Does Laser Hair Removal Hurt More Than Waxing?

Brian Lett
By Brian Lett
10 Min Read

Laser hair removal employs highly concentrated laser light that precisely targets and heats unwanted pigment, before damaging and destroying its follicle without harming surrounding skin cells.

Permanent hair removal methods save both time and energy compared to depilation or waxing the area again in the future, helping you save both.

It’s Much Less Painful

Laser hair removal utilizes highly concentrated beams of light to destroy or delay future hair growth in a treated area. Compared with waxing, it’s typically painless and much faster – can take as little as five minutes per treatment area on average compared with an hour for waxing (making laser treatments ideal for busy professionals looking for quick fixes during their lunch breaks or work breaks).

Pain levels for laser hair removal depend on both your tolerance and treatment area, with areas like legs or bikini being more sensitive than others. Overall though, laser treatment tends to be less painful than tweezing and shaving – many patients compare the sensation to having an elastic band flicked against their skin.

Laser hair removal sessions should also be carefully considered. After several treatments, your hair should either reduce significantly or go into complete remission; however, this solution should not be seen as permanent; eventually your hair will grow back albeit possibly thinner and lighter than before.

Waxing is another popular solution for eliminating unwanted hair. While not as painful as laser, waxing still causes some discomfort as its strips are pulled from your follicles. A good aesthetician should help reduce that discomfort, though.

Waxing doesn’t completely destroy hair follicles, and can leave ingrown hairs. Therefore, exfoliation and moisturizing the skin after every waxing session are recommended to maintain smooth results.

Both methods of hair removal can effectively rid yourself of unwanted hair, but laser is far less painful and long-term results are more permanent than waxing, making it the obvious winner. Before choosing either option, however, be sure to consult a professional who will assess your goals and concerns and can advise which option would work best for you.

It’s Faster

However, unlike waxing which only removes surface-level hair removal, laser hair removal actually destroys hair follicles for long-term and more permanent results than waxing, although regular visits will still need to be scheduled at an appointment center – typically once every month.

Laser light energy is converted to heat energy by melanin in your hair follicles, damaging and suppressing future hair growth. Therefore, using this technique for hair removal is generally considered less painful than waxing since pain only arises at the moment of impact (some compare it to feeling rubber band snapping against their skin while others don’t experience any).

Laser hair removal offers another advantage over waxing in terms of speed: its laser can treat areas the size of a quarter every second, enabling you to cover large parts of your body quickly compared to traditional waxing sessions that typically take an hour or more to complete.

Laser hair removal offers additional safety advantages over waxing. While waxing may cause burns and other forms of skin damage, laser hair removal poses no such risks – making it the more suitable option for those with sensitive skin, including children and teenagers.

Laser hair removal is not an instantaneous solution to unwanted hair growth; rather, regrowth will eventually occur but in finer and sparser form than before. Regrowth often happens within weeks so continued treatments will likely be necessary in order to achieve desired results.

Waxes can lead to ingrown hairs as they simply pull the hair from its follicle, often leading to pain and irritation. Removing these ingrown hairs with shaving or cream can be challenging; laser hair removal destroys them permanently so this problem no longer arises.

It’s More Permanent

Laser hair removal differs from shaving or waxing in that it actually targets the hair follicle to stop it from growing back. A technician will first numb the treatment area before using a laser to heat and destroy the follicle, likely resulting in finer and lighter regrowth than was experienced after shaving or waxing; depending on your hair color and coarseness, multiple laser treatments may be required before noticeable results become evident.

Although you will require periodic maintenance visits with your laser hair removal provider, the results are considered permanent. Ideal Image is one such provider offering lifetime guarantee memberships to demonstrate their trust in this form of treatment.

For best results, five laser hair removal treatments spaced one month apart will usually suffice. Shaving between sessions could compromise the laser’s ability to accurately read your follicles.

Since laser light reacts differently with different skin tones, your technician will likely conduct a small patch test prior to beginning treatment. They may recommend cooling agents or moisturizers if your skin is particularly sensitive. Overall, laser treatments tend to be relatively painless; however, for optimal results and safety you must choose an experienced practitioner registered on an official laser treatment register and capable of handling different skin tones and hair types.

As with any treatment, laser hair removal may have some side effects. You may experience redness or sensitivity in the area treated, similar to having had minor sunburn. Some individuals should also limit certain activities after laser treatment such as swimming and tanning to limit any long-term skin damage.

Laser hair removal offers one major advantage over razor and wax treatments: its permanent nature means that unwanted hair won’t come back. So if it’s time to finally put an end to razors and waxing, book an initial laser hair removal treatment in NYC now.

It’s More Affordable

One of the primary arguments against laser hair removal is cost. But in actuality, laser hair removal actually ends up costing less in the long run if compared with waxing due to being necessary on an ongoing basis – especially if there are numerous areas on your body needing it done! Waxing requires frequent visits for treatments that add up over time.

Contrary to waxing, laser hair removal does not require constant investment on sessions – since it works on the long run by permanently eliminating hair follicles that grow back. Furthermore, laser treatment is less costly per session so is more economical in the long run than waxing.

Laser hair removal works by targeting a beam of light directly at your skin and targeting areas containing pigmented hair follicles with light; when these absorbable wavelengths hit them, the light converts into heat that causes them to collapse causing finer and softer growth that eventually decreases how frequently you need to pluck or wax those areas.

Most people find laser treatment less painful than waxing due to its practitioner using a cooling device before and during the procedure to prevent burning or blistering of your skin. Some have described the feeling as similar to having rubber bands snap against their skin or experiencing sunburn-like pain.

Even those with lower pain tolerances or sensitive skin can still benefit from laser treatments, thanks to cooling and numbing devices which reduce the sensation of laser beam hitting their skin. However, lasers can still be very painful if skin preparation procedures are not followed in advance.

Therefore, it is recommended to seek professional advice prior to receiving any laser treatments. They can offer tips on how to prepare the area on which you intend to have this done and can advise as to the number of sessions required to achieve optimal results.

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