Laser hair removal is an efficient, safe way to reduce unwanted hair. A highly concentrated beam of light penetrates into your skin and absorbs pigment from hair follicles, damaging them and inhibiting future hair growth.
Painless laser hair removal treatment requires 4 to 6 initial treatment sessions followed by periodic maintenance treatments to maintain results.
Why Didn’t My Hair Fall Out After Laser Hair Removal?
Laser hair removal is one of the best ways to permanently ditch the razor, without risk of ingrown hairs or future growth. It works by targeting a powerful beam of light into each individual hair follicle and heating and destroying it – thus stopping future hair growth as well as ever returning in its original spot! Plus it’s much safer than other methods such as shaving or waxing which pose risks of ingrown hairs!
Lasers work by emitting wavelengths of light that target pigment in hair follicles. Once absorbed by melanin (pigment), lasers produce heat that destroys and burns away hair follicles – usually after several sessions a smooth complexion can be attained with only occasional maintenance needed in between to keep hair-free skin.
Hair grows at different rates and phases; only about 15% of follicles at any one time are in anagen (growing) phase at any one time; others could be catagen or telogen (resting). Laser and IPL treatments only target anagen-phase hair follicles, so shaving or waxing could reduce effectiveness of treatments.
Before undergoing laser hair removal, it’s essential that all other forms of hair removal (shaving and waxing) be discontinued for at least several days, even temporarily. Shaving only removes the tip of your follicle; waxing removes both root and tip follicle. As these hairs begin to regrow after their treatment they will likely be thinner, lighter, and finer due to lack of functioning follicles.
Shedding hair after laser hair removal treatments may seem like an indicator that their treatments weren’t successful, but this should not cause alarm; in reality it indicates the opposite – that your treatments worked.
It’s Normal
Shedding after laser hair removal is perfectly normal and serves as evidence that it has worked effectively. Laser treatments work best when hair is in its anagen stage (growing), although catagen phase hair may also fall out over a 7-30 day period, often appearing as tiny black dots or stubble on the skin. Redness or bumps may appear during this time as your body pushes out damaged dead hair that was damaged by laser.
The shedding process is essential to getting rid of hair that’s still growing, and readying hair follicles to produce new, non-anagen stage hairs. At this stage it is crucial not to shave, wax or pluck follicles as this could interfere with their natural process and lead to further damage of follicles. Furthermore it should not use products containing dyes, bleaches or chemicals which may cause irritation as this could alter treatment results and even reverse them altogether.
After several days of shedding, hair follicles in the anagen phase will produce new hair growth. It’s not unusual for some hairs in one follicle to have darker tones due to sun-exposed pigments changing colors over time; this does not indicate that treatment has failed or not taken effect, rather simply that there may be more of one shade than another in that location.
Permanent hair reduction often requires multiple laser treatments over several sessions spaced four to six weeks apart, depending on each client and area treated. Touchup sessions may also be needed periodically in order to maintain results from earlier treatments.
It’s Not Normal
Laser treatment may be an ideal way to permanently decrease unwanted body hair. Traditional methods, such as shaving, waxing, creams and plucking are time-consuming and painful; laser hair removal uses light to target pigment in dark hair follicles and kill them off; this prevents hair regrowth in future. After treatment your body will naturally shed these dead follicles around 1 to 3 weeks post treatment with blackheads or stubble being shed as normal by your system.
Hair growth occurs in cycles, with only about 15% of your follicles at any given time being in an anagen phase at any one time. Laser hair removal treatments only target anagen phase follicles; catagen or telogen phases do not respond well to laser treatments.
Contrary to what may be advertised or claimed from “laser technicians”, it’s simply impossible to have all your unwanted hair disappear immediately with one laser treatment session. On average, it takes at least 6 treatments performed at regular intervals over several months for you to achieve 90% hair reduction with long term effects lasting 4-6 years and annual touch ups recommended as necessary to ensure lasting results.
Keep in mind that hair follicles may enter the telogen phase and be hidden beneath your skin for several weeks, making it essential to follow your treatment plan and attend sessions as scheduled – waiting too long between sessions may cause you to miss an entire hair cycle cycle!
Help speed up shedding by exfoliating twice weekly after treatment and avoiding hair removal methods such as waxing, threading or plucking that pull out hair follicles like waxing, threading and plucking.
Are you ready to finally rid yourself of unwanted hair? Look no further than Bared Monkey Laser Spa in NYC for help with laser hair removal using our Cynosure Elite Nd:YAG and Alexandrite laser. Contact us online or over the phone and schedule your consultation now!
It’s Not Permanent
Laser Hair Removal utilizes light energy to target and destroy the tube-shaped sacs in your skin that produce hair (hair follicles). This damage inhibits or delays future hair growth; however, its full impact takes time. Shedding may help accelerate this process – an integral component of treatment!
As soon as your laser treatments end, it’s normal for your hair to begin falling out – this is actually a positive sign! This indicates that the laser has performed its intended task of damaging hair follicles which are currently active (anagen), leading them to shed their locks without ever growing back again.
This process may take up to a week, but can be expedited by massaging the area with soap and rubbing your fingers over it. A loofah or scrub may help speed up this process as they remove hair more rapidly – just take care not to pull out individual follicles as that would disrupt their anagen cycle and send hair follicles back into active growth phase.
Waxing should also be avoided, since this prevents the laser from accurately identifying pigment in hair follicles – one of the main reasons people experience less-than-stellar results from laser hair removal.
Shedding after laser hair removal may lead to redness and bumps similar to ingrown hairs. Your body’s way of clearing away dead hairs that had become trapped in their follicles in their last moments of existence should not be taken advantage of by shaving or plucking, otherwise they will grow back over time and give less-than-ideal results.
If you notice hair growing out after laser treatment, don’t be alarmed! It could be an indicator that damaged hair follicles have produced new hairs in their place – this might be annoying but is the best way to achieve permanent results from laser hair removal. If this becomes an issue for you, make an appointment for additional sessions until all follicles have been destroyed and your desired results appear.
