With the summer months upon us and hopefully a beach trip or two on the calendar, I thought a little chat about laser hair removal was due. 9 years ago I tried the removal on my upper lip and was so impressed with the results. It has only been in the last year that I noticed it could be touched up. Laser hair removal is a popular procedure among many people who suffer from excess hair growth or those who wish to take hair removal out of their routine. It can make the world of difference to the lives of people from not having to worry about hair removal as often, and having the confidence to wear whatever clothes they want.
Here are all of the things you need to know about laser hair removal before taking the plunge and undergoing treatment.
What is laser hair removal?
Laser hair removal is a non-invasive cosmetic procedure that uses lasers or intense pulsed light to remove unwanted hair from various areas of the body. The heat from the light destroys hair follicles in the skin, disrupting the hair growth, even eliminating it altogether. It is commonly used to treat hair growth on the face, chest, legs, arms, underarms, stomach, and bikini line in women. I was concerned about it hurting but only a minor little zap is all you feel.
How Does Laser Hair Removal Work?
Laser hair removal targets the melanin pigment that is stored deep within the hair follicle. Using lasers and lights, this area heats up, damaging the follicle. As a result of this, the follicle is destroyed, therefore minimizing the hair growth or stopping it in its tracks for a longer amount of time. Several treatments may be needed in order to achieve the best results.
Is Laser Hair Removal Treatment Suitable for Everyone?
Yes, laser hair removal is for everyone– and is particularly beneficial for people with pale skin and dark hair. Discuss with a qualified technician about the suitability for your skin type.
Which Areas Does Laser Hair Removal Treatment Work Best?
The most effective areas for laser hair removal are the lower legs, underarms, and the bikini line.
Though a problem area for many women, facial hair can be a more challenging area to remove hair from because the hair is often finer, with the growth more driven by hormones, which is overall more difficult to remove.
How Often Should laser treatment be done?
Your dermatologist will recommend to you the best course of action for your treatment. On average, though, treatments take place at one-month intervals.
For more aggressive hair growth, they may recommend more regular treatment, such as every 2-3 weeks to begin with. Following a visible decrease in hair growth, you may wish to decrease treatment to ever 4-6 weeks to match these slower hair growth cycles.
Between treatments, other hair removal procedures can be used in addition to the laser.
How many laser sessions are typically needed?
This can be dependant on the area that is being treated. Areas such as the face and arms can have more persistent hair growth and need more sessions to be effective. For areas with darker, coarser hair such as legs, underarms, and bikini line need fewer treatments to match the rate of hair growth.
Upon completion of laser treatments, it may be that some of the hair will never grow back- but some areas may require treatment intermittently- every year or so. Mine is much less noticeable even 9 years later with only a stray hair or two that I maintain each month. I highly recommend this procedure!
