At-home hair removal can be a lengthy, expensive and uncomfortable process. This is especially true if you grow a lot of hair or your hair grows out again very quickly. Shaving, plucking, waxing and sugaring all share one enormous drawback: the hair just grows back.
If you’re sick and tired of removing unwanted body hair, laser hair removal may be just the solution you need.
How Laser Removes Hair
Every hair on your body grows out of a tiny pocket in your skin. These pockets are called follicles. Laser hair removal works by targeting the roots of your hair with heat.
This affects the follicles just enough to mark them and render them incapable of growing hair. Just like hair won’t grow from a scar, hair won’t grow from a follicle that’s been treated with a laser.
Of course, for the process to work, there has to be a hair in the follicle. You cannot wax, pluck or otherwise pull out your hair before a laser treatment, as this will defeat the purpose. You can shave before a treatment, as this leaves the hair root in the follicle.
Understanding the ‘Damage’
When you hear that laser damages the hair follicles, you may think this is a bad thing. On the contrary, the scarring is microscopic and only stops hair from growing. Laser does not damage sweat glands, birth marks or any other feature of your skin.
The Schedule of the Laser Treatments
Most patients will need between three and five treatments on any given area to completely eradicate all of the hair. This is necessary because our hair is not always growing. For every hair you see, there are other follicles not currently producing a hair.
As laser only targets active follicles, you’ll need to come back again to treat follicles that were dormant during your last treatment.
After several treatments, all follicles in the treatment area will have entered an active phase and been treated, leaving your skin smooth and hairless for good.
Discomfort During Treatment
In its infancy, laser hair removal could be quite uncomfortable. The sensation of the laser firing against your skin is now akin to being snapped with a rubber band.
Get Started Today
With locations in Okemos, Carson City and St. Johns, Doctor’s Approach offers laser hair removal treatments for individuals looking to say goodbye to their unwanted hair.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Contact us today to schedule your appointment.
