiveness of laser treatments; light hair grows back more slowly than dark, while lighter or grayish-blonde locks don’t respond as readily to laser hair removal treatments. But these should not deter people from trying this safe and effective treatment option for themselves; laser hair removal remains safe and effective for many people.
Waxing or shaving between laser hair removal sessions can block hair follicles from entering anagen phase and render them inaccessible to being targeted by laser treatment, potentially leading to thick or fine new growth that cannot be treated using this method. When shaving between sessions, use only high-quality razors that remove only the tip of each individual hair (or as close as possible) so as to minimize damage to these follicles and their ability to produce new hairs that won’t be targeted by laser.
Hormonal conditions can thwart laser hair removal results, too. Men and women have different levels of testosterone; men’s is controlled by estrogen so they tend to not have as much facial and body hair than women do. If you experience an excess of facial or body hair due to hormone imbalance, medical evaluation might help.
Laser hair removal sessions typically provide optimal results, usually within four or six sessions. The treatment destroys germ cells in hair follicles to inhibit future hair growth; should regrowth occur after treatment, it should be much lighter in texture and color than before.