The Long-term Solution for Removal of Unwanted Hair

It is hard to exaggerate the social implications of unwanted body and facial hair, which is similar to the importance of unwanted baldness.

The laser has revolutionized the treatment of unwanted hair. Previously, the only long-term solution was electrolysis, which is a painful hair-by-hair treatment that has been made obsolete by the introduction of laser hair removal. Temporary treatments like waxing, plucking, shaving and the use of depilatories have no effect on the hair follicle that produces the hair.

Men may experience overgrowth of hair in the beard area. This may necessitate frequent shaving. The lower face and neck may be treated to reduce growth in these areas. This may also help prevent ingrown hairs and folliculitis. The back of the neck, shoulders, and back are often treated. These areas may be large, and require a longer treatment session.

How does laser hair removal work?

Melanin, the pigment in your skin, absorbs light energy from a certain range of wavelengths of light that are able to penetrate to the deeper skin layers where your hair follicles are located. The light energy from the laser is selectively absorbed by the higher concentration of melanin that surrounds your hair follicles - so your skin is not burned.

The technique takes advantage of the contrast in concentration of melanin in the cells lining the hair follicle (along with the dark pigmentation in the bottom part of the hair hidden in the hair follicle), compared to the surrounding skin.

What hair and skin types respond best to laser hair removal?

How do I prepare for laser hair removal?

It is best to avoid tanning prior to treatments so that there is no increase in melanin content in your skin which would cause your skin to absorb more of the laser energy. More melanin in the skin makes the treatments more uncomfortable and necessitates the use of lower energy settings, with less effectiveness.

Laser Hair Removal: A Course of Treatments

It is important to understand that hairs have a cycle that repeats about every year (longer for the scalp). For two to three months, facial hairs are in their "dormant" resting phase ("telogen"). On the face, this represents about a third of the hair follicles. When the hairs are in this phase, they are invulnerable to laser treatment. Even when the hair follicles are susceptible, in their growth phases (anagen), not all of the hair follicles are disabled with a single treatment. A significant percentage will survive, although the hair may be less coarse and lighter. Consequently, laser hair removal cannot effectively remove all the hair in one treatment. Laser hair removal treatments are spaced out at least a month apart, so that hairs emerging from their "hibernation" can be treated. This way, over the course of several treatments, few hair follicles will escape exposure to the laser.

What about alternative treatments such as "EpiLight^TM"?

Flashlamp systems, such as "EpiLight^TM", are not lasers. They are light-based systems (like the flash on a camera) that use a filter to narrow down the range of wavelengths. The advantage of laser treatment is specificity, meaning that all of the energy is delivered on the desired wavelength (which is the definition of a laser) so that there is less wasted energy.