Ingrown Hair From Laser Hair Removal
If you’ve ever tried laser hair removal, you know how effective it is in eliminating unsightly hair. Nevertheless, ingrown hairs are sometimes visible after the operation. Despite the fact that these are completely normal and indicate that your skin is repairing the harm it sustained from the laser, nobody wants their previously removed hair to grow back in the same place. The following advice can help you avoid ingrown hairs and eliminate those that have already appeared.
The skin is attempting to do more than simply mend; it is also striving to grow back bigger and fuller than it was before. Ingrown hairs are a result of irritation and inflammation caused by this. Talk to your dermatologist or aesthetician if you have any questions regarding this procedure or if you are worried about getting an ingrown hair following laser hair removal.
The average cost of laser hair removal is around $150 – $200 per session; and treatments generally take place 2-4 times in order to see a reduction in hair growth or to see the results you had hoped for. Along with these expenses, some people have additional costs which arise from incorrect treatment at their salon. Read on to learn more on ingrown pubic hair after laser/folliculitis after laser hair removal.
Ingrown Hair From Laser Hair Removal
When a hair have curled around and grown back into your skin instead of rising up from it then you have an ingrown hair. In some cases, dead skin can clog up a follicle. That forces the hair inside it to grow sideways under the skin, rather than upward and outward. Sometimes, cutting naturally curly hair too closely will result in the sharpened end of the hair piercing the skin, causing an ingrown hair. Ingrown hairs aren’t serious. But they can be irritating and embarrassing.
Ingrown hairs are found where the hair is coarse, it can be caused by aggressive hair removal methods such as waxing. It is very common for your hair to become very fine if you have been waxing for a long period of time however naturally your skin sheds dead skin cells due to this debris may block the hair follicle and if the hair is too thin it cannot pass through leading to an ingrown hair being formed.
In our clinic in Angel London we see people in our consultations that look to find a solution for the ingrown hairs especially after many years of waxing or shaving. The most requested areas usually are the chin, neck and bikini. After the treatment for the ingrown hairs it will take some time for the hair to fall off and for the hyper pigmented scar to go lighter.
Treatment options for ingrown hairs:
- Laser hair removal: If there are a number of ingrown hairs we recommend a course of laser treatments. After a course of sessions you have to wait until the natural cycle of the hairs will take them to the surface of skin, helping with exfoliation. In our experience we have seen that if the hair was already dead deep into the skin and disconnected from the follicle the laser unfortunately can’t help but if the hair was alive and more superficial, it can respond to the laser and will fall out consequentially as the other hairs.
- Medical treatment: If the ingrown hair is one single inflamed lump we recommend to see our dermatologist Dr. Christina Vlachou for a medical treatment.
- Electrolysis: If the ingrown hairs are particularly deep, resistant and they seem to be trapped inside of the follicle, we offer electrolysis treatment to remove them.
Here are a few things you may want to consider about our treatments to treat ingrowing hairs:
- Longer lasting and permanent results
- Quick and safe treatment
- You can eliminate inflammation caused by ingrown hairs
How does laser hair removal work?
A concentrated beam of light is aimed at the hair remember the laser targets pigment therefore laser hair removal only works on brown to dark hairs. The light is then absorbed by the pigment in the hair which damages the hair follicle and disables any factors responsible for hair growth. This leads to permanent hair reduction.
How many treatments will I need?
The amount of treatments needed averages around 8. However please keep in mind you may need more depending on how well your hair takes to the laser. You may need top up sessions which may be 1-2 a year.
Folliculitis After Laser Hair Removal
Folliculitis is caused by bacteria entering damaged follicles. Therefore it usually occurs after hair removal procedures. Regardless of whether you are waxing, shaving, or epilating, you’re still damaging the follicle. Consequently, you are still at risk of getting this bothersome condition.
Have you ever noticed red (sometimes painful) bumps on the skin, usually a few days after shaving? If you answered yes, you’ve most likely experienced ‘folliculitis’! Folliculitis is a skin condition caused by an inflammation of the hair follicle. It’s often confused with ingrown hairs and keratosis pilaris, however differs in cause & biology.
The most common areas to experience folliculitis is on the underarms, legs, pubic area, and arms. This is because the hair is generally thicker and therefore causes more irritation when the hair is removed. It’s a common occurance in both men & women, at any age. ‘Shaving bumps’ on the face, neck, and scalp are similar in appearance, however are referred to as ‘Pseudofolliculitis‘.
Folliculitis isn’t dangerous. However it can be extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing – especially if it’s on your arms or legs! Regardless of its appearance, we recommend treating it ASAP to prevent it from spreading and developing into a more severe infection.
Why am I getting folliculitis?
Folliculitis is caused by bacteria entering damaged follicles. Therefore it usually occurs after hair removal procedures. Regardless of whether you are waxing, shaving, or epilating, you’re still damaging the follicle. Consequently, you are still at risk of getting this bothersome condition.
Whilst not as common, it can also be caused by the friction of your clothing. If the friction is strong enough to damage your hair follicles, it can then cause the infection.
This skin condition is not usually contagious, however some forms of it can be. So we recommend avoiding skin to skin contact or sharing towels until it has completely cleared.
Try not to worry – mild cases will alleviate on their own!
How can I treat it?
There’s no such thing as ‘folliculitis removal’, however it will generally clear by itself (assuming you have a mild case). However if it’s developed into a severe condition, we recommend visiting your GP who will prescribe you with relevant medication.
To speed up recovery of mild cases and to prevent future folliculitis, Laser Hair Removal is the answer!
How?
The laser beam generated by the Candela GentleLase travels to the infected follicle, destroying the bacteria causing the skin condition. By destroying the bacteria, your symptoms should relieve within just a few days post-treatment!
Will it come back after laser hair removal treatments?
You’re likely to experience folliculitis even after laser treatments, if you do not complete your course of treatments. Laser hair removal (LHR) works by damaging your hair follicle until it is damaged enough to stop hair production. Although you’ll notice thinner regrowth after your first few treatments, it will return to its original state if left untreated.
The recommended course of treatments for each folliculitis-prone areas are:
- Pubic hair folliculitis (including folliculitis on anus) – 9-12 treatments
- Underarm folliculitis – 9-12 treatments
- Folliculitis on arms or legs – 6-9 treatments
- Folliculitis on face, neck, or cranium (scalp) – 20+ treatments
In your LHR consultation, your skin therapist will assess your suitability for treatment and explain the treatment process. If you’re not suitable for LHR, your therapist will provide alternative hair removal procedures and preventive measures.
How else can I prevent folliculitis?
Whilst this condition is sometimes inevitable, there are some things that you can do to prevent future folliculitis infections:
- Don’t touch the area after your hair removal procedure with unclean hands. As folliculitis is a bacterial infection, it’s very important to keep your skin as clean as possible.
- Shower after the gym. Sweat build up may cause folliculitis if your sweat sits on the skin for too long.
- Avoid tight clothing. As mentioned above, the irritation of your tight clothing may damage your hair follicles.
- Shave less. Shaving is a common irritant to the skin, even if you don’t suffer from folliculitis. The less you shave, the better.
- Wash your clothes and bath towels frequently. Wearing clean clothes and using clean bath towels will help prevent any damaged follicles become infected.
- Use an antibacterial soap. Particularly within two weeks after any hair removal procedure (including shaving).
- Laser Hair Removal. Laser is the only hair removal method that will not only prevent but also treat folliculitis.
Where do I start?
If you’ve followed our recommendations and are still suffering from folliculitis, it’s time to have a chat with us!
Our skin therapists are available for free skin consultations Tuesday-Saturday. In the consultation, we will assess your skin and discuss your current skin and hair regime. We will then be able to advise product and treatment recommendations to further assist your condition.
Have you ever noticed red (sometimes painful) bumps on the skin, usually a few days after shaving? If you answered yes, you’ve most likely experienced ‘folliculitis’! Folliculitis is a skin condition caused by an inflammation of the hair follicle. It’s often confused with ingrown hairs and keratosis pilaris, however differs in cause & biology.
The most common areas to experience folliculitis is on the underarms, legs, pubic area, and arms. This is because the hair is generally thicker and therefore causes more irritation when the hair is removed. It’s a common occurance in both men & women, at any age. ‘Shaving bumps’ on the face, neck, and scalp are similar in appearance, however are referred to as ‘Pseudofolliculitis‘.
Folliculitis isn’t dangerous. However it can be extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing – especially if it’s on your arms or legs! Regardless of its appearance, we recommend treating it ASAP to prevent it from spreading and developing into a more severe infection.
Why am I getting folliculitis?
Folliculitis is caused by bacteria entering damaged follicles. Therefore it usually occurs after hair removal procedures. Regardless of whether you are waxing, shaving, or epilating, you’re still damaging the follicle. Consequently, you are still at risk of getting this bothersome condition.
Whilst not as common, it can also be caused by the friction of your clothing. If the friction is strong enough to damage your hair follicles, it can then cause the infection.
This skin condition is not usually contagious, however some forms of it can be. So we recommend avoiding skin to skin contact or sharing towels until it has completely cleared.
Try not to worry – mild cases will alleviate on their own!
How can I treat it?
There’s no such thing as ‘folliculitis removal’, however it will generally clear by itself (assuming you have a mild case). However if it’s developed into a severe condition, we recommend visiting your GP who will prescribe you with relevant medication.
To speed up recovery of mild cases and to prevent future folliculitis, Laser Hair Removal is the answer!
How?
The laser beam generated by the Candela GentleLase travels to the infected follicle, destroying the bacteria causing the skin condition. By destroying the bacteria, your symptoms should relieve within just a few days post-treatment!
Will it come back after laser hair removal treatments?
You’re likely to experience folliculitis even after laser treatments, if you do not complete your course of treatments. Laser hair removal (LHR) works by damaging your hair follicle until it is damaged enough to stop hair production. Although you’ll notice thinner regrowth after your first few treatments, it will return to its original state if left untreated.
The recommended course of treatments for each folliculitis-prone areas are:
- Pubic hair folliculitis (including folliculitis on anus) – 9-12 treatments
- Underarm folliculitis – 9-12 treatments
- Folliculitis on arms or legs – 6-9 treatments
- Folliculitis on face, neck, or cranium (scalp) – 20+ treatments
In your LHR consultation, your skin therapist will assess your suitability for treatment and explain the treatment process. If you’re not suitable for LHR, your therapist will provide alternative hair removal procedures and preventive measures.
Ingrown Pubic Hair After Laser
It also happens when treated hairs are shedding and if you don’t exfoliate regularly enough these hairs will tend to get trapped in the skin. If you are prone to ingrown hairs you will normally see bumps appear about a week after laser these are nothing to worry about.
Ingrown hairs don’t seem to be anyone’s favorite topic to discuss. Therefore, you may not know how they form or ways to get rid of them. When they happen to you, there is no doubt you’ll want to react fast to manage pain and their appearance. Here is some information on what they are, and how you can remove them in no time flat with laser hair removal techniques.
Just What Is an Ingrown Hair?
An ingrown hair refers to a hair follicle that is unable to push through the skin. Dead skin, oils, and dirt clogs the area right above the hair follicle, causing hair to get stuck.
An ingrown hair ends up growing beneath the skin instead of pushing up and out like normal. Since the hair can’t grow up, it proceeds to grow sideways. As you might imagine, this is less than ideal and can cause some real problems.
Ingrown hairs happen more often to those with naturally curly hair or coarse hair. Sometimes, a hair will become trapped under the skin before it leaves the follicle, resulting in an ingrown hair. Other times, a hair will grow out of the follicle and curl back to reenter the skin.
How Do I Know If I Have Ingrown Hair?
Generally, you’ll see one or more little red raised bumps on your skin. They look like little pimples. You could also see something bigger that looks like a sore or boil. Your skin will often itch badly in that area, or it might be sensitive to touch and uncomfortable.
Ingrown hairs can happen anywhere on the body because our bodies are covered in hair. But areas that are shaved have a higher propensity. This is partly because these areas tend to have more short, curly and/or coarse hairs.
The most typical areas for ingrown hairs to occur are on the face, neck, armpits, back and chest, or in the pubic area.
Why Is It So Important to Remove Them?
There are numerous reasons why it’s important to get rid of ingrown hair, including infection. Ingrown hair pierces the skin, causing damage both above and beneath the surface. It is important to remove them before they get infected and cause health and additional skin problems.
Moreover, if you don’t remove them, ingrown hairs can lead to skin imperfections such as scars and discoloration. If you want your skin to look healthy and clear, removing ingrown hairs is essential. Otherwise, the appearance of your skin could change permanently.
Additional Medical Issues
There’s some evidence to suggest that ingrown hairs can lead to more serious conditions such as a pilonidal cyst.
Pilonidal cysts usually appear near the tailbone. They are pockets filled with dead skin cells and hair. Pilonidal cysts are painful and typically need to be surgically removed or drained. Unlike ingrown hairs, there is very little chance of pilonidal cysts going away on their own.
Why Laser Hair Removal is the Best Way to Get Rid of Ingrown Hairs
Laser hair removal is the best and only real effective choice for getting rid of ingrown hairs quickly. This is because laser hair removal goes straight to the source of the problem, the root or hair follicle. The laser hits the follicle directly, burning away the follicle’s ability to produce hair.
Once the follicle can no longer produce hair, an affected area will begin to heal. It’s important to remember that the problem with ingrown hairs isn’t just the one-time production of hair that pierces back into your skin causing irritation. The real issue is that the hair will keep coming back and continuing to grow while stuck underneath the dermis.
A hair follicle is like a weed that will grow until you stop it. By using laser hair removal, you’re stopping the hair follicle from producing hair now and in the future. This will put an end to irritation, pain, infection, and further damage to your skin.
Laser hair removal has the advantage of being able to eliminate hair on many parts of the body. All that’s needed is a line of sight so that the laser can connect to the root.
Whilst this condition is sometimes inevitable, there are some things that you can do to prevent future folliculitis infections:
- Don’t touch the area after your hair removal procedure with unclean hands. As folliculitis is a bacterial infection, it’s very important to keep your skin as clean as possible.
- Shower after the gym. Sweat build up may cause folliculitis if your sweat sits on the skin for too long.
- Avoid tight clothing. As mentioned above, the irritation of your tight clothing may damage your hair follicles.
- Shave less. Shaving is a common irritant to the skin, even if you don’t suffer from folliculitis. The less you shave, the better.
- Wash your clothes and bath towels frequently. Wearing clean clothes and using clean bath towels will help prevent any damaged follicles become infected.
- Use an antibacterial soap. Particularly within two weeks after any hair removal procedure (including shaving).
- Laser Hair Removal. Laser is the only hair removal method that will not only prevent but also treat folliculitis.
Where do I start?
If you’ve followed our recommendations and are still suffering from folliculitis, it’s time to have a chat with us!
Our skin therapists are available for skin consultations Tuesday-Saturday. In the consultation, we will assess your skin and discuss your current skin and hair regime. We will then be able to advise product and treatment recommendations to further assist your condition.
Hair didnt fall out after laser
Many people expect to see their hair fall out instantly following a laser hair removal session. But this is an untruth: unwanted hair will not fall out automatically the following morning after the laser hair removal treatment.
Why isn’t hair falling out following the laser removal process? In one treatment, the laser may only treat about 15% of the hair removed by itself, later on, approximately five days after the procedure. This process depends on the individual and their age and skin type hormones, as well as the natural processes for hair growth.
Understanding the Hair Growth Cycle
Before you can figure out the reason hair doesn’t fall out following laser hair removal, it’s essential to look at three major cycles of hair growth hair follicles experience:
Anagen: is also known as the growth cycle, and it’s the best phase that the laser treatment can be effective. Anagen is the stage when hair appears on the skin’s surface, which lets the laser stay in place and transfer heat down the hair strand and to the hair follicle.
Catagen: The catagen phase in the cycle of hair, happens the one that occurs before the hair is shed naturally and not due to the laser. In this stage, laser hair removal will not be as successful as hair is already dead and pushed out of the hair follicle.
Telogen: is the stage in which hair is not growing or developing beneath the skin. Also known as the resting phase, Telogen is not suitable for laser hair removal as there isn’t any hair showing on the skin’s surface.
Why Didn’t My Hair Fall Out After Laser Hair Removal?
Laser hair removal is a procedure that permits patients to temporarily put off the necessity to shave, wax or pluck unwanted hairs. The procedure makes use of strong light from the laser device to focus on the pigmentation in dark hair and lets the skin absorb the heat to kill hair follicles. However, it’s not permanent, and a new hair follicle will eventually grow.
After one session of laser treatment, your hair’s bulb is expected to break out over a seven to 30-day time span. At this point, bumps and redness could occur as your body pulls dead hair out of your hair follicle. Ingrown hairs could get stuck beneath the skin. People may believe that it’s hair growth, but it’s your body pushing hair upwards to the surface and pulling the hair away from your skin to remove it.
Some patients may be concerned because not all hairs within the treatment region were shed following the treatment. It is crucial to remember that every hair follicle may not necessarily have the same growth cycle as the hairs surrounding it. Lasers can kill hair only during the anagen stage. However, only about 15 percent of the hair will be present in this phase at the time of one laser session. That means that only 15 percent of hair follicles will be destroyed, and those hairs will fall off five to 14 days following treatment.
The growth cycle is the reason why it could take between 6 and 8 sessions before the hair follicles have been destroyed. Each treatment area has its own unique growth cycle, and hair growth in the upper lip can be four weeks, and the cycle for the legs can take between 8 and 10 weeks. A cosmetic surgeon would spread the time within your treatment schedule by six weeks to keep up the growth of hair.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Laser Hair Removal
If you’re concerned about your hair not dropping out, do not be worried. The rate of loss and regrowth is mainly dependent on the person; skin types, hormones, hair type, skin color, and treatment areas are just a few of the many circumstances that impact the process. While you wait, you should know the do’s and don’ts to be aware of:
Do not remove hair after the Laser Treatment
The most important thing to remember is to remain patient. Do not tweeze, wax, pick up, pluck, thread, or squeeze hair from your skin because this can eliminate the hair follicles targeted with the laser and cause skin irritation. It’s better to keep them in place until they are gone; when you go through the laser hair removal procedure, the dark and thick hairs will become thinner and easier to get rid of.
Exfoliate Frequently.
While you shouldn’t be able to pull hair out forcefully, you’re free to cut or scrub the hair in order to speed up the shed process. Rub the treatment area with a circular motion with a loofah or gentle washcloth for removing dead hair.