Permanent laser hair removal is the treatment that anyone suffering from unwanted, excess hair growth is looking for. Excess hair has a habit of appearing when you least want it – on the face, the bikini line, and on your legs, but it doesn’t have to be something you simply put up with.
Does Laser Hair Removal Permanently Remove Hair?
This is the million-dollar question, and kind of tricky to answer – as results always vary from person to person. If you’re wondering, ‘does laser hair removal last permanently’, then we need to delve deeper into the process of laser hair removal.
How Does Laser Hair Removal Work?
Laser hair removal works by directing a super-powerful laser or IPL (intense pulsed light) device at the area of hair you’d like to be treated. The laser targets your skin’s hair follicles by heating them up so that they are destroyed. This, then, disrupts the hair growth.
Laser hair removal is only effective at removing hair when hair is in its active growth phase. This stage is called the Anagen phase. Because hair grows at different rates, it is not possible to target all hair at once. While some hair is in the active growth phase, other hair will be in the resting phase. There are four phases of hair growth. They are:
- Anagen – active growth
- Catagen – transition
- Telogen – resting
- Exogen – shedding
Just 20% of hair is in the anagen phase at any one time, and this is the hair that will be effectively targeted by the laser. That’s why the process of laser hair removal can take quite a time to achieve the results you really want.
How Long Does Laser Hair Removal Last?
‘Does laser hair removal work permanently’ is one of the questions we get asked most often. Due to the nature of hair growth as mentioned above, you will need multiple sessions to get the best results from laser hair removal treatment.
How many sessions for laser hair removal that you’ll need, depends on the individual. In general, and for the most effective hair removal, you’ll need to have around 4-6 laser treatments at six-week intervals. So, expect a thorough course of laser therapy to last around nine months. You should notice an improvement in your unwanted hair after each session. By your final session, you should see a dramatic improvement.
If you do see unwanted hair reappear, you can have top-up treatments. Depending on how your hair has responded to treatment, top up maintenance treatments can be carried out between 3-12 months. This will prolong your results and help keep you hair free.
Does Laser Hair Removal Hurt?
Laser hair removal is generally well tolerated among clients and that’s one of the many reasons why it continues to be such a popular procedure. You may have heard people talking about the process and how it hurts in the same way as a rubber band being flicked against your skin does. It’s not an excruciating pain, but neither is it so mild that you won’t notice it.
In general, laser hair removal tends to hurt more on areas of the skin that are thin. So, your upper lip would be more painful than having laser removal on your tummy for instance. Once again, though, pain is subjective, so while your friend may find the procedure uncomfortable, you might have it and wonder what all the fuss was about.
Is Laser Hair Removal Safe?
Yes, when carried out by trained aestheticians like our great team at Este, laser hair removal is a highly safe procedure. Always have your treatment carried out at a reputable clinic – look for reviews online if you’re not sure, and ask friends and family for personal recommendations.
Although the procedure is safe, it’s not always suitable, and you can’t have the procedure while pregnant. Side effects are something you’ll need to consider too, as laser hair removal can cause -
- Red skin
- Skin irritation
- Burns
- Infection
- Blistering
- Skin discolouration
Is At Home Laser Hair Removal Permanent?
The lasers used in at-home laser technology are much less powerful than lasers in devices used in clinics. That means, although you may see some positive results, it will likely take you much longer to achieve the same level of improvement. Also, hair tone along with skin colour can influence your results, so if you’re really keen to find the answer to, ‘does laser hair removal work’, your best bet is to head to a salon.
If you’re fed up of battling with unwanted, excess hair, do something about it. Book in for a no-obligation consultation at Este and we’ll be happy to tell you how we can help make things better for you.
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