For the past few years, laser hair removal has been a popular option for removing unwanted body hair. It’s a good option for people who don’t want to go through the pain of waxing and don’t have time to do it themselves every week.
But what if you’re looking for something more permanent? What if you want to get rid of your unwanted pubic hair once and for all? That’s where [company name] comes in! We offer laser hair removal treatments that last up to four years. Our treatments are safe, effective, and affordable—and they’ll give you the smooth, hair-free skin you’ve always wanted.
Read on to learn more about Laser For Pubic Hair Removal 8 Sessions, How Long Does Laser Hair Removal Last
Laser For Pubic Hair Removal 8 Sessions
There’s nothing better during spring and summer than spending time in the outdoors and feeling the warmth of sunlight on your skin. But if you are living with unwanted hair, baring your skin can bring complicated feelings. If you’ve thought about getting laser hair removal, now is the perfect time to get rid of that unwanted hair and feel more comfortable in the skin you’re in. Chetco Medical & Aesthetics in Brookings, OR is here to care for all your hair removal needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Sessions Do You Need for Laser Hair Removal?
Everyone’s body is different, and different biological factors can impact how many sessions you need in order to fully remove your unwanted hair. Generally, clients need about two to six laser treatments in order to completely get rid of hair.
You can expect to see about a 10% to 25% reduction in hair after your first treatment. As you continue your treatments, more and more hair will fall out, and you’ll notice that it continues to grow back more slowly.
How Often Can You Have a Hair Removal Treatment?
Is laser hair removal permanent? If not, how long do you need to wait between laser treatments? It depends on several factors, and your doctor will let you know how long you should wait between treatments. Generally, clients can have hair removal every four to eight weeks.
One factor to keep in mind in regards to future treatments is that hair does not grow at the same rate on different parts of the body. If you are having treatments on an area where hair grows quickly, such as your upper lip, you might have laser treatments every four weeks. If you’re having treatments done on a part of the body where hair grows slowly, like the back, you might only have treatments every 10 to 15 weeks.
Is there a permanent hair removal?
After having your full set of laser treatments, you will be hair-free for months or even years. If you grow hair again in the treated area, you will notice that it’s far thinner and less noticeable than your hair was prior to treatment. You may require occasional maintenance treatments in order to remain hair-free.
Can Laser Removal Help With Other Issues?
One great benefit of laser removal is that it helps with ingrown hairs. This is a miracle for people who tend to get ingrown hairs from shaving their legs or bikini area. Switching to laser removal won’t just get rid of the hair more effectively and permanently, but it will also give you clearer, smoother skin with less irritation.
Is There Any Downtime?
There is no downtime for this treatment. You should be able to go about the rest of your day normally without discomfort.
How Long Does It Take for Your Hair to Fall Out?
The hair in the treated area doesn’t fall out immediately, but it will shed over a period of time: usually days to weeks. Hair growth happens in cycles, and the repeated treatments work best when they target the follicles in the new-growth stage.
As you continue having treatments, your hair will continue to fall out and thin until it’s gone. You might need maintenance laser treatments to keep your hair gone long-term.
What Body Parts Can Undergo This Treatment?
The most common locations to have laser removal treatment for unwanted hair are the legs, armpits, upper lip, chin, and bikini line. That being said, you can basically have this treatment done anywhere on your body except on your eyelids and the surrounding areas.
What About Home Lasers?
There are home hair removal lasers available on the market, and it can be tempting to go for an at-home device rather than go in for treatments. But these devices tend to not be effective, especially in the long-term.
Furthermore, the FDA considers them to be cosmetic, not medical. meaning that they are not inspected with the level of scrutiny that they should be. Overall, these devices are dangerous and ineffective. If you’re going to invest in laser hair removal, it should be with a trusted doctor otherwise you would have laser hair removal side effects.
Is Laser Removal the Only Way to Get Rid of Unwanted Hair?
Definitely not, but it is the most effective and the most popular. Let’s take a look at the alternatives to see why.
Shaving
This is perhaps the most popular way to get rid of unwanted hair, because it’s easy, fast, and cheap. But, there are plenty of downsides. Because you are only cutting the hair off at the skin rather than removing or damaging the follicle, the hair grows back much faster. Plus, when you shave hair consistently, it has a tendency to come back thicker and darker.
Waxing
Waxing involves covering your unwanted hair with wax, then ripping it off. This has the benefit of pulling out the follicle in addition to the hair and means that the results last for a much longer time because the follicle has to regrow. This also means that when the hair does grow back, it tends to be softer and thinner. However, this method tends to be more than just a little painful, which is why so many individuals don’t choose to wax.
Depilatory
Depilatories are creams that basically burn your hair off. Some depilatories work on the hair above the surface of the skin, while others can penetrate through the skin to the follicle. The effectiveness of these creams varies depending on the thickness and color of the hair. Of course, this method also has some major downsides. Because depilatories are chemicals, they can irritate or even burn the skin.
Electrolysis
Electrolysis is similar to laser removal because it involves sending energy into the hair follicle. Electrolysis, however, sends electrical energy directly into the follicle, whereas laser removal involves using light energy that is converted into heat energy.
Using electricity is a more effective way to get rid of the follicle, meaning that electrolysis is more likely than laser removal to permanently remove hair.
That being said, electrolysis involves literally sending an electrical pulse into your follicle. Because of that, the treatment tends to be very painful. Another reason people do not tend to choose electrolysis over laser removal is that you can typically only have this treatment done on small areas, like the eyebrows and face.
All About Laser Hair Removal
This medical treatment utilizes a laser to remove unwanted hair. During the treatment, a laser emits a light that is absorbed by the pigment in the hair, called melanin. This light energy is converted to heat and travels through the hair to the follicle within the skin. The heat energy damages the follicles to inhibit or delay future hair growth.
A Closer Look
The basic principle of hair removal with lasers is that the pigment of the hair, but not of the skin, should absorb the light energy. This allows the skin to remain unharmed while the unwanted hair absorbs the energy so the follicle can be damaged. This means that the treatment works best when there is a contrast between hair and skin color.
In the early days of this treatment, it was difficult to effectively perform it on individuals who did not have a high contrast between their skin and hair colors, meaning light skin with dark hair. However, technological advances have been made that allow for effective hair removal for individuals with dark skin using long-pulsed NDYAG lasers.
How to Prepare
Your first step towards getting rid of your unwanted hair is to schedule a consultation with Chetco Medical & Aesthetics. At your consultation, your doctor will ask you about what you’re looking for with laser hair removal. They will ask you about your medical history and any medications you take, both prescriptions and over-the-counter.
Make sure you include any supplements or herbs you take as these can impact the treatment. Your doctor will also take photos of the areas of your body where you are having hair removed for before-and-after assessments. Your doctor will also provide you with specific instructions to prepare for the treatment.
Stay Out of the Sun
Your doctor will advise you to stay out of the sun as much as possible before treatment. When you can’t avoid being in the sun, wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF30.
Lighten Your Skin
The treatment is most successful when the pigment of your skin is lighter than the hair. It’s important that you avoid any sunless tanning creams that darken your skin. It’s also possible that your doctor will prescribe a skin bleaching cream if you have a recent tan.
Avoid Some Methods of Hair Removal
It’s important that the hair follicle remains intact for the laser treatment to be effective. Your doctor will ask you to avoid plucking and waxing for at least four weeks before the procedure as any of these can disturb the follicle.
Avoid Blood-Thinning Medications
When you are having your consultation with your doctor, they will advise you about which medications are not safe to take before this treatment. Aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs can have the side effect of being blood-thinning and must be avoided prior to treatment.
Shave Treatment Area
Trim or shave the treatment area the day before you come in for your laser treatment. This removes hair above the surface but leaves the follicle intact below the skin. It also ensures that the hair doesn’t burn your skin during treatment.
The Treatment
During the treatment, you will be given special goggles to protect your eyes from the laser. If your hair is still too long on the area being treated, an assistant may shave the site again. Your doctor will apply a topical anesthetic to your skin so you don’t feel anything at all during the treatment.
The doctor will use a handheld laser instrument to treat the skin area. The light will pass through your skin and damage the follicles beneath the surface. Treating a small area will only take a short period of time, while a larger area requires more time to treat.
Aftercare
After each laser treatment, avoid sunlight as much as possible. Don’t use a tanning bed for at least six weeks and make sure to use a broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF30 daily.
How Long Does Laser Hair Removal Last
Several years ago I decided to stop shaving my legs and switched to waxing. I was sick of ingrown hairs and the little red bumps that formed on my lower legs from an old school razor. (Note to readers: If this is already too much information, this article is probably not for you.) Waxing your legs, I soon learned, is wonderful—for three days. Then the hair begins to creep back in and you are stuck with it for at least two weeks, three if you want it to be even more efficient. At the end of last summer, I put my furry foot down. No more of this back-and-forth business, I decided. It was time to look into a more permanent option.
I remembered first hearing about laser hair removal years ago when people were first talking about it and thinking, “Eek, that sounds risky, I’m going to wait and see if this goes the way of the LaserDisc or the DVD.” Basically I wanted to make sure it was legit and worth the time, pain, and cost.
The way laser hair removal works, I soon discovered from a quick bit of precautionary research, is that pulses of highly concentrated light are emitted from the laser into the hair follicles. The pigment in the follicles absorbs the light and that destroys the hair. When I read that 90 percent of laser hair removal patients who are good candidates for the procedure report permanent hair loss after an average of three to six sessions, I was sold. “Chewbacca be gone,” I vowed to myself. “Next year, I am getting my legs lasered.”
My interest was particularly piqued by the spate of at-home laser treatments recently on the market. Could it be that easy? An investigation into the leading brands revealed some intriguing contenders, from the Tria 4X (an FDA-cleared device that claims to deliver more than triple the hair-eliminating energy of its DIY peers) to the IluminageTOUCH (which is approved to safetly treat a wider of skin tones than traditional lasers). But while the convenience of zapping away on my couch while watching Law & Order: SVU was seductive, none seemed quite right. I can barely operate my electric kettle—should I really be handling a laser?
Board-certified dermatologist Jessica Weiser, M.D., who I eventually approached, is also dubious about the at-home models. “I advise caution because they’re supposed to be much less intense than in office lasers but in the wrong hands you can probably do some serious damage if you’re double- or- triple pulsing areas that you shouldn’t be,” she tells me. “Typically people at home tend to be aggressive with themselves because they think that they can get a faster, better result without realizing potential consequences.”
I opt instead for the New York Dermatology Group, where Weiser specializes in medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology. When I call for an appointment, I learned that in order to have bikini-worthy legs by Memorial Day I would need to start the laser process in peak tights-and-boots weather. Soon, I’m headed down to their Flatiron offices for my first of six appointments—six, explains Dr. Weiser, to accommodate the hair’s growth cycles. “Hairs have a growth phase and also a resting and a falling-out phase,” she says. “Some of the hairs are not there right now because they are in the rest phase and not every hair will respond to the pulses.” Hence the need for multiple sessions, spaced about one month apart, the typical length of a hair-growth cycle.
I arrive at their office, a wide-open space with pale pine floors, and am shown to Dr. Weiser’s patient room, where she promptly asks if my legs are shaven.
“No!” I reply proudly, excited to show her that I wax instead.
“Hmm,” Dr. Weiser frowns. “I need the legs to be clean-shaven for the laser so we’ll have to shave them now,” she continues, explaining that for next six months of my laser treatment, I’ll need to exclusively shave my legs.
I am next instructed to put on a pair of bottle-green goggles while Dr. Weiser rubs ultrasound gel on my calves. Before we begin, she shares with me the one description of laser hair removal I have heard before: “It feels like a rubber band being flicked against your skin multiple times.”
Either I am wrong, or my pain threshold is incredibly low, because I find laser hair removal excruciatingly uncomfortable. In fact, I start to think, I would take a flick of a rubber band any day over the repeated burning zap of the laser. After the first few zaps, I squirm so much Dr. Weiser has to stop. It feels like someone is taking a lit match to my leg and holding it up close. The darker the hair, she explains, the coarser it is; therefore more energy is emitted onto that follicle, causing greater discomfort. When those hairs are zapped, it feels like a bee sting—and you just have to hope there aren’t too many.
The whole process is a bit like whack-a-mole; it seems there’s always another hair to quash. But Dr. Weiser is calm and methodical, her laser moving up and down the leg in straight lines. The noise of the pulses is like the beat of a metronome or a very fast elevator that beeps at every floor. (On my second visit, I remove my silk blouse in order to avoid unnecessary dry cleaning.) But with each subsequent visit, it gets progressively easier, partly because I am becoming more used to the process and partly because there is less hair to zap.
Clearly I’m not alone in this. Nearly half a million laser treatments were performed by dermatological surgeons in 2011 (the last year that collected data is available) according to the American Society for Dermatological Surgery, so it must be worth the minor suffering. Most people who get laser treatments are focusing on smaller areas of hair—underarm, upper lip, bikini line. These areas also happen to be much more sensitive: The very idea of getting my bikini line. These areas also happen to be much more sensitive. The lower leg, on the other hand, is one of the largest areas that they laser and it takes about 25 minutes altogether for both legs upon each visit.
By my third appointment I begin to see a real difference. The laser picks up a lot more “energy” as Dr. Weiser says, and I find the whole experience far less painful. For several days following each treatment, I have a series of small red bumps on my legs and this actually elates me because I know it means that the laser has picked up that follicle and when the redness dies down that spot will be hair-free for life—a delightful thought as summer, and a season of confidently wearing my favorite Isabel Marant silk-chiffon miniskirt, begins.
Is laser hair removal permanent
Shaving, plucking, or waxing hair can often be time-consuming. Many people turn to laser hair removal as a solution to take care of unwanted facial and body hair.
IS LASER HAIR REMOVAL PERMANENT FOREVER?
After you have your first laser hair removal treatment, you will see a reduced number of hairs immediately. Hair growth may increase in the treated area from 2 to 8 weeks after since not all hair follicles respond equally to the treatment. It usually takes 3 to 8 sessions to achieve permanent hair loss. You may also need touch-up sessions about once a year.
HOW LONG DOES PERMANENT LASER HAIR REMOVAL LAST?
After your initial treatments, laser hair removal should be permanent if you have a yearly touch-up session. You may even go years without seeing any regrowth. If you do, it tends to be finer and lighter in color and density than before.
IS LASER HAIR REMOVAL BAD?
You should receive your laser hair removal treatments from an experienced dermatologist. As with any procedure, side effects are possible, but the most common are discomfort, swelling, and redness, which may last for just a few days. More serious side effects such as scarring, or blistering are possible.
DOES LASER HAIR REMOVAL PERMANENTLY REDUCE HAIR?
Laser hair removal permanently reduces hair. Even if some hair grows back, it should be less noticeable as well as finer and lighter than it was before your treatments.
DOES LASER HAIR REMOVAL LIGHTEN SKIN?
Laser hair removal can sometimes lighten treated skin, but the effect is usually temporary. It’s more likely to happen if you have darker skin. Additionally, if you don’t avoid sun exposure as directed for six weeks before and after your treatment and use broad-spectrum sunscreen after your treatment, your skin may lighten.
HOW PAINFUL IS LASER HAIR REMOVAL?
If you’re receiving treatment in a sensitive area, your doctor may apply numbing gel on it before the laser is used. As the laser is used, some patients report a mild stinging sensation like a rubber band snapping.
SHOULD I SHAVE BEFORE LASER HAIR REMOVAL?
Shaving is recommended the day before your laser treatment. This removes the hair above the skin but leaves the hair shaft intact.
IS LASER HAIR REMOVAL SAFE LONG TERM?
As with any procedure, you may experience some side effects, but they’re less likely to occur if your treatment is performed by or under the supervision of a dermatologist who has experience in providing laser hair removal treatments.
CAN I SHOWER AFTER LASER HAIR REMOVAL?
You shouldn’t shower or bathe immediately after laser hair removal, but your doctor will tell you how long you should wait. The time may range from 8 hours up to 48 hours since your skin may still be sensitive.
If you’d like more information about laser hair removal, make an appointment today with Hollywood Dermatology & Cosmetic Specialists in South Florida. Our medical staff offers the latest, most effective treatments to help you look and feel your best.