Using a laser diode to eliminate unwanted body hair is a fairly recent technological advancement in the beauty industry. Before that the reality was that electrolysis was the only permanent hair removal method. Not only was electrolysis even more painful, but it was the furthest thing from a simple procedure and women who tolerated it did so rather grudgingly. Indeed, the first of laser hair removal facts is that it’s actually the least painful and simplest of all the methods.
When laser hair removal arrived on the scene, it quickly became a much more appealing option for both women AND men who wanted a more effective hair removal treatment that was also much less intensive and didn’t involve the same discomfort levels. A good near 20 years has passed since laser technology became commonplace in the esthetics business, but there’s still a good many misconceptions out there about laser hair removal.
It’s for that reason that we’re going to make this blog entry about 3 primary laser hair removal facts, and hopefully it will be helpful for women who would like to receive a treatment but are hesitant to go ahead with it for whatever reason. So without any more of a lead in, here are these laser hair removal facts:
Laser Hair Removal is NOT Unbearably Painful
This is likely the most important of all laser hair removal facts, and because many women will shy away from a treatment because they believe the pain is going to be too much for them to handle. The truth, however, is that laser hair removal is not especially painful.
It is true that there is some pain or discomfort each time the laser pulses as it finds a hair follicle under the skin. The first thing to understand is that the sensation is very temporary – it lasts only for a split second and there is no lingering pain afterwards – and the number of times you’ll have to tolerate it depends on the size of the area of your body being treated.
As for the pain sensation itself, most people feel that it is comparable to being quickly pricked with a pin, or having a rubber band snapped off your skin. And it is true that for the majority of people, this type of pain is very tolerable. Plus, when they consider the benefits of permanent hair removal they’re willing to put up with it.
We can conclude this part by saying that if you’re still concerned about pain then you can use a lidocaine / prilocaine-based skin desensitizer product like Emla or something similar right before receiving your laser hair removal treatment.
Permanent and Complete Hair Removal Requires Multiple Laser Treatments
Next up in our list of laser hair removal facts is one that’s equally important for patients to understand. Anyone who expects to be permanently and completely hair free after their FIRST treatment is going to be disappointed. Laser hair removal is only completely effective once the person has had several treatments on the area, and this number may be smaller or greater depending on the person, their skin type, and the characteristics of the hair being removed.
As a general rule, the person should expect to have from 3 to 5 treatments before they can expect to not see hair regrowth after a period of time. Keep in mind as well that these follow-up treatments must be given on a certain timeline to ensure that hairs that were not in the telogen stage during the previous treatment are in that stage now.
This is one of the first things we make very clear to clients when they come in and need laser hair removal info.
People with Lighter Skin Tone and Darker Hair are Better Candidates Laser Hair Removal
The final one of our laser hair removal facts here today may be on that is discouraging for people with darker skin, but we want to assure you that this is not always the case. It is true that laser hair removal is more immediately effective for people with light skin and dark hair, because the way the laser diode works is by identifying the colour in the hair as standing out distinctly from the colour of the skin.
A dark hair in light skin is more readily identified by the laser, and ‘zapped’ with more intensity as a result. More of the heat energy from the laser is transferred into the hair follicle and root, and the root is disabled that much more effectively.
However, recent advances with laser hair removal technology has made it so that newer laser hair removal units are more able to provide effectiveness levels that are closer to what lighter-skinned people enjoy. Here at Maya Laser, we use the Candela Gentle Max Pro unit and it is one such unit that is much more capable with providing effective laser hair removal for all skin types and shades for both men and women.
These are just a few of the many laser hair removal facts related to what we do here at our clinic. To touch on all of them would make this post go on far too long. What we’ve done here is made you aware of the 3 laser hair removal facts that are most important considering the most common misconceptions about this type of treatment.