It’s easy to see why laser hair removal is so popular — who wouldn’t want to ditch their expensive razors, bid adieu to painful shaving bumps, or skip the intimate bikini wax appointments, when all it takes to get rid of unwanted hair for good is a personalized laser treatment plan?
Here at Smooth Body Contours in Orlando, Florida, our seasoned aesthetic laser experts have helped many people permanently reduce unwanted hair on their legs, bikini area, face, back, underarms, and virtually anywhere else they’ve wanted to see smooth, hair-free skin.
Read on to learn how laser hair removal works — and how it can help you ditch your razor for good.
Laser hair removal works by sending targeted pulses of energy directly into active-growth hair follicles. This ultra-precise energy is readily absorbed by the melanin (pigments) that reside in each follicle and give your hair its natural color.
As the melanin in each follicle absorbs the laser energy, it briefly super-heats the follicle from the inside, effectively “flipping the switch” to render it inactive. An inactive hair follicle can no longer produce hair.
It’s easier for laser energy to target dark hair follicles because they contain a very high concentration of pigments to absorb that energy. In practice, this means areas of dark hair are easier to treat than areas of lighter hair, which have far fewer pigment cells in their follicles.
The bottom line? Laser hair removal can help thin out the light peach fuzz growing along the sides of your face or the light hair on your forearm, but it can get a whole lot closer to eliminating the dark hair on your underarms, legs, bikini area, upper lip, chin, or back.
In the days and weeks following your first laser hair removal treatment, you’ll be able to see a noticeable reduction in hair growth. But you’ve only just begun: Hair grows in cycles, and you need to undergo multiple, spaced-out laser treatments to deactivate as many unwanted hair follicles as possible.
At any given time, much of your hair is in its active-growth phase called anagen. At the same time, a smaller portion of your follicles are either in their regression phase (catagen) or their resting phase (telogen).
Because the laser only targets active-growth follicles, follicles that are in their shedding or resting phase aren’t affected by the treatment.
To ensure you get rid of as much unwanted hair in a specific area as possible, you may need three to six laser treatments, with each session spaced at least a month apart to give your follicles enough time to cycle into the active-growth phase.
Laser hair removal can only target active-growth follicles if there’s still some amount of hair in the follicle itself. At the same time, you don’t want to undergo laser hair removal on areas with too much hair growth past the surface of your skin, as it can disperse the laser’s energy away from the follicle and onto your skin.
Laser hair removal works best on areas that have been recently shaved, either the day before or the morning of your treatment session. When your hair stubble is as close to the surface of your skin as possible, virtually all the laser’s energy goes into the follicle.
Laser hair removal won’t work on areas that have been waxed or plucked, as these removal methods pull out the entire hair from the root, leaving no follicle behind to be deactivated by the laser’s energy.
Many modern aesthetic laser platforms are gentler and more targeted than ever before, and the FDA-approved diode laser device we use to perform laser hair removal at Smooth Body Contours is no exception.
Laser hair removal can safely thin out or get rid of unwanted hair on virtually any area of your body, no matter what your hair or skin type. You can attain smooth, hair-free skin on your:
Laser hair removal isn’t safe to use on the area near your eyes, however, so waxing or plucking is still the best way to keep unruly eyebrows under control.
If you’re ready to say goodbye to your razor for good, our top-notch team at Smooth Body Contours is ready to help. Call 205-894-5633 or request an appointment online today.
