Laser hair removal is fairly the latest cosmetic procedure intended to permanently remove unwanted facial and body hair by using the light energy from a laser. Permanent laser hair removal gives an alternative method aside from shaving, waxing, tweezing, and using chemicals to be applied on your skin.
It is also considerably less time-consuming than the process of electrolysis. With permanent body hair removal, the laser can treat large areas of your skin at the same time. Laser hair removal can be applicable on removing unnecessary hair on the back, chest, or legs, as well as on smaller areas like the upper lip or eyebrows on your face.
Laser hair removal is an outpatient cosmetic procedure performed with one of several types of lasers, including the Q-switched Nd:Yag and the diode laser. Generally as of other treatments, the first step in the laser hair removal process is to shave the area that needs to be treated.
Here, it applies the different kinds of treatment on varieties of skin types. In patients with dark skin, a bleaching cream may be applied in advance to increase the chances of success because it is more difficult to see the result on the kind of skin these patients have. After the area is shaved and cleaned, an anesthetic cream is applied.
Then, pulses of light from the laser send energy into the pigment of the hair shaft, which damages the surrounding follicle. A carbon lotion may also be applied, that will help in responding to the wavelength of the laser and helps discontinue hair from growing and re-growing in some cases.
Permanent laser hair removal is generally safe as determined by expert surgeons on this field, but there are a few possible side effects that could not be avoided. In some cases, a darkening or lightening of the treated skin may occur following laser hair removal. Darker skin is more susceptible to changes in pigment, so intentionally tanning beforehand should be avoided.
Burning or blistering of the skin is also likely to happen. Following the cosmetic surgeon's instructions and advice is the best means for reducing the risks involved with laser hair removal because they are the one who have expertise on the said treatment.
Not all of an individual's hairs are in a growth phase at the same time. Typically, about two-thirds of the hairs are growing at any one time, while the other third are in a resting phase. This is very inclined to that fact that hair grows in different cycles.
With laser hair removal, only the hair follicles that are in the active growth phase will be most affected. Because of this, laser hair removal usually takes more than one treatment session, averaging about three sessions for permanent hair removal in any one area.
Laser hair removal sessions are generally scheduled at least a month apart so that resting hairs will be back in the growth phase and ready for removal by the time the next procedure is performed. The length of each individual treatment session depends on the size of the area to be treated. Time may vary anywhere from five minutes to an hour, depending on whether the procedure is for facial or body hair removal and also on the type of skin to be treated.
Since only those active hair follicles are mostly affected by the laser treatment, it is but apparent that laser hair removal cannot be permanent. Even though some advertising laws also allow the providers of this treatment to claim that it could be permanent but the fact is if it lasts for at least three months. Still, the laser hair removal cannot be considered permanent. It is a great alternative though to the old ways of taking unwanted hair out.