How Laser Hair Removal works

Traditional hair removal techniques such as plucking, waxing, and shaving only provide temporary relief from unsightly hair, and may actually promote hair growth. Electrolysis can be painful, and require years of ongoing expensive treatments to be effective. With laser hair removal, a short series of treatments provides permanent relief from unwanted hair, providing you with a lifetime of smooth, healthy, hair-free skin.

Hair cycles through both growth and dormant phases, with each follicle active at different periods. Because the hair lacks pigment during the dormant phase, three or four treatments will be needed to ensure that hair is treated during the growth phases.

During treatment, the chosen area is shaved, as laser hair removal works by pulsing laser waves into the root of each hair and it is not necessary for the hair shaft to be present. Our LightSheer Diode lasers are equipped with advanced ChillTip technology to ensure continual cooling of the epidermis during treatment, minimizing discomfort. The laser is pulsated over the skin, at a frequency determined by your hair and skin types. The length of the procedure depends on the area that is to be treated.

With electrolysis, the operator inserts a needle into the hair shaft to reach the follicle, and then sends an electrical charge down to the root to disable the hair’s growth. Each hair is then removed with tweezers. Due to the nature of the treatment, electrolysis can be painful or uncomfortable, and may require ongoing treatments to ensure proper hair removal. Laser hair removal is much faster, as the laser is pulsed across sections of skin at a frequency of about one pulse per second. Each pulse disables a large number of hair follicles, working even on hairs that are fine or short. With electrolysis, the operator may only remove hairs that are large enough to accompany a needle inside the follicle. Lasers treat all active follicles, even those which are small or below the skin.

The number of required sessions for full hair removal varies with each individual. The initial treatment ensures that all follicles in the active phase are treated, however the dormant hairs must move into the active phase before they can be treated. For this reason, we recommend a series of three treatments which will cover all hairs at different points in the cycle.

Although some areas of the body are more sensitive than others, most patients report little or no discomfort. Topical anesthetics may be applied prior to treatment for those with sensitive skin.