Published on 2:29 am, Sun, 19 February 23
Tired of daily shaving, painful waxing, and messy, irritating creams, many women turn to laser hair removal as a more effective and long-lasting solution.
But before getting started, it’s important for patients to properly prepare for treatment.
If you are considering LHR, continue reading for what women should know before getting laser hair removal.
Laser hair removal is a noninvasive treatment that applies pulsating beams of light to areas of unwanted hair growth. The laser’s energy bypasses skin in order to target melanin in the hair follicles below.
As the light-based energy builds, it irreversibly damages the hair follicle and inhibits future growth.
One of the most important things women should know before getting laser hair removal is that treatment is performed as a series of sessions. That’s because the laser is only able to act on follicles that are in the active growth phase.
Accordingly, most patients can expect to undergo six-to-eight LHR sessions, spaced six-to-eight weeks apart.
Laser hair removal is a melanin-focused treatment. As a result, it only works on hair follicles with sufficient pigment and is not suitable for gray, white, blonde, and red hair.
The laser’s affinity for pigment could also affect LHR treatments for patients with skin of color. More specifically, the laser may have difficulty differentiating between the melanin in the skin and the melanin in the hair follicles.
For this reason, it’s essential to seek a highly skilled and experienced provider who understands how lasers affect different skin and hair types.
Although laser hair removal is cleared by the FDA and has an excellent safety profile, it’s not 100 percent risk-free.
Accordingly, patients should be aware of possible laser hair removal side effects, which may include:
Following a series of LHR treatments, patients can achieve substantial reduction in hair growth. However, in order the best preserve these effects, most individuals will need to undergo a touch-up treatment once or twice a year.
If you are considering laser hair removal, please call our office today to schedule a comprehensive consultation with one of our highly skilled and talented providers.