If you’ve never had a hair removal appointment at South Lake OBGYN and Spa in Clermont, FL before, you might not know what to expect or how to prepare. These tips will make sure your sessions go as planned and that you get the best results possible for laser hair removal.
How Should You Prepare for a Hair Removal Session?
Using a laser to remove unwanted hair is becoming a very common procedure for people who want long-term results. One of the nicest things about laser treatments is that you don’t have to prepare much for your sessions. You should not wax the treatment area within four weeks of your laser appointment because for the laser to be effective, there has to be hair in the follicle at the time of treatment.
Additionally, you will want to avoid sun exposure for two weeks prior to treatment. This includes natural sun as well as tanning beds. Sunlight can cause your skin to be more sensitive to the laser. For this reason, you should also use a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher in the weeks leading up to your treatment. Likewise, also avoid Botox injections, chemical peels, or microdermabrasion for 14 days before your session to prevent extra sensitivity.
On the day of your treatment, you should shave the area completely, which will help prevent the hair from being burned. While the burning doesn’t do any harm, it does smell bad and can be annoying. The treatment area should also be clean and free from lotions, creams, oils, deodorants, or fragrances. Wear clothing that will leave the treated area exposed or is loose-fitting enough that it will not rub against the treated skin.
Laser Hair Removal Basics
The Treatment
Laser hair removal is a treatment that involves using concentrated light (laser) to remove unwanted body hair. The laser deploys a light that targets the melanin in the hair, which absorbs the light, turns it into heat, and damages the hair follicles that are responsible for growing hair. The damage that is done to the follicles inhibits future hair growth so that further removal of hair in the area is not necessary for weeks or even months.
When you arrive at the clinic for your treatment, you will be seated in a comfortable chair in a way that allows the technician to access the treatment area. Then, your provider will press a hand-held laser device to your skin and activate the laser. The laser will pass through your skin to the hair follicles, which are right below the skin, and damage them. Treatment time will depend on the size of the area or areas being treated.
Reasons to Get the Treatment
Undergoing a laser to remove hair is usually done because the patient does not want hair to grow in a specific area. The most popular areas for treatment are the legs, upper lip, armpits, chin, and the bikini line. However, almost any part of the body can be successfully treated with a laser except for the area surrounding the eyes and the eyelids. Additionally, skin that has been tattooed should also not be treated by a laser.
Benefits
There are many benefits to getting laser hair removal over any other type of treatment. For example, with shaving, you’ll sometimes get razor burn or you may cut yourself. That won’t happen with a laser because it is going below the skin and not using anything sharp that could cut your skin. With waxing, you’re going to feel significant pain when the wax is pulled off, taking your hair with it. Laser treatment does not present that kind of pain.
Moreover, you will end up saving money over time when you choose laser treatments, even though you’ll pay more upfront. Think about all the money you spend on razors, shaving cream, and after-shave lotion. That is an expense that doesn’t seem like much at the time, but it adds up over a lifetime. In the end, you will spend less on laser treatments than you will on shaving supplies, but you have to look at the long term savings.
Similarly, waxing is not a permanent solution to hair removal either, so if you choose this option, you’ll end up scheduling waxing appointments for as long as you want to remove hair from your body. Again, you won’t pay as much for wax treatments upfront as you will for laser treatments, but over time, your laser treatments will be discontinued, while your waxing sessions continue indefinitely. The cost of these will eventually outpace your upfront costs for laser treatments.
Long-Lasting Results
While you won’t see hair fall out right after your treatment, it will begin to shed in the days and weeks following your appointment. You may need to get several treatments because hair grows in cycles, so you will need to ensure all cycles have been treated so that all hair follicles have been damaged. Typically, six sessions are the norm, but you might require more or fewer sessions depending on your body’s response.
Most people experience long-lasting results from laser treatment, but they do vary from person to person. You may not see any regrowth for several months or even years, but it is also possible you will need to get more treatments after a few weeks, which are known as maintenance treatments. The time between treatments should become longer and longer, and if you do experience regrowth, the hair will probably be lighter and finer than your past growth.
Tips for Optimal Results
Don’t Miss an Appointment
Since your laser treatments will be scheduled to ensure that all cycles of hair growth are treated, missing an appointment means missing some of the hair when it’s in the optimal growth stage for the laser to be most effective. Typically, your sessions will be scheduled about a month apart, which means that if you miss one, you’ll have to try to make it up at the right time after your sessions are complete, which can be tricky to determine.
Time Your Appointments Right
While you can get laser treatment at any time, the optimal time is when your skin is least exposed to the sun. For most people, this will be in the fall or winter, especially if you spend significant time in the sun during the summer. You want to make sure that any tan you had from the summer has faded because the lighter your skin is, the stronger the laser can be, so the fewer sessions you’ll need overall.
Choose a Provider With Advanced Technology
Some lasers are not as effective as other lasers, and the FDA only requires lasers to show they ward off hair growth for 90 days to be considered medical grade. So you want to make sure that the provider you choose has advanced technology that will provide results that last as long as possible. One laser that is an excellent choice is the DiolazeXL laser hair removal device because it provides the optimal levels of strength, wavelength, and light pulsing.
The DiolazeXL also features an integrated cooling system that will keep you more comfortable during the procedure than lasers that do not have a cooling feature. Moreover, because the DiolazeXL provides the optimal levels of laser exposure, you won’t spend as much time in the clinician’s chair as with inferior laser devices, and it has proven effective against even the most stubborn hair. The DiolazeXL is also one of the safest devices on the market for laser treatments.
Other Information
Candidates
The ideal candidate for laser treatment for the removal of hair is someone with light skin and dark, coarse hair. However, while people with darker skin and lighter hair may have to undergo more treatments than the ideal candidate, there is no reason they cannot experience long-lasting results as well. The reason light skin and dark hair work better is that the laser targets the pigment in the hair, which is more difficult with light-colored hair.
You may not be a candidate for laser treatments if you have fine, blonde hair, but a consultation will let you know for sure. If you are looking to remove hair around your eyes, including your eyebrows or eyelids, laser treatment is not the right option. Pregnant women should also delay getting laser treatment just to be on the safe side. There is no evidence that laser treatment presents harm to a fetus, but it’s always good to be cautious.
Recovery
There is almost no recovery time with laser treatments for removing hair. You can return to your daily activities immediately following your sessions, and there are no restrictions to exercise or diet. Your skincare regimen may change a bit in the treatment area, but your provider will give you more specifics based on your skin type and the area you had treated. You will need to avoid the sun for up to two months, so plan to use sunscreen.
Safety
Laser treatment to remove unwanted body hair is safe, especially with the DiolazeXL device. You and your technician will both wear eye protection during your sessions because lasers can injure the eyes. Otherwise, the laser will not damage your skin and only targets the hair follicles, which will be damaged, but that’s exactly what you want. Adequate preparation for your sessions as mentioned above will ensure your treatment is not only safe but comfortable as well.
Treatment Frequency
As previously indicated, you will probably need more than one treatment to fully remove your unwanted hair because hair grows in cycles and you want to catch each hair in its new growth phase. For this reason, your appointments will be scheduled no sooner than four weeks from your last one. Sometimes, your provider will recommend that your appointments be six weeks apart, especially if you have sensitive skin. If you schedule a treatment too soon, the laser won’t be effective.
Don’t Worry About Modesty
Some patients who want to remove hair from their bikini line or even around their genitalia may be too embarrassed to schedule an appointment. If this sounds like you, don’t worry. Our expert technicians have been removing hair with a laser for a long time and they have seen everything. They are medical professionals who are used to seeing naked bodies of all types. Their goal is to help you reach your goals, so forget your modesty and call us!
Ready to Make an Appointment?
Now that you know how to prepare for various types of hair removal treatments, you can go ahead and schedule your consultation for laser treatment. Don’t wait any longer to have your unwanted body hair removed for the foreseeable future. Contact South Lake OBGYN and Spa in Clermont, FL today and our laser treatment experts will book your appointment right away!