All You Need to Know About Laser Hair Removal
Many women dislike hair growth in certain parts of the body. Some can even get embarrassed by the sight of hair or the red marks left after shaving coarse hair in certain areas. Removal of unwanted hair leaves many women with bumps, nicks or burns. If this is something you want to treat before your wedding then laser hair removal may be an option worth considering.
Laser hair removal is a technique that uses beams of highly concentrated light to penetrate the hair follicles. The light is absorbed by pigment in the hair follicles and destroys the hair within the follicle. Next to Botox injections, laser hair removal is the most commonly performed cosmetic procedure in the U.S.
Lasers are useful for removing unwanted hair from the face, leg, arm, underarm, and bikini line as well as other areas where unsightly hair is a problem.
Benefits of laser hair removal include:
Precision: Lasers can selectively target dark, coarse hairs while leaving the surrounding skin undamaged.
Speed: Each pulse of the laser takes a fraction of a second and can treat many hairs at the same time. The laser can treat an area approximately the size of a quarter every second. Small areas such as the upper lip can be treated in less than a minute, and large areas, such as the back or legs, may take up to an hour.
Predictability: Ninety percent of patients have permanent hair loss after an average of three to five sessions.
Usually treatments are spaced three to eight weeks apart depending on the body area and the hair cycle length for that area. The face usually requires more frequent treatments three to four weeks apart, whereas legs require less frequent treatments and patients should be advised to wait at least six weeks. Typically the shedding of the treated hairs takes about two to three weeks.
So for the bride to be, ‘laser’ing those hairs should start at least six months before the wedding to be ready for your honeymoon.
Contributed by:
Tarek V. Copty, M.D. FACS
Cosmetic Surgeon (ACS, AACS)
Copty Surgical Arts
Amman - Jordan
tarek@coptysurgicalarts.com
Do you have any beauty or surgical questions? Leave your questions and comments below for Dr. Tarek Copty to answer.
