Laser Hair Removal – Facts
Technically/overall Laser hair removal cannot be stated as a hair removal solution. When compared to most of the traditional hair removal techniques like waxing, shaving, epilators, etc. laser hair removal can be considered a long term hair reduction solution.
One of the most common questions that come to people’s minds when they think of laser hair removal techniques is whether the method is good or not. To put it in simple terms, laser removal procedure targets hair follicles and it destroys and damages the follicles, thus helping achieve long-lasting hair reduction.
laser hair removal
Hair removal technique helps individuals achieve long term hair reduction, somewhere in the range of 75 to 90%. It does not guarantee 100% hair follicle removal, which is why it is not, but the 75 to 90% figure should be more than adequate for most individuals who are looking to achieve long-term hair removal.
The procedure involves laser light targeting hair follicles. The heat generated from the laser light helps destroy the follicles and thus prevents the growth of hair in those follicles. In some cases, the laser light only damages the hair follicle, thereby allowing the hair to grow back slower, lighter, and finer over time. It is practically impossible for a technician to focus on all the hair follicles in a single session, so multiple sessions are necessary to achieve long-term laser hair removal.
Multiple laser hair removal sessions
Every single hair has a different growth phase or stages {(1) anagen: growth phase (2) catagen : shedding/regression phase (3) telogen: resting phase}, and only hair follicles that are in the growth stage are treated during hair removal. So targeting every hair follicle in a single treatment session is not possible, especially since all follicles are not in the same stage at the same time. According to the research study conducted by ASLMS, it was found that, for achieving a long-term hair reduction with laser hair, the individual should undergo at least 6 to 9 sessions. Great levels of hair reduction can be achieved only after undergoing multiple sessions, minimally 6.
Laser hair removal clinics are well aware of this research data and they offer hair removal packages that consist of 8 sessions, minimum. In most cases, these 8 sessions are more than adequate to destroy around 70 to 90% of hair follicles. Even the remaining 10 to 30% of hair follicles grow back at a much slower rate as thinner, finer, and lighter hairs, that can be hardly recognized by the human eye.
Laser clinics and specialists highly recommend a minimum of 6-8 laser hair removal sessions with an interval of 6 weeks between them. After completing all the sessions, the individual may find some random fine hairs growing, in some parts of the body. Shaving can be done to remove them once in 2 or 3 weeks.
Patients who have undergone laser hair removal procedures on their faces should undergo an additional 2 to 4 laser touch-up treatment sessions per year, to sustain the results of the completed 6-8-session. This is to destroy or damage new hair follicles that have entered the growth phase, thus explaining why laser removal effectively achieves long term hair reduction and not hair removal. The outcome of long-term hair reduction with a laser removal treatment will vary from one person to another.
People with a lighter skin tone tend to achieve a higher percentage of success in a laser hair removal procedure, compared to those with a darker skin tone. This is simply because laser light is designed to be absorbed by melanin, most lasers were not designed to specifically target only melanin in the hair follicles vs skin.
Verdict
As discussed above, the natural hair growth cycle and ability to destroy all treated hair follicles makes it is medically impossible to achieve 100% hair removal using any hair removal procedure, specifically laser hair removal. Never trust hair spas and clinics that market saying that they’d remove 100% hair from the body using laser hair removal procedures. Once the hair follicles targeted using laser removal treatment are destroyed, hair removal can be achieved at that specific hair follicle only. However, an inactive hair follicle in that region will eventually enter the growth stage. Damaged hair follicles could grow up into thin, fine, and lighter hairs after some time. Additional maintenance laser removal sessions, typically 2-3 annually, are necessary to achieve the best long term hair reduction results.
