Laser Hair Removal
Looking to bare it all in time for summer? Here’s what you need to know
What it is
Laser hair removal offers permanent hair reduction on your body. Areas treated will see
most hair permanently removed, but on occasion, some hair will remain and regrowth will be fine in texture and light in colour.
There are three stages of growth that each strand of your hair cycles through: Anagen (growing), catagen (falling out), and telogen (resting). Anagen is the only stage of growth where the hair follicle is attached to the blood supply, and therefore can be completely destroyed during a laser treatment. Hairs that are in catagen and telogen stages are not attached to the blood supply, and therefore will grow back. This is why a series of treatments is needed to catch each of the hairs in the right stage.
During the procedure, a short pulse of light is passed over the treated area. The hair pigment absorbs the light and turns it into heat. That
heat travels down the hair to the root and destroys it, limiting (and often ceasing) regrowth. The sensation of laser hair removal is best described as the snapping of a rubber band onto your skin, so while it can be done anywhere on the body (except the nipple area and the eyebrows), it may be very uncomfortable in the bikini area and on your face.
The Procedure
A few days or weeks before your treatment, you’ll have completed a consultation and a patch test with your technician. The area to be treated will be shaved, and both you and the technician will put on protective eyewear. A thick gel is put over the area to protect the skin from burning or blistering. The procedure is then carried out, and then the gel is removed. As a final step, sunscreen is applied to protect the skin from burning, blistering, or scarring with UVA and UVB exposure. Over the next few days, the hair that was shaved will come to the surface before falling out,
leaving your skin bare and smooth.You’ll be placed on a program and return for regular treatments every six to eight weeks, depending on hair growth.
Candidates
Although today’s lasers can work on a multitude of people,
the best candidates have light skin and dark hair. The darker the hair, the better the absorption of light, and the lighter the skin, the greater the contrast between the skin and the hair, which will give superior results.
- Hormones can encourage hair growth, so women who are going through menopause won’t get great results.
- Teenagers aren’t ideal candidates since their hair growth is more rapid than an adult’s. Plus, fluctuating hormones mean some hairs come back.
- People with white or grey hair aren’t good candidates since colour is needed for the absorption of the light from the laser.
- Pregnant women shouldn’t undergo laser hair removal since not a lot of testing has been done to show its effects on the baby.
Vaidehie Mistry is a leading expert in the world of skincare. With the science of beauty at her fingertips, she takes a deeper look at the dos and don’ts of proper skincare. Vaidehie owns
Sitamaa Day Spa (
www.sitamaa.com )and regularly contributes to the lifestyle chat show
The Steven & Chris Show.
Have a Beauty Clinic question? Email her at vaidehie.mistry@anokhimagazine.com
BY: VAIDEHIE MISTRY
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