Laser hair removal is carried out with instruments that use laser light to remove unwanted hair. It works by passing the laser beam over the skin. The lasers used in laser hair removal targets melanin, which is the pigment in hair and skin. When the laser beam hits the follicle, intense heat is generated, and the hair follicle is destroyed. The procedure usually slows regrowth of hair, but it usually takes many treatments to provide a more prolonged period without regrowth.
Laser hair removal works best on people with very light skin and dark hair. This allows the laser to zero in on the hair rather than the skin, because it’s the hair that is targeted with the laser light. Anyone with pigment in their hair (which includes almost everyone) is a candidate for laser hair removal. People with white or blonde hair, or people with excess hair between and around the eyes (such as eyebrows that meet in the middle) do better with electrolysis or waxing than with laser hair removers.
It is important for anyone interested in laser hair removal to have realistic expectations. Multiple treatments are required, and maintenance treatments will be necessary.
Practitioners generally begin with three to six treatments spaced four weeks apart, followed up with a maintenance treatment. The interval between maintenance treatments should get longer the more treatments have been done.
Laser hair removers use one of three types of lasers: Alexandrite, Diode, and Nd:YAG. These lasers emit light of different wavelengths, with Alexandrite emitting 755 nanometer (nm) wavelength light, the diode laser emitting 810 nm light, and Nd:YAG emitting 1064 nm light.
People with darker skin should find practitioners who use all the types of laser hair removers to get the best results. The Nd:YAG laser is better able to “see” hair without seeing the skin so much, making it a good choice for people with dark skin.
Laser hair removers can be used on just about any unwanted body hair: underarms, legs, upper lip, chin, bikini line, back, chest, and abdomen. While they can be used as facial hair removers, it is not recommended for eyebrows, however.
Laser hair removal doesn’t claim to be permanent, but it does offer an extended hair-free period of several months to several years. The more treatments, the more likely prolonged hair removal will be achieved.
Though laser hair removal isn’t a complex process, you’ll reduce your risk of complications by relying on a doctor who is board certified in dermatology. The person who actually wields the laser hair remover may be a licensed nurse or physician’s assistant, but there should be a doctor on-site to supervise during the treatments. It can be risky to have laser hair removal at a spa or salon where the procedure is performed by nonmedical personnel.
Painful complications like bleeding are extremely rare, but there are other possible unwanted side effects from the procedure. Hair removal may be incomplete because some hair is simply resistant to some laser wavelengths or may grow back after treatment. Sometimes there is temporary hyperpigmentation, or darkening, of the skin afterward. It is almost always temporary, but has in very rare instances been long lasting.
The opposite problem, hypopigmentation or lightening of pigment occurs sometimes in people with darker skin. Scarring and blistering are fortunately rare, as are changes in skin texture, crusting, and scabbing. New hair that grows in treated areas may be lighter in color and finer in texture than the original hair. This, too can be treated with a laser hair remover.
If you choose to have laser hair removal, you will first consult with your doctor to discuss the likelihood of success based on your particular hair and skin combination. At this consultation, you’ll be asked about your medical history and any prescription or nonprescription drugs you are taking. The treatment areas may be photographed for comparison purposes. You will also discuss the benefits of the treatment and the risks and what your expectations are. Your doctor will explain what laser hair removal can and cannot do.
Before undergoing laser hair removal, you must wait until any suntan you have fades completely, and you should abstain from sunless tanning products as well. Having laser hair removal with a tan from a tanning bed or the sun can increase the risk of blistering and discoloration. Avoiding excess sun exposure for four to six weeks before treatment is recommended.
Laser hair removers work best on hair that is visible, but short – in other words, hair that has grown back a little after having been shaved closely. You should not use waxing, plucking, or electrolysis or any type of facial hair remover for 21 days or so before treatment. During the procedure itself, a doctor or trained physician’s assistant or nurse will press a hand-held laser hair remover to your skin. Some instruments require the use of a cooling device attached to the tip, or the use of gel to protect the skin.
When the practitioner activates the laser, the light shines through the skin’s surface to the hair follicles where the hair growth begins. Intense heat from the laser damages the follicle, inhibiting hair growth. While you are undergoing the procedure, you’ll wear goggles to eliminate the risk of accidentally exposing your eyes to the laser light.
Many people report a stinging sensation when the laser is activated. Some treatment centers will used a topical local anesthetic prior to the procedure to minimize discomfort. There will be a slight charring of razor stubble, and will probably notice the smell of singed hair. This is normal. Of course, how long the procedure lasts depends on w hat part of the body is being treated. The upper lip or chin may only take a few minutes to treat, while the back or abdomen may take several hours.
After the laser hair removal process, you won’t need bandages or pain medication. You might have redness or swelling for a few hours, and some stinging for the first day or two after the procedure. Some people have reported some minor skin crusting. This can be addressed with the simple application of petroleum jelly like Vaseline. You will be asked to take some precautions for the first day after laser hair removal. You should avoid exercise and exertion because perspiration can irritate areas that were treated with the laser hair remover. For several weeks, you should avoid prolonged sun exposure.
After this, you should apply sunscreen every day and avoid tanning booths. You shouldn’t wax or pluck hairs for three weeks, and you should not aggravate the skin in the areas that were treated. While yo u can carefully wash treated areas with plain soap and water, you should not scrub the treated area.
The price for laser hair removal procedures varies depending on geography and how much hair you want removed. There are three basic ways that prices are commonly calculated: as a flat fee per treatment, based on the amount of time a procedure takes, or as a fee per pulse, which charges you with each pulse of the laser hair remover. Clinics with flat fee structures will charge, say, $500 to treat back hair on a man regardless of the hair coverage, or it may charge a flat fee based on how much hair needs to be removed to meet the client’s needs and wants.
Clinics that charge by time sometimes charge by 15 minute segments. Assuming a charge of $100 for 15 minutes of treatment with a laser hair remover, and if treating a man’s abdomen takes an hour, it would cost $400. Fee-per-pulse pricing charges each time the laser hair remover fires. One pulse lasts about a second and removes hair from a patch ranging from dime-sized to quarter-sized.
Clinics that use fee-per-pulse pricing will probably charge a baseline for a particular area, with further pulses added to the cost. Regardless of what pricing structure a given clinic uses for laser hair removal, being treated by a laser hair remover will cost you at least several hundred dollars, and run to the thousands for extensive hair removal, or for areas that need to be re-treated.