How many hair removal treatments does it take

Laser hair removal isn't recommended for eyelids, eyebrows or surrounding areas, due to the possibility of severe eye injury. If you're interested in laser hair removal, choose a doctor who's board certified in a specialty such as dermatology or cosmetic surgery and has experience with laser hair removal on your skin type. If a physician assistant or licensed nurse will do the procedure, make sure a doctor supervises and is available on-site during the treatments.

Be cautious about spas, salons or other facilities that allow nonmedical personnel to do laser hair removal. Before laser hair removal, schedule a consultation with the doctor to determine if this is an appropriate treatment option for you. Your doctor will likely do the following:. At the consultation, discuss a treatment plan and related costs.

Laser hair removal is usually an out-of-pocket expense. The doctor will also offer specific instructions to prepare for laser hair removal. These might include:. Laser hair removal usually requires two to six treatments.

The interval between treatments will vary depending on the location. On areas where hair grows quickly, such as the upper lip, the treatment might be repeated in four to eight weeks. On areas of slow hair growth, such as the back, the treatment might be every 12 to 16 weeks.

For each treatment you'll wear special goggles to protect your eyes from the laser beam. An assistant might shave the site again if necessary. The doctor might apply a topical anesthetic to your skin to reduce any discomfort during treatment. The doctor will press a hand-held laser instrument to your skin. Depending on the type of laser, a cooling device on the tip of the instrument or a cool gel might be used to protect your skin and lessen the risk of side effects. When the doctor activates the laser, the laser beam will pass through your skin to the hair follicles.

The intense heat from the laser beam damages the hair follicles, which inhibits hair growth. You might feel discomfort, such as a warm pinprick, and you'll likely feel a sensation of cold from the cooling device or gel. Treating a small area, such as the upper lip, might take only a few minutes. Treating a larger area, such as the back, might take more than an hour.

To reduce any discomfort, apply ice to the treated area. If you have a skin reaction immediately after laser hair removal, the doctor might apply a steroid cream to the affected area. After laser hair removal and between scheduled treatments, avoid sunlight and don't use a tanning bed for six weeks or as directed by your doctor. Use a broad-spectrum SPF30 sunscreen daily.

Hairs do not fall out immediately, but you will shed them over a period of days to weeks. This may look like continued hair growth. The repeated treatments are usually necessary because hair growth and loss naturally occur in a cycle, and laser treatment works best with hair follicles in the new-growth stage.

Results vary significantly and are difficult to predict. Most people experience hair removal that lasts several months, and it might last for years. Follow-up treatments are necessary to get the most out of laser hair removal. The exact number of maintenance laser treatments varies by individual. According to the Mayo Clinic , most people need between four and six laser therapy sessions. You also need to space these out by six weeks each — this means that the full treatment cycle can take up to nine months.

Any hair that remains or regenerates will also be lighter in both texture and color. The AAD estimates that the number of hairs will reduce by 10 to 25 percent after your initial session. The rate of reduction thereafter will improve, but will also vary. Depending on your individual needs, you may need a maintenance session once or twice a year after your full initial round of laser treatment.

The timeline for each session is the same as your initial laser hair removal treatment. Overall, the timing depends on the area of treatment. Check out: How to identify, treat, and prevent infected ingrown hairs ». Other long-term hair removal options you can discuss with a dermatologist include electrolysis and needle epilators.

The U. The Brazilian offers complete pubic hair removal — front and back. Is it right for you? Can colloidal silver help treat acne? Here's what to know before giving this remedy a try. Not sure how to tell these two cosmetic procedures apart? We've got all the details. Interested in adding art to your teeth?

Laser removal offers precision, speed, and predictability. The lasers offer precise treatment that damages the hair follicle while leaving your skin untouched. They fire at lighting speed, which protects your skin and allows for multiple hairs in an area to be treated with each zap.

And with laser removal, you can trust that your treatment will result in permanent hair loss. Obviously, laser removal is not the only option when it comes to getting rid of unwanted hair. So why does it stand out when compared to all the other methods? Shaving is probably the most common way to remove unwanted hair. It removes your hair down to the surface of the skin.

Over a lifetime, women spend approximately 72 days shaving their legs! That extra time shaving in the shower really adds up. One of the main reasons people hate shaving is that the more often you shave, the faster your hair grows back, not to mention that it has a tendency to grow back even thicker. Plus, everyone who shaves has cut their legs doing it at least once or given themselves ingrown hairs or irritated, dry skin.

This method of hair removal is effective, but with big downsides. This process uses chemicals to dissolve the hair into a jelly. Afterward, you simply wipe away the cream and liquified hair. Some individuals have superficial chemical burns after using depilatory creams. The best option for waxing is to have it done in a salon by a professional, but you can also do it at home.

This method involves applying hot wax to the skin, letting the wax cool down and harden, and then ripping the wax and attached hairs off.

This method works to pull out not only the hair but the follicle as well, meaning that the hair takes longer to grow back.

During the treatment, a medical-grade laser device uses a concentrated beam of light to get rid of your unwanted hair. Unlike laser pointers, the lasers used in this treatment release pulses of light energy that target the melanin in your hair. As the hair absorbs the laser light, the energy changes from light to heat energy, which damages the hair follicle.

This inhibits or delays future hair growth. And when your hair does grow back, it will grow much slower and thinner. Laser removal results in the permanent reduction of hair.