Laser Hair Removal, once a luxury for only the rich and famous, has now become a natural part of everyone’s routine self-care and hygienic maintenance. This being the case, there are so many businesses now offering this service—it can be overwhelming to choose the place that is right for you!
Here’s an important tip: The FDA only requires a laser manufacturer to prove their machine keeps hair away for 90 days to market themselves as laser hair removal. That’s where the term “hair reduction” was born. These lasers are inexpensive and have a low energy yield. This low energy will damage the hair follicle and cause it to temporarily stop growing hair. (Much like waxing.) Eventually, the body repairs that follicle and it begins growing hair again.
Laser hair removal is a great way to rid yourself of stubborn hair the conditions like razor burn that they cause.
We hear this experience every single day. Patients who’ve either been lasered themselves in the past, and had it grow back, or have a friend who had that experience and told them it’s only temporary. This is so frustrating because it doesn’t have to be temporary.
We use the most expensive, highest-energy laser on the market, the LightSheer® diode laser from Lumenis®. This laser has been considered the Gold Standard for laser hair removal for over two decades. The energy from this laser is so intense that it literally bursts your hair follicle. That follicle no longer exists in your body, and therefore can never grow a hair again.
This doesn’t mean that you’ll never have another hair ever grow again. Lasers, of any kind, can only affect follicles that are actively growing. Follicles can be dormant for a month or a few years. Some follicles may only activate when you have a hormonal change in your body like pregnancy, puberty, menopause, etc..
However, you can rest assured that with the LightSheer® diode laser, active follicles at the time of treatment will be permanently destroyed.
Reasons People Benefit from Lasering
Besides the obvious reasons of saved time and effort (and who doesn’t need more of both of those), there are some more subtle but equally as important reasons for getting laser hair removal.
Razor burn, in-grown hairs, folliculitis, and epidermal scarring. All of these are side effects of shaving. Most commonly found in the bikini area, neck and face, but can occur on any body part. Shaving or waxing can aggravate the follicles, creating puss, scabs and/or rashes, and encourages in-grown hairs that last for weeks and often leave a mark on the skin. So yeah, your bikini line temporarily doesn’t have hair, but it looks ravaged down there.
When you complete a series of Laser Hair Removal, not only do you eliminate the above side effects, but your pores actually tighten up and it looks like you never grew hair there. “Smooth as a baby’s butt” is trite, but also true.
Am I a Good Candidate?
Laser hair removal with the LightSheer® Diode can be done on any skin type, and anywhere on the body. The minimum number of treatments needed is three—because we know, biologically, everyone has three distinct hair growth patterns. The average is between three to six treatments, and only a small population has to go beyond six treatments.
The Following Things Affect the Number of Treatments You Will Need
Skin type: While the LightSheer® can treat all skin types, the lighter your skin color, the fewer treatments you will need. If your skin has natural color to it, it is hard for the laser to distinguish between the color we want to keep (your skin) and the color we want to destroy (your hair follicle). Because of this, we need to be more conservative in the treatment we give to eliminate the risk of burning.
Hair type: Hair must have some color to it. Light brown to black hairs work best. The laser does not recognize very blonde or grey hairs and has a hard time with some reds.
Area being lasered: Fine hairs, like those on a woman’s face, will take longer to treat than coarse hairs, like those on the underarm.
Personality: If you don’t want there to be a sighting of even one hair left in an area, you’ll most likely need more than six treatments. If you are ok with there being a scattering of a few hairs that grow at intervals but are soft and fine—six will be plenty.
Three Rules for Laser Hair Removal Treatment?
Number 1 rule for treatment: NO waxing or plucking during treatments! If you remove the hair from the hair follicle, the laser will not recognize that follicle and it won’t be destroyed.
Number 2 rule for treatment: Shave before coming in. Many people think it is like waxing and you need to grow the hair out. It’s actually the opposite; be freshly shaved for the treatment. Even a couple of days of growth can risk your skin being burned.
Number 3 rule for treatment: No antibiotics or light-sensitive drugs within the past seven days.
Treatment with the LightSheer® diode laser is safe and quick. Treatment times range from five to 30 minutes depending on the size of the area being lasered.
During your treatment, the laser device is held to the target area, and the laser energy heats pigments in the hair follicles until they are destroyed. This prevents the follicles from being able to produce new hair.
Laser hair removal can only destroy hairs in the growth phase, so it will take several treatments performed at four- to six-week intervals to permanently destroy all the hair in the target area.
Once the series of treatments is complete, hair growth will be eradicated.
Have More Questions?
To learn more about our laser resurfacing treatments or to determine if you are a good candidate, you can contact our office at (702) 254-7546 or fill out our contact form online to schedule your consultation with us today!