How laser hair removal works
@Rohvannyn (3098)
United States
January 29, 2017 4:25pm CST
It's really quite interesting, or so I think. Laser hair removal works when the laser light heats up the dark hair, transmitting the heat energy down to the follicle and killing it.
The skin itself isn't burned or singed. You sometimes smell a bit of a "burnt hair" smell as some of the finer hairs are destroyed. Everyone wears safety goggles so the intense light doesn't damage anyone's eyes.
It does hurt somewhat, especially on the upper lip, jaw, or anywhere the skin is close to bone. It doesn't hurt much on the legs, though everybody is different. You will notice some redness in the skin but that goes away within a few hours. You don't have to put anything on your skin and you can even put makeup on right away.
The best candidates for this type of hair removal are people with dark hairs and light skin, that way the laser light is absorbed better into the dark hair shafts and just bounces off the light skin.
Usually several treatments are needed about a month apart. That's because your body has several different "sets" of hair follicles, all growing at different rates, so you want to catch every follicle while it's active. At any given time you have many hair follicles that are dormant, and many more in active growth.
Laser hair removal is recommended for people who are developing MS, because that way they won't have to shave later on when their hands get too shaky or their muscles get too weak. My partner is developing MS so we want to get her taken care of now so she won't have to deal with shaving or waxing later. That's why I'm learning so much about laser hair removal.
4 people like this
6 responses
@Mike197602 (15505)
• United Kingdom
29 Jan 17
I had it done a few times.
Personally I found it did work for me but then went for a cheaper IPL option which hurt more and didn't do the job.
So don't go for the IPL option as it's no good
Yes, with laser treatment you'd need a fair few treatments as it does (as you said) depend on the growth cycle of the hair.
My skin was very receptive...I'm biologically Irish and have very pale skin and very black hair.
Of course a much cheaper option is waxing.
PS...after problems vary.
For me it was like moderate sunburn on my back and it was a bit painful.
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@Rohvannyn (3098)
• United States
29 Jan 17
@Mike197602 Okay, that makes sense about the after effects. I think it also depends a lot on the size and strength of the pulse. As for the reason why it's good for people who are developing MS, it's because people who have that condition often develop difficulty with shaving. So if you get the hair removal early, it's one less thing the person has to deal with when daily life becomes difficult.
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@Mike197602 (15505)
• United Kingdom
29 Jan 17
I don't exactly get the reasons behind the MS thing?...is it not recommended for people with MS?
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@Mike197602 (15505)
• United Kingdom
29 Jan 17
@Rohvannyn OK that makes sense
I used to look after a lot of people with advanced progressive MS and they did appear to try to simplify tasks so that's a good thing to be thinking ahead
I got them to turn the laser up to full power (after signing a disclaimer) as it was expensive and I wanted value for money
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@Rohvannyn (3098)
• United States
29 Jan 17
Well, it's nice to help her finally get rid of the problem. It can be expensive but the place I went, I got a Groupon that let me have three treatments for a total of $75, when a normal treatment for that area is $89. Even that is a lot better than up in Washington, where I saw an upper lip treatment for about $100 - here, you can get full beard or lower legs or another medium size area for the $89 price. Usually between 3 to 8 treatments are needed to get all hair, but even after 2 or 3 you can see huge improvements.
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
2 Feb 17
I have always thought it sounds rather intriguing but I have never had any. I think it makes good sense for your partner and I will consider it for my husband who has Parkinson's if it becomes necessary.
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@Rohvannyn (3098)
• United States
2 Feb 17
It might be helpful for him. Parkinson's can make life pretty hard sometimes.
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@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
31 Jan 17
plus shaving it just, well annoying!
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@Rohvannyn (3098)
• United States
31 Jan 17
No kidding! Particularly as a person gets older, stiffer, plumper.
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@Rohvannyn (3098)
• United States
29 Jan 17
Thanks... I figured I'd just write a new post to answer all the questions.
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