If you’re interested in getting rid of your unwanted hair for good, then you’ve probably considered laser hair removal. This method doesn’t just target the hair you can see. It goes beneath the surface to deal with hair at the “root” level by disabling hair follicles. It’s a long-term solution, and for some people, it can even result in permanent hair loss!
Lasers use light to destroy or damage hair follicles. The light is emitted in a brief pulse and travels down the shaft of your hair till it ends at the follicle. Once there, it generates heat, and it’s this heat that damages the follicles. Follicles can only be effectively damaged when they’re in the actively growing stage, and the hair everywhere on our bodies is continually cycling through growing, shedding, and resting cycles.
At any given laser treatment session, your treatment will target only a percentage of the hair–the hair in the active growing stage. It will take several sessions to get all the hair as each follicle cycles round to the growing phase in its own time.
The laser energy will always damage follicles in the active growing stage, but it might not destroy them all, and especially the first time around. Destroyed follicles will never grow hair again, but damaged ones may eventually start growing hair. However, that hair will usually be lighter, thinner, and slower growing than it was before treatment.
Whether the laser is able to fully destroy follicles depends on several factors.
- Number of Treatments
The more treatments you have, the better the chance that you’ll fully destroy the follicles, and even if you see regrowth in a year or two, a few maintenance treatments might do the trick in the end. On average, repeat treatments can reduce hair permanently by 80% to 90%.
- Provider Skill
Your results also depend on the skill and knowledge of your Laser Hair Removal specialist. You should always seek treatment only from a professional with plenty of experience.
- Hair Color
The darker your hair, the more efficiently it absorbs the energy from the laser. In the past, laser treatments were only effective on those with very dark hair. Today, modern lasers can treat a wider variety of hair colors, but it’s still important to know that lighter hair can’t absorb as much energy. That means it will take more treatments to get enough heat to destroy the follicle.
If you have red, blond, white, or strawberry blond hair, you will need more sessions to get rid of your hair than someone with dark brown or black hair. You’re also less likely to see complete and permanent destruction of the follicles.
*DOES IT HURT?
In the past, the pulses could feel a lot like having a rubber band snapped against your skin–unpleasant, but bearable. Today, it doesn’t even feel like that anymore.
For one thing, modern lasers are much faster than older models. For another, they now come with cooling technologies that counteract the heat of the laser light. We can also apply a topical numbing cream that will assure comfortable throughout the process.
*HOW LONG CAN LASER HAIR REMOVAL LAST?
The short answer is that there’s a possibility your results will be permanent, and many more people only require very occasional, infrequent touch-up treatments to remain hair-free. Most people will need between four and eight treatments to see the best results, and the biggest factor in whether your results are completely permanent will be your own hormones.
Our hormones control our hair growth, and if you experience a significant change, your hair may come back. Assuming that your hormone levels remain steady, however, you can probably expect to be stubble-free for at least six to 12 months.
