What is Laser Hair Reduction?
Laser hair reduction is a medical process that involves passing a concentrated light beam (laser) through different parts of the body for painless hair reduction.
Where Is It Used?
Laser Hair Reduction can be used to reduce unwanted hair from different areas of the body like arms, legs, armpits, bikini line, shoulders, back, chin, and upper lips. It can reduce hair in any area except the eyelids, and around the eyes.
Pre-Procedure Workup
Before getting laser hair reduction, you need to ensure that you’ve no medical history of skin disorders. Apart from this, the following precautions must be taken:
- Avoid over-exposure to the sun and use sunscreen daily.
- Avoid plucking, waxing or threading for the desired area 4 weeks before the treatment.
- No blood-thinners or anti-inflammatory medicines should be taken before the treatment.
- Shaving the treatment area, a day before will help remove the surface hair while keeping the hair follicles intact.
Procedure
The doctor will use a USA FDA approved machine to pass the laser on the desired area. The doctor may apply a cool gel to protect your skin from any damage or discomfort before the treatment. Once activated, the laser will pass through your skin and be attracted to the melanin pigment in hair follicles. The hair follicles will then absorb the laser and instantly vaporize to inhibit further hair growth.
The machine used by us has both in-motion and stamping mode for easy hair reduction in larger areas like legs and smaller area like the upper lip. It works on triple wavelength diodes (755nm + 810nm + 1064nm) for deeper penetration. This will ensure burning of the most ingrained hair follicles and work on fine hairs too.
Post Procedure Workup
For a day or two, you might feel a mild discomfort accompanied by occasional swelling or redness in the treated area. However, to reduce it, apply moisturizers and ice pack on the affected area. If there’s a severe reaction, the doctor may apply steroid creams.
Also, avoid direct exposure with the sun for the next month and wear broad-spectrum sunscreen every time you step out.
Side Effects
Rarely laser hair reduction has side-effects. However, the most common ones are as follows:
- Skin problems:
Blistering, itching, scarring, redness or swelling may occur in the treated area, temporarily.
- Changes in skin color:
Temporary lightening of the skin may occur especially in people with darker skin tones.
Results Expected
The treated hair will begin falling in the next few weeks. Another session of laser treatment will be necessary after the first cycle as the laser affects the new hair follicles easily and leads to long-term hair reduction. This is the best method for painless hair reduction as it yields faster results in lesser time and works on fine hair too.
Sessions Required
Typically, the procedure requires 8 sessions depending on the skin tone and the area that needs to be treated.
Visit a good dermatologist for hair removal or an expert cosmetologist for the laser hair removal.