Laser Hair Removal Treatment

Hopefully you’ve gone to your initial consultation, met with your specialist and the staff, checked out the equipment and asked a ton of questions about your own personalized treatment for laser hair removal. What’s left? Oh, yeah, the actual appointment. Wondering what to expect? Naturally, it varies from clinic to clinic, from specialist to specialist, and of course, from patient to patient. But, in general, it’s a fairly routine routine.

Here are some things you need to know before your first appointment.

Prepare your skin beforehand.

About 1 to 3 days before your appointment, shave the area that will be treated. Doesn’t sound right, does it? It’s not necessary that you have visible hair; you want the laser to focus most of its energy toward the follicle, not the dead hair on the surface.

Soothing gel is often used during and for a few days after the procedure.

During the laser hair removal, the specialist (always check what laser hair removal training they've had) presses a hand-held laser device to your skin. Just before, they might also apply a cool gel to protect your skin during the procedure. The light from the laser passes through the surface of the skin underneath to the hair follicles. The powerful heat generated by the laser destroys the hair follicle, suppressing future hair growth.

After the procedure is finished, and how long it takes depends on how much hair is being removed and how fast the laser (and specialist) works, an aloe vera gel will be applied to the area to soothe it. You should do this at home for the next few days, as well.

Most people wind up looking like they’ve got a mild case of sunburn.

This should go away fairly quickly. It is not common to have permanent skin discoloring or blotchiness, but it does happen, and you should listen to your practitioner carefully for correct application of after-treatment creams and ointments.

You don’t immediately lose your hair.

It may take up to 14 days for the treated area to “shed". This is a very important thing for you to be aware of, and it should be conveyed to you at your consultation. In a few weeks time, though, the hair that was dormant will now be in the growth stage, and you’ll have to schedule another appointment to continue your treatment for laser hair removal.