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How does laser hair removal work?
Laser hair removal is the use of laser energy to produce long-term hair reduction. This is accomplished by producing
heat in the hair, which is transferred to the hair follicle, which in-turn produces inflammation, and this inflammation
sends a signal to the hair follicle to go into the resting (telogen) phase.
What is a laser, really?
First of all, what is a laser? A laser is a device that produces light of a single color or wavelength. In a clinical setting,
these lasers produce pulses of high-energy light that is taken up by the desired target. In the case of hair removal, the
target is the melanin pigment contained within the hair shaft.
A delicate balance
The tricky part of laser hair removal is targeting the hair shaft without damaging the melanin pigment in the surface of the
skin. Thus the laser light has to be on long enough to heat the hair, but not too long to allow that heat to spread to the
surrounding skin causing damage. In addition, the darker a patient’s skin, the more difficult it is to avoid injuring the
surface of the skin while treating the hair. For this reason, there are three main types of hair removal lasers that are used
today, and depending on the thickness of the hair and the color of the skin, one laser may provide benefits as compared to
another.
How Hair Grows
Every hair goes through 3 cycles of growth.
The hair you can see is either in its active anagen growth cycle (still attached to
the hair follicle) or in its inactive cataqen phase (already separated from the follicle). Inactive hair will fall out on its
own as it has completed its growth cycle and already disengaged from the follicle. Beneath the surface of the skin are the dormant
hair follicles that have not entered a growth cycle. The laser targets the hair you can see, meaning it will remove both the active
and inactive hairs. Hair in an active growth cycle will not grow back as the laser will destroy the hair follicle beneath the skin.
Inactive hair will be removed; however, it will grow back as the follicle is still intact. As the hair moves through its cycles,
repeated sessions are necessary to treat the follicles when they enter the growth phase. To see long-term results, you can expect
at least 2-3 treatments with the laser.
When Performing Laser Hair Removal, Experience Matters
In addition to lasers, intense pulsed light sources are also used for hair removal. These light sources do not emit a single
color or wavelength of light, but emit light containing many colors. It may be more difficult to predict the outcome and avoid
complications when using light sources that contain many wavelengths of light. However, the results with any device depend upon
the experience of the practitioner, rest assured that the physicians at Complete Healthcare for Women are experienced and qualified.
How many treatments?
Normally, a series of three to five treatments are administered at four to eight week intervals depending upon the location of the
hair. Following the initial series of treatments, subsequent treatments are administered, usually at longer and longer intervals.
Some number of maintenance of treatments may be needed to keep all the hair away in a given area. After a single treatment, the hair
in a given area is usually reduced in amount and thickness for a very long period of time. However, it may not be completely gone.
How to prepar for a treatment
Prior to beginning laser treatment, it is important to avoid the sun for approximately 4 weeks. You must avoid bleaching, plucking or
waxing for 3-6 weeks prior to the treatment. However you may shave the area prior to treatment.
Results
After each laser treatment, you will notice the hair growth reduced dramatically and subsequent treatments will take less time as the
amount of hair diminishes. Though lasers have only been used to treat unwanted hair for about 3 years, the results have found that after
approximately 3 treatments, patients experience long-term, if not permanent, hair removal. No further studies are available at this time,
however, it appears that long-term and possibly permanent hair removal is possible with laser technology.
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