The thing about feminism is that it’s about having a choice, and many women prefer to make the choice to shave for their own personal reasons. That’s great: but the downside of shaving is the possibility for razor burn, knicks, skin irritation, and ingrown hairs. At Zormeier Cosmetic Surgery & Longevity Center in Noblesville, IN, we know that laser hair removal is a good treatment option for women who want to take control of their beauty routine.
How Many Hair Removal Sessions Do You Need?
Successful laser treatment for removing hair typically requires several appointments to achieve optimal results. For most patients, an average of six to eight treatments is usually enough to significantly reduce or even permanently stall hair growth. This number of treatments ensures that every treatment area is exposed to an adequate amount of light energy to stop hair growth.
Why Do Some People Need More Treatments?
Naturally, everyone is different so everyone may have a different minimum number of treatments required to achieve the desired results. Some people require more than eight treatment appointments because they have thicker or more dense hair or because they are treating multiple areas of the body at one time. Likewise, those who have sparse hair growth in the first place may not require six treatments to achieve results, particularly if the hair is thin.
What Happens If You Miss a Treatment?
In short, nothing happens if you miss an appointment – and that’s a problem. When you miss an appointment, you also set back the progress you have made up to that point. For many people, missing an appointment means you will have to start back from square one to achieve your desired results, so you must keep all of your appointments.
Your treatment appointments are generally spaced about one month apart to accommodate your natural hair growth cycle and to give your skin enough time to recover between treatments. However, those who have fair or sensitive skin may need to wait six weeks between treatment appointments. We will let you know the best frequency for your treatments so you can achieve your hair-free results.
Will These Treatments Produce Permanent Results?
Repeated treatments may permanently stunt hair growth, or at least prevent hair growth for a few years. However, it’s important to note that this treatment only causes moderate damage to the hair follicles, which prevents hair growth for some time but does not stop hair from growing forever. What this means for you is that, after your first round of treatments, you will need to attend regular maintenance appointments to maintain your results.
Why Maintenance Appointments Matter
Your maintenance appointments usually happen once or twice a year depending on your hair growth needs. Your maintenance appointments are important because they control the activity of the hair follicle, which means that these appointments will extend the moderate damage of the follicle to prevent hair growth.
If you skin your maintenance appointments, then you will lose your results because your hair will start growing again as it normally would after your hair follicles heal.
How Does This Treatment Work?
This treatment is very simple. Many people assume that laser treatments for removing hair mean using a laser to shave the hair off the body, but the treatment is actually more clever than that. For these treatments, light is used to expose the follicle to thermal energy which then damages the base of the follicle enough to stunt hair growth. The shaft of your hair absorbs light energy and converts it into thermal energy to produce results.
Will This Treatment Hurt?
No, this treatment is not painful or significantly uncomfortable. In fact, most patients compare this treatment to a snapping rubber band or even a moderately warm sensation on the skin. This treatment is much more tolerable than waxing and far less uncomfortable than ingrown hairs or razor burn that may be bothersome for days. At the patient’s request, we can apply a topical numbing cream to make the treatment more comfortable.
How Should You Prepare for This Treatment?
There are only a few things you should do to prepare for this treatment. Because this treatment uses light energy and your skin will be exposed to light wavelengths, it’s important that you avoid directed unprotected sunlight, as well as tanning beds and self-tanning products, for at least two weeks before your treatment appointment.
It’s also important that you shave the intended treatment area at least one to three days before your appointment. It’s ideal if any hair regrowth is in the early stages of stubble rather than being perfectly smooth, as this will help the laser technology better detect the darker pigment of your hair as compared to your skin. We may provide you with additional preparation instructions before your appointment.
What Should You Do After Treatment?
After your appointment, you must continue to avoid any unprotected sun exposure, tanning beds, and self-tanning products. This is because the exposure to light wavelengths will make it easier for your skin to create more melanin, which can darken your skin tone. It’s also important that you avoid exposure to heat, including hot water, saunas, hot tubs, hot showers, and excessive sweating, as all of these may cause skin irritation.
Where Can You Use This Treatment?
This treatment can be used on virtually every area of the body where there is unwanted hair growth. In fact, because of the versatility of this treatment, laser removal is an ideal alternative to shaving for both men and women. The most common areas of treatment include:
- Upper lip
- Chest
- Underarms
- Stomach
- Back
- Bikini area
- Thighs
- Calves
Many people opt to use this treatment on multiple areas of the body at one time. For example, many women use this treatment to manage hair growth on the legs and the bikini area; some also add the underarm area or any hair growth on the stomach to achieve a more comprehensive result.
When Should You Use This Treatment?
Believe it or not, there are times of the year when it is best to have this treatment. Because this treatment uses light energy that may cause pigmentation when exposed to direct sunlight, it’s usually best to schedule your initial series of treatments during the fall and winter months to minimize the risk of sun exposure.
What Type of Hair Is Appropriate for This Treatment?
While this treatment can generally be used for any skin tone and skin type, there are certain types of hair that are not good matches for this treatment. Ideally, the pigment of your hair should be dark brown or black so that the laser system can pick up the concentrated melanin in the hair follicle. Those who have blond, grey, light brown, or red hair may not be able to use this treatment due to the lack of melanin in their skin.
What Are the Benefits of Laser Hair Removal?
There are quite a few benefits of this laser treatment. For example, this treatment is incredibly versatile and can be used by most people, which makes it a universal choice for the majority of people who are interested in permanent hair removal. Other benefits of this treatment include:
Correct Ingrown Hairs
If you struggle with ingrown hairs or you have chronic ingrown hair, then you should know that this treatment can help correct ingrown hairs. An ingrown hair happens when hair grows from the follicle and out of the pore at an incorrect angle.
Because this treatment damages the follicle, it also helps correct the direction of the hair growth to eliminate ingrown hairs in the future. And as for the immediate future, you will not have to worry about ingrown hairs during your initial series of treatments.
Tighten and Resurface Skin
All laser treatments can benefit the tone and appearance of the skin – including laser treatments for removing hair. When exposed to laser energy from this treatment, you will be able to tighten and resurface the appearance of your skin.
This means you can correct skin laxity, thin and dull skin, dark spots, blemishes, and other superficial skin concerns with this treatment, as well as reducing hair growth. Patients with mild to moderate superficial skin concerns usually have the best advantage for this benefit.
Save Hygiene Time
Shaving the old fashioned way takes a lot of time. Many women can spend 10 to 20 minutes in the shower to shave body hair, and this may need to be repeated up to three times a week to maintain results.
Right off the bat, when you reduce your overall amount of hair growth, you also reduce the amount of time you need to dedicate to your hygiene routine. In the long run, this treatment may also help you shave money spent on shaving cream, razors, and body lotions to soothe irritated skin.
Dress With Confidence
Imagine being able to put on any clothes in your closet without stopping to consider whether or not your legs are shaved. Being able to dress as you please without shaving or having to think about the appearance of your body hair is a huge benefit. This is particularly true for underarm hair and hair in the bikini area, which tends to grow dark and can make dressing for summer clothing a bit more complicated.
Who Are Good Candidates for Hair Removal?
Good candidates for this laser treatment for removing hair include any adult who wants to permanently slow the amount of hair growth on one or more areas of the body. Ideally, candidates should be those who have compatible skin tones, types, and hair pigments that work the best with the laser system. If you aren’t sure you are a good candidate for this treatment, a consultation appointment will help us determine your eligibility.
Say Good-Bye to Shaving With Laser Hair Removal
While there are plenty of feminists out there who want to defy current beauty standards, there are also feminists who want to manage their body hair growth as part of their personal beauty preferences. Laser hair removal treatments are good options for those who want to simplify their beauty routine and avoid the downsides that can come with constant shaving, including ingrown hairs and razor burn.
If you think you may be a good candidate for this treatment, please contact Zormeier Cosmetic Surgery & Longevity Center in Noblesville, IN, Shelbyville, IN, Danville, IL, Healdsburg, CA, and Ukiah, CA to schedule your initial appointment today.