How Does Laser Hair Removal Work?
Posted on Fri, Sep 02, 2011
Traditional hair removal methods like plucking, waxing, shaving, sugaring, and electrolysis can all be very irritating to your skin. Electrolysis has to be performed one hair at a time, so if you have a significant amount of hair to be removed, it can take hours for one treatment alone. As if that weren’t annoying enough, these treatments have to be done weekly for as long as two years.
Laser hair removal, on the other hand, works on many hairs at the same time. At Cosmetic Centers of Hawaii, we use state-of-the-art lasers called Cutera CoolGlide™ and Lumenis Lightsheer Duet that can remove most of your unwanted hair in just four to six sessions.
What do the lasers actually do?
The lasers emit intense, concentrated light, which is passed through the skin to destroy the hair follicles. Because the treatment is performed with a hand piece that is cooled on the outside, the top layers of skin are not irritated or damaged while the hair follicle is affected. Lasers can also stop ingrown hairs in their tracks before you even see them.
Lasers are the best way to remove hair from large areas, and they are even effective for most people with dark skin without causing pigmentation issues.
Does laser hair removal hurt?
The sensation is not painful. Instead, most people report that it feels like a rubber band being snapped against the skin. Some patients describe it as more of a tingling feeling. For this reason, areas that are particularly sensitive, such as the bikini line, can be treated with virtually no irritation. This is excellent news for those who find that shaving and waxing is very aggravating to the skin in this area.
Although laser hair removal is not completely painless, it is very tolerable. We use topical numbing cream to make sure you are comfortable. If you’re especially sensitive, you can take an over-the-counter pain killer like ibuprofen or Tylenol before your procedure just to feel even more comfortable.
Laser treatments are non-invasive and involve no cutting, but your skin may redden slightly and become a little bit inflamed. For most people, this resolves within an hour after the treatment, so you can go about your life right after with no interruption whatsoever.
Is the hair immediately and permanently gone?
No, the hair falls out over a period of about three weeks after your treatment. Bear in mind that there is no such thing as 100% permanent hair removal. So, while laser hair removal is the most effective, easiest, quickest, and least painful method for removing unwanted hair, it is still not capable of removing 100% of the hair. Most people have a 70-90% reduction after a series of 4-6 treatments. If additional reduction is desired, we offer touch-up treatments for a minimal charge.
The good news is that if any of the removed hair grows back, it is finer and also lighter in color. This means that it isn’t as noticeable as before. So, even though you don’t lose all of the hair, the improvement is significant.
The bottom line is that laser hair removal is “long-term hair reduction” that doesn’t require as many repeated treatments as other available methods and is much kinder to your skin.
