Use of razors and waxing to remove unwanted hair can be tedious, painful, and time consuming. Laser treatments offer an alternative to depilation by permanently reducing or eliminating unwanted hair growth.
The level of discomfort felt during treatment depends on both the thickness of skin and amount of hair being extracted, but many describe it as similar to rubber bands snapping against their skin or mild stings.
1. Underarms
Underarms are an ideal area for laser hair removal. Over time, shaving can cause this area of sensitive skin to become rough and bumpy; with laser treatments permanently eliminating this hair. Also less painful than waxing treatments, laser removal leaves your underarms feeling soft to touch for extended periods of time.
Laser treatments use heat to destroy hair follicles responsible for growth. Please be aware, however, that it’s not a permanent solution so regular maintenance treatments will likely be needed after starting laser therapy treatments.
Laser treatments are safe procedures, but it’s essential that only qualified professionals perform them. Make sure they have experience and can demonstrate they meet specific standards of skill, training and insurance coverage.
Before your laser hair removal session, it’s essential that the area be as comfortable as possible. Your provider may use an ice pack or topical anesthetic cream in this regard. Furthermore, avoid applying sunblock products a few weeks beforehand as this could inhibit hair follicles from taking in heat from laser light and producing results more effectively.
Your laser hair removal treatment can benefit any part of your body that you’d like to be smoother than ever, though it works best on people with light skin and dark hair, since the contrast makes it easier for the follicles to absorb its heat. Prior to receiving a treatment session, any other form of hair-removal methods, such as plucking, waxing or electrolysis would only hinder results – disrupting follicles will lead to subpar results from laser hair removal treatment.
2. Bikini Line
Bikini lines can be difficult to keep hair-free. In South Florida, with year-round swimsuit season, many women spend hours each month shaving or waxing their bikini lines to keep them hair free. But this can be time-consuming and painful work.
Laser hair removal is a safe, effective solution to unwanted bikini area hair growth. Utilizing a laser beam, heat penetrates into hair follicles to stop new growth – though it won’t completely eradicate hairs in that area, it should significantly reduce their number and hopefully when they do return they should be finer and lighter than before.
Dr. DeRosa emphasizes the importance of shaving an area prior to laser treatments in order to give the laser more of an opportunity of targeting hair follicles with laser beams. Furthermore, sun exposure should be limited prior to each session as well as documenting any existing tattoos or nevi in the area. However, laser hair removal may cause pigment changes (darkening or lightening), particularly among people with darker skin tones.
Laser hair removal may not provide a permanent solution, but it will significantly decrease the amount of bikini-area hair growth. Most women begin noticing results between six and nine sessions; once noticed they can enjoy life without worrying about stray hairs or uncomfortable stubble. For those not quite ready for this step however, bikini wax or Hollywood wax can still provide great options to manage this hairy area.
3. Chest
An excessively hairy chest can be embarrassing for men. Luckily, laser treatment for unwanted chest hair can make a tremendous difference to how comfortable and confident one feels.
Laser treatments offer a viable alternative to the daily hassle and pain associated with shaving or waxing for men who want a simpler solution than shaving and waxing. Regular laser sessions will prevent hair growth. Laser treatment sessions could even become an option to prevent unwanted facial hair from growing back over time – providing men with an appealing way out from having to shave daily!
Laser hair removal offers more permanent solutions for unwanted hair than depilation or other techniques and is proven effective against ingrown hairs found on the neck, groin or chest area. In addition, it reduces ingrown hairs caused by depilation methods which take more time and may irritate skin.
Laser hair removal also has another advantage: it can help decrease body odor. Since chest hair absorbs sweat, which leads to body odor, using laser hair removal treatments can keep your chest hair free while eliminating bad smells associated with too much sweating.
Before getting laser hair removal for chest, it’s important to stop shaving and waxing at least several weeks prior. This will allow the laser to fully target and expose each individual hair follicle. In addition, direct sun exposure or tanning should be limited for at least a few days leading up to treatment.
Most individuals seeking laser hair removal for cosmetic purposes do so for aesthetic reasons. Excess hair can be caused by various causes, including hirsutism (in women) or hypertrichosis (in men). Furthermore, medications, hormone imbalances or being born with excess hair in certain parts of the body could all play a part.
4. Back
Men seeking smooth skin on their back, shoulders and arms may benefit from laser hair removal treatments. Unlike shaving or waxing which only temporarily removes unwanted hair but causes irritation to surrounding tissue, laser therapies target hair follicles directly; typically 6-8 sessions spaced four to eight weeks apart are required for significant hair reduction.
Not all areas are suitable candidates for laser treatment, as your skin complexion and hair color affect its outcomes. Darker skin with coarse hair generally leads to better outcomes from this procedure.
Laser treatment not only removes unwanted body hair but can also help decrease body odor. This feature can be particularly advantageous in areas like the neck, chest and groin where thick, unwanted hair causes excessive sweating that causes an uncomfortable, sticky sensation in the skin and may even result in body odor.
As part of the laser hair removal process, you should expect to feel a slight sting similar to when snapping a rubber band for just an instant. Numbing cream may help make this experience more tolerable and the back may be particularly sensitive due to dense body hair; nevertheless, laser treatments remain safe in this instance.
Laser hair removal treatments will vary from person to person; however, most men experience significant decreases in body hair growth after three to six sessions. This is due to hair growing in cycles with some follicles active while others resting and inactive; therefore treatment only targets active growing follicles so scheduling sessions accordingly is key for effective hair removal results.
5. Face
Since many are exhausted of shaving, waxing, and plucking their facial hair for maintenance purposes, laser hair removal offers another viable solution that keeps skin smoother for longer than ever before. Laser hair removal on the face provides not only effective hair removal but also helps avoid stubble, ingrown hairs, pseudo-folliculitis on their neck or chin area.
Laser hair removal on the face works by focusing a highly concentrated beam of light onto each individual hair follicle without harming surrounding tissue, thanks to pigment in their follicle. Darker, coarser hair follicles absorb more of this light energy and destroy them completely without producing new hair growth. As neck skin can be more delicate than other areas, make sure that a practitioner numbs this area prior to starting treatment.
Laser hair removal may be painful for some patients, but it is far less excruciating than traditional methods of hair removal such as shaving, waxing or plucking. Shaving, waxing and plucking cause razor burn and ingrown hairs; laser hair removal takes care of that problem by targeting each follicle directly and stopping any future growth of hair follicles.
If you want to say goodbye to shaving, waxing and plucking for good, schedule an appointment at Spring Street Dermatology. We will assess which areas can be treated using laser hair removal treatments as well as how many sessions may be needed in order to reach your desired goals. Reach out online or visit one of our offices located in SOHO, Tribeca or Uptown New York City today.
