Having lush, thick hair on the top of your head is usually considered desirable, but when it comes to other parts of the body – such as the face, legs, arms and bikini area – most people would rather have smooth skin. That’s why so many Americans pluck, shave and wax, but when you think about it, these methods can be extremely time consuming and costly. The hair just keeps growing back again and again, week after week, until getting rid of it becomes more of a chore than anything.
That’s where laser hair removal comes in. The technique may be a great alternative for those who are tired of yanking out hairs one by one or enduring the pain of waxing. Not only is it a quick, safe procedure, but laser hair removal is FDA-Approved to permanently reduce hair.
How does it work? When you come in for your appointment, laser specialists will apply a bright beam of light to whatever areas you want to remove hair from. The light is absorbed by melanin, the pigment that gives hair its color, and causes damage only to the hair shaft and follicle, not the surrounding skin. Many individuals report that the technique is efficient and pain-free.
Each procedure takes 30 minutes or less, and depending on a patient’s hair color and density, the number of treatments can range from four to eight over a six-week period.
Because our hair grows in a specific cycle, coming in for a series of appointments is also crucial to ensuring the success of the technique.
There are three different stages involved in the growth of hair. The first is known as the anagen phase, in which hair is actively growing and is nourished by the follicle. This process begins to slow down in the catagen phase and stops altogether during the third and last part of the cycle, called the telogen phase.
Typically, laser treatments require hair to be in the anagen phase. Because adjacent hairs can be in different points in the growth cycle at the same time, undergoing the procedure over the course of a few weeks is a good way to catch as many of them as possible.
