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It’s Movember and while the men are growing mustaches for a good cause, perhaps you are thinking it’s time to get rid of yours. Or maybe you’ve just had enough of shaving your legs and underarms. If you’re a guy, maybe it’s your hairy back or backside. The freedom of enjoying smooth skin, free of stubble without the need to shave is something you will not regret… at least not if you choose the right treatment provider. Having a basic understanding of how laser hair removal works and what to expect will save you money, time and possibly disappointment.
Permanent Hair Reduction, as the treatment is officially known, is done with either an IPL (Intense Pulsed Light machine) or various lasers, known as Alexandrites, ND Yags or Diodes. Which is better, lasers or light? There are pros and cons of each.
The first thing you need to know is that IPL’s and lasers are both light. The difference is that a laser penetrates to one very specific depth and sees nothing that is not at that exact depth. IPL’s, on the other hand see everything. A certain depth can be set by filtering out everything deeper, but it literally sees everything between that depth and the surface of the skin.
Both lasers and IPL’s are seeking what is known as a chromophore. In the case of hair follicles, what the light of the laser or IPL is looking for is pigment. The light, which is red, penetrates beneath the surface of the skin looking for colour. The more colour there is in the hair, the easier it is for the light to target and destroy. The light easily sees black and brown hair, but struggles with red hair because the red light reflects off of it. Unfortunately, neither can see hair that is very blond or white.
Since the light is looking for pigment, if you have natural pigment in your skin or if your skin is tanned, you may not be a candidate for treatment with an IPL because it will see the pigment in your skin and target it as well as the hair follicle. Suitable candidates for hair removal with IPL’s are fair skinned people of European descent. People of Asian or Middle Eastern descent can be treated with an IPL, but consciously. When being treated with an IPL it is also critical to have no unprotected sun exposure prior to treatment or the light will see the excited melanocytes and potentially cause blistering. Darker skintypes needs to be treated with a laser that penetrates deep enough to bypass the melanin in the skin and target only the hair follicle. Such lasers can also treat tanned skin. Treatments with IPL’s are more comfortable than lasers. Lasers may struggle to see finer hair, and treatments are more uncomfortable than treatments with an IPL.
The number of treatments required varies greatly depending on skintype, colour of hair, the technology used and timely repetition of treatments. Hair grows in cycles and the hair on most areas of the body spends more time resting then it does growing. The light can only target and destroy hair follicles when they are in their active growth phase. When the hair that was resting starts growing again, it is important to treat it before it goes back to its resting phase. Keeping treatments timely at 4-6 weeks for hair above the neck and 8-10 weeks for hair below the neck will be more successful and get the job done in fewer treatments. Hair growth returns at varying rates but to reduce the number of treatments you will require in total, you should wait to see active re-growth before repeating the treatment. At least three and possibly six or more treatments may be required.
Not all IPL’s or lasers are created equal. There is spa-grade technology and medical-grade technology. Not all technicians know how to make their technology perform at its optimum. Too much energy can result in burns. Too little can actually backfire and cause a phenomenon known a stimulated hair growth.
How do you know your laser hair removal treatments are working? After the treatment, the dead hair follicles will gradually make their way out and exfoliate. You will enjoy a few weeks of not needing to shave before re-growth returns. With each additional treatment, less and less hair will appear between treatments. If the hair does not fall out for a period of time, you should change treatment providers.
Skinpossible’s medical-grade technology is tier-one in class for every treatment we offer. We offer both IPL and laser treatments so we can treat any skintype, even dark skin and tanned skin.
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