Is Laser Hair Removal For Legs Worth It ?For many women, a shaved leg is a sign of vanity. The latest beauty trends are all about shaving or waxing the hair off your legs and upper lip, while also exfoliating and moisturizing to keep your skin at its softest and smoothest. This can be quite a relaxing process, but is it really worth it? Let’s find out!
Laser hair removal for legs – is it worth it? Does it work? Is it painful and how much does it cost? These are all common questions our clients have when they come in for a consultation. We’re going to answer them here so you have all the information you need. Read on to learn more on Does Laser Hair Removal Cause Cancer/How Long Does Laser Hair Removal Last.
Is Laser Hair Removal For Legs Worth It
We all love having smooth, perfectly hairless legs. But when it comes to keeping them that way, for a long time there were only two main options available: shaving or waxing.
Shaving was the most convenient, but it always feels like a chore. No matter how often it seems like you shave, it’s only a matter of days before the hair is back. Not to mention red bumps, painful ingrown hairs and itchiness.
Sure, waxing offers you smoother legs for longer, but it comes a price. It rips hair out right from the root, which means it takes a longer time for it to grow back, but there’s no denying it hurts. Ouch!
When these are the only hair removal options available to you, it can be easy to put off shaving or waxing. Before you know it, instead of a pair of legs you’re walking around on a pair of cacti!
But, there is another way. Have you considered laser hair removal for your leg hair?
More and more people are. A few sessions with a professional MySkin Technician eliminates a lifetime of shaving, plucking or waxing. You’ll save money from never having to buy another razor again, and it’s much less painful then a trip to the wax salon.
How does laser leg hair removal work?
Laser hair removal is a permanent method is hair removal.
A trained MySkin Technician uses a state-of-the-art laser which generates highly concentrated laser light. As the laser tip is guided it along the surface of the leg, pulses of concentrated light set at a specific wavelength is absorbed by the pigment in the hair. This process destroys the hair, and stops new hair from growing.
The effectiveness of laser skin removal depends on the colour and thickness of the hair, as well as your skin tone. The laser can only target established hair, so it takes a number of sessions to ensure that all hair has been removed.
A ‘one size all’ approach will not work with laser leg hair removal, so it’s important to consult a laser hair removal specialist first.
How Long Does Laser Hair Removal Last
On the face, laser hair removal isn’t typically permanent but may be long-lasting. Some people report seeing no hair return after 10 years or more. Others experience regrowth sooner and rely on annual touchup treatments to keep unwanted hair at bay
Laser hair removal is a noninvasive, cosmetic procedure done to remove unwanted hair from the face and body.
For some people, laser hair removal on the body provides permanent or near-permanent results. Others may see a big reduction in the amount and thickness of hair that regrows over time.
While permanent results aren’t usually achieved on the face, regrowth may not occur for years.
Results vary and depend on several factors. These include the areas being treated and fluctuating hormonal levels.
How long before hair begins to grow back?
In order to determine how long it’ll take before your hair grows back, it may help to understand the growth pattern of hair.
Stages of hair growth
Hair goes through four stages of growth. They are:
anagen, the growing phase
catagen, the transitional phase
telogen, the resting phase
exogen, the shedding phase
At any given time, you have hairs going through all four phases.
Laser hair removal works by vaporizing existing hairs below the skin and at the root.
For that reason, it can only target hairs during the anagen, or growing phase. That’s why it takes multiple treatments, spaced apart, to get to all of the hair that grows in a particular spot.
Regrowth on the body
You’ll continue to see hair during the course of laser treatments. Some of this will be regrowth, but much of it will be hair that hasn’t yet been treated.
Once your course of treatment is complete, you may not see regrowth for many years.
On the body, laser hair removal may provide permanent or very long-lasting results. Over time, any hair that does grow back should be very sparse and fine.
Regrowth on the face
On the face, laser hair removal isn’t typically permanent but may be long-lasting.
Some people report seeing no hair return after 10 years or more. Others experience regrowth sooner and rely on annual touchup treatments to keep unwanted hair at bay.
Does hair on certain areas of the body or face grow back faster?
After laser hair removal, hair is most likely to grow back on the chin, neck, and other areas of the face.
This may be due in part to hormonal fluctuations and the reactivation of hair follicles by androgens, such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone.
In some women, regrowth of hair on the chin, neck, upper lip, and sideburns may coincide with menopause, when estrogen levels drop.
Hair regrowth on the body is also possible. In some people, it may be more likely to occur on the arms, legs, or chest rather than on the bikini line, stomach, or underarms.
When hair does grow back on the body, it’s typically sparse and very fine.
In rare instances, laser hair removal may cause thicker, darker hair to grow or regrow in an adjacent area to the one being treated. This condition is known as paradoxical hypertrichosis. Paradoxical hypertrichosis can occur anywhere on the face or body.
Does hair or skin color make a difference?
Your hair or skin color may determine how effective laser treatments are for you initially, but they won’t affect how quickly your hair grows back once treatments are complete.
Is there anything you can do to prevent hair from growing back?
Hair regrowth can be curbed by having laser treatment touchups as needed.
If hair growth is sparse, another option is electrolysis. Electrolysis works on hairs one at a time rather than on whole areas.
If you have a condition such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), keeping your hormones balanced can help reduce the chance of hair regrowth. You can help balance these hormones with medications like Metformin or with dietary modifications, such as a low carbohydrate intake.
The short answer is, yes, it is.
While it may be very slightly more uncomfortable than laser hair removal on the lower leg, the laser we use, the Light Sheer Duet diode laser, is fast, effective, and well tolerated by clients—which is why we love it.
You need a minimum of six treatments about a month apart because individual hairs are in different phases of growth, and the laser only affects those in the active growth phase. Over time, other follicles move into that phase and are susceptible to the laser.
After treatment, you want to be gentle with any areas that have had laser treatment. That means no super-hot water in the shower, and don’t pick at any scabs or bumps if you have any.
Laser hair removal is permanent, and if you’re tired of the constant razor burn or agony from waxing—over and over—then laser hair removal will be a welcome relief.
The Light Sheer Duet diode laser is the state-of-the-art laser for hair removal. We’re very experienced with it, and we will be happy to tackle your bikini area or any other.
Does Laser Hair Removal Cause Cancer
Laser hair treatment is very safe when it is performed by an experienced doctor at a reputable clinic. There is no evidence that having laser treatment can increase the risk of any type of cancer or any other illnesses.
What is Laser Hair Removal?
In order to understand the potential risks of laser hair treatment, it’s worth taking a moment to think about the way it works. A laser is a beam of light that is all focused in one direction. The lasers that are used for hair removal treatments are made up of specific wavelengths of light, from the visible or infrared range.
The laser will heat up the pigment inside the hair in order to kill the follicle. Once the follicle has been destroyed, that hair won’t be able to grow back. The laser treatments performed at the Dermadoc clinic are targeted at the hair follicles, so it won’t penetrate deep into the skin or have any effect on the surrounding skin. It won’t cause the same damage as the broader wavelengths of light used during IPL treatment can.
Laser Treatment and Skin Cancer
One concern that you might have about laser treatment is whether this type of light could increase the risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer is associated with exposure to certain types of light in the UV range. We are exposed to UV in sunlight and some artificial light sources, such as tanning beds. It is a high energy wavelength that is beyond the human range of vision.
UV light is so powerful that it can damage the genetic material inside our cells. If the wrong part of the DNA is damaged, then it can cause the skin cells to become cancerous. It usually takes many years of exposure to sunlight or other types of UV for this to happen. The same kind of damage is also responsible for many of the signs of ageing, such as wrinkles.
Although laser hair removal uses light energy, it does not include any UV light. The wavelengths that are used to target the hair follicles have a longer wavelength and are less energetic. There is no risk that they could damage the genetic material in your cells, so having laser hair removal won’t increase the risk of skin cancer.
Could Laser Treatment Cause Other Forms of Cancer?
Since the lasers used for hair removal don’t contain any UV light, they can’t cause skin cancer. However, you might still be worried that the treatment could put you at risk of other forms of cancer.
Laser hair treatment is very safe when it is performed by an experienced doctor at a reputable clinic. There is no evidence that having laser treatment can increase the risk of any type of cancer or any other illnesses. We have been using laser to remove unwanted hair for many years, so we know that there are no long-term effects for our patients either.
FACE
One of the most frequently treated areas with a laser for hair removal is the face. This is an area of the body where many people, especially women, don’t want hair to grow, particularly if it is dark hair. A laser can safely remove hair from the upper lip, chin, neck, and sideburns. Since the laser only penetrates the upper layer of skin to the hair follicle, it’s completely safe to remove hair from the sensitive areas of the face.
LEGS
The skin on the legs is much tougher than the skin on the face, so the legs are a very popular area of the body to get laser treatments to remove unwanted hair. Most women have already put their legs through shaving and waxing, so laser treatment is no big deal. However, it is a big deal that you won’t have to deal with razors or wax anymore! Laser treatment makes these expenses a thing of the past.
UNDERARMS
Another area of the body that is often exposed to laser treatments to remove unwanted hair is the underarms. Women in particular have spent years shaving or waxing under their arms, only to have to deal repeatedly with razor burn or ingrown hair. Fortunately, it is extremely safe to use a laser on the skin under the arms, and in fact, it’s an area that literally takes only about a minute to complete, for both underarms.
BACK
Increasingly, men are seeking out hair removal or thinning options for their back hair. Laser treatment is perfect for this use because if someone doesn’t want to remove all their back hair, they either have to pluck out the hairs they want removed, or they can undergo laser sessions to thin it out. Waxing and shaving don’t allow for thinning at all. However, if you want to remove all back hair, this is possible with a laser as well.
CHEST
As with the back, men are trying to remove or thin their chest hair more often these days. Laser treatment is able to target specific hair follicles so that only the hair that the patient wants to be removed is targeted. This results in a thinning effect that is permanent. People who want to remove all their chest hair can definitely undergo laser treatments as well, so they can stop shaving and waxing this sensitive area of the body.