Most clients would agree that laser hair removal is significantly less painful than waxing and tattooing; however, every person responds differently to pain tolerance.
Some ways you can ease the discomfort include scheduling treatments during your period, shaving prior to treatment and applying topical numbing cream; and applying ice afterward.
Areas of the body with thicker skin tend to hurt less.
Not only does the location and thickness of hair follicles determine how painful laser treatments will feel for individuals; legs tend to be relatively pain-free due to thicker skin and hair in this region; this may explain why so many opt to get their leg hair removed there rather than facial or underarm areas. It should be noted, however, that no guarantee can be given as regards level of pain when having leg hair removed as this depends greatly upon individual pain tolerance levels as well as sessions required to achieve results.
Arm hair treatments tend to be relatively painless; thicker skin makes the experience similar to feeling a rubber band snap against your arm, thus eliminating the need for numbing cream when treating arm hair.
As with the chest and stomach, thick skin makes hair removal less irritating on these areas than bikini lines or underarms; however, back hair removal is more complex due to having many more hair follicles targeted and making for an unpleasant experience when having it done.
Note that laser treatments vary in their level of discomfort depending on when they’re performed; women often report experiencing more discomfort while having their hair removed during their period, for instance. It may be beneficial to schedule your treatments during times when there’s no period running, in order to lessen any potential discomfort you might feel.
Laser hair removal can also be made more comfortable by numbing the skin prior to treatment. This is often accomplished using numbing cream. Alternatively, if you wish to significantly lessen any pain experienced, topical anesthetic can be applied prior to starting laser treatment.
Areas of the body with thicker hair tend to hurt more.
Laser treatment works by sending beams of light through the skin, absorbing pigments in hair follicles and destroying them. Your pain threshold depends on both density and thickness of hairs as well as your individual tolerance to pain – that’s why some may feel different sensations even though they all receive exactly the same treatment.
Laser treatments usually start off with a slight tingling sensation that indicates the process is about to commence, which should quickly pass. You will then start feeling heat from where hair follicles are being destroyed, requiring additional concentration but won’t be unbearable.
Pain levels vary from person to person, with some individuals being able to tolerate the treatment while others must keep their fists clenched tightly during it. Women have proven more capable than men of managing pain during treatments; some report no sensations at all while others clench tightly as soon as they sense every pulse from the laser light.
One factor affecting pain levels when having aesthetic treatments done on various parts of the face and body is where you are receiving treatments. Facial areas, like upper lips and chins, tend to be more sensitive than cheeks and jawline as hair density tends to be thinner in these regions than elsewhere. Conversely, arms and legs generally remain more pain-free due to thicker skin thickness.
Pain levels will depend on how long it has been since your last waxing or shaving session. To maximize success of laser therapy treatments, it is wise to avoid shaving, plucking and waxing between sessions as this could interfere with their success.
If you must shave, an electric razor is best as this will reduce the chances of cuts or nicks from occurring during treatment. Also consider wearing loose clothing afterward so your skin has time to recover.
Areas of the body with thin hair tend to hurt less.
Lasers work by emitting pulses of energy that absorb into your hair’s pigment and convert it to heat, hitting tiny hairs on your skin with nerve endings at their bases and pinching these nerve endings with laser pulses, creating the sensation of heat sensation. Thickner hair absorbs more of this energy and it feels more uncomfortable.
Thinner hair tends to reduce this sensation because less laser energy is absorbed by thicker locks, but other factors also play an integral part. Numbing cream can help alleviate pain experienced during laser hair removal treatments and an anaesthetic with 5% lidocaine works well as well. Furthermore, selecting a salon equipped with an Zimmer cooling device and taking antihistamine before and during treatments can significantly decrease their level of discomfort.
At first blush, most clients describe laser hair removal as being no more painful than waxing; however, its exact level of discomfort depends on the area and density of hair on which you are performing it. Legs typically experience pain levels between 6 or 7 and 8, with back areas such as shoulders rated at pain level 8. When treating stomach areas with thick hair covering thin skin it may require extra precautions such as using numbing cream, shaving close to skin level hair removal and taking an antihistamine for added safety.
Clients typically report that any discomfort experienced during their initial laser session gradually subsides with each subsequent one, possibly because they become familiar with the process or because it simply becomes easier each time. It is wise to avoid tanning prior to and post-laser treatments as this increases your chance of burning as well as potentially leading to permanent scarring.
Areas of the body with thin hair tend to hurt more.
Laser hair removal involves temporarily disabling hair follicles to stop new strands of hair from growing back. It is safe and effective method for permanent hair removal that may be more comfortable than waxing or shaving; the discomfort level depends on various factors including where treatment takes place, thickness and density of your hair as well as individual tolerance levels for discomfort.
During this process, your doctor will use a hand-held laser instrument with cooling features or cool gel that protects and alleviates pain for you during treatment. Once activated, a laser beam passes through your skin into hair follicles where it causes damage that eventually results in them no longer producing hair and can cause them to stop producing it altogether – creating what may feel like a slight pinching sensation when they stop producing hair production.
Pain in laser treatments depends on several variables, including hair density and density as well as where they’re located on your body. Upper lips and foreheads often experience more discomfort as these areas have thinner skin; legs and arms usually prove less tolerable due to thicker hair growth and skin thickness.
Patients with dark hair and olive skin often experience more discomfort during laser hair removal treatments as the laser has difficulty distinguishing their color of hair, necessitating using longer wavelengths in order to effectively disable any unwanted hairs.
Women who have thin underarm hair often report that laser treatment causes more discomfort than it would on other parts of their bodies; similarly, men who have thin neck hair often find laser therapy painful.
As your hair thins out, its targeted area becomes smaller for laser treatments to attack. As more treatments occur, they become less painful – and may eventually stop growing altogether, as that is what you hope to accomplish!
Staying on schedule with your sessions is key for long-term results, and is recommended every 4 weeks for facial hair and every 6 – 8 weeks for body hair removal with laser. Skipping appointments could cause hairs to regrow more rapidly and more difficultly remove when they thicken further. Furthermore, avoid sunbathing and self-tanner before attending laser sessions as this could influence how light or dark their removal will be.
