If you shave thrice weekly, you will shave 3,900 times over the course of a quarter-century. This assumes you have an average rate of hair growth. If your hair grows faster, you will need to shave more regularly. If spending all of that time and money shaving doesn’t sound appealing to you, laser hair removal treatments are a great solution. We offer this option at The Dermatology, Laser & Vein Center in Cincinnati, OH.
How Many Sessions Are Needed for Laser Hair Removal?
The average person needs between four and six sessions to achieve total unwanted hair removal. Factors that affect exactly how many sessions you will need include your body, your targeted areas and your personal aesthetic goals.
Your Body
Your body affects how many treatment sessions you will need to achieve smooth, hairless skin. We all have a different amount of hair and our hair growth occurs at different rates.
Multiple hair removal sessions are necessary for anyone looking to achieve lasting hair-free skin because your hair follicles are in different stages of the hair growth cycle at different times. Your sessions will be scheduled four to six weeks apart so we can target your hair follicles as they enter the growth stage.
Your Targeted Areas
Some regions of the body require more treatment sessions than other regions. Women most commonly target the bikini line, Brazilian region, underarms, legs and lower face for hair removal. For these areas, four to six treatments are typically enough to provide ideal results. In rare cases, eight sessions are required to achieve flawless results in these areas.
Your Personal Aesthetic Goals
A number of people who seek this treatment want to eliminate all of their unwanted body hair. However, some people just want to reduce the amount of hair in the areas targeted for treatment. If you aren’t trying to eliminate your body or facial hair completely, you will require fewer treatment sessions. Men commonly need one or two sessions to minimize the appearance of facial hair.
Laser treatments are great for men because they make shaving easier. Additionally, laser treatments provide men with the option to keep a beard if they wish. They just mitigate their risk of developing razor burn or other forms of skin irritation.
Everything You Need to Know About Your Hair Growth Cycle
You need to understand your hair growth cycle to understand why numerous laser sessions are required to achieve your desired results. Remember, lasers only target hair follicles in the active phase. Thus, to ensure flawless results, we need to schedule appointments roughly a month apart to ensure all hair follicles in the area are targeted, regardless of the phase of the hair growth cycle they were in during your first session.
The Anagen (Growth) Phase
During the anagen phase, your hair follicle is actively growing hair. This hair visibly extrudes from the superficial layer of your skin.
The Catagen (Resting) Phase
During the second phase in your hair growth cycle, the hair follicle is dormant. The hair remains inside the superficial layer of your skin. However, it lies above the foundational layer of your skin.
The Exogen (Shedding) Phase
During the final phase of the hair growth cycle, the hair is released by the hair follicle. Once the hair has been shed, a new hair begins to grow up from the base of your skin. Eventually, the growth will be so significant that the hair will extrude beyond the skin’s surface once again.
Your Sessions Are Schedule Based on Your Hair Growth Cycle
At any moment in time, hairs on your body are in different phases of the hair growth cycle. As some hairs are clearly visible, others are falling out and some are growing beneath the surface of the skin. This means you always have some hair that is visible unless you remove it. However, some of us prefer to be smooth and hair-free in particular regions.
Laser sessions to remove unwanted hairs will only remove unwanted hairs effectively that are in the growth phase of the hair growth cycle. Once your first session is complete, we will wait several weeks before performing a follow-up treatment. When more hairs become visible in the targeted area, they can be treated. Your sessions will continue until all of the hair follicles in the targeted area have been in the anagen phase and subsequently damaged by the laser heat.
Everything Else You Need to Know About the Laser Hair Removal Process
What Is Laser Hair Removal?
Laser hair removal is the perfect method for removing unwanted hair. Using state-of-the-art light technology, the hair follicles deep inside your dermis are targeted. No other method for removing unwanted hairs can touch these follicles. Your hair follicles are responsible for producing all of the hairs on your body. The end result of targeting these follicles with laser energy is smooth, hairless skin.
How Does This Technique Achieve Results?
Results are achieved with an FDA-approved, medical-grade laser targeting the hair follicles deep within your skin and emitting short pulses of extremely focused light beams. The laser we use is so safe and effective because it targets the follicles due to the extra pigments in your hair. Due to this, the skin around the hair follicles are not affected during treatment.
As the light beam is absorbed by your hair in the targeted hair follicle, the light energy is converted to heat. The heat damages the hair follicle so it cannot grow hair anymore. Just a few days after your session, the hair in the follicle will shed.
Is This Treatment Safe?
To reiterate, the lasers we use to remove your unwanted hairs are approved by the FDA for safety. This is because it is attracted to the extra pigments in your active hair follicles and will not affect the surrounding skin tissues. Additionally, this non-invasive hair removal technique requires no downtime. Furthermore, this treatment is far more convenient than any other hair removal technique because of the lasting results.
With this technique, there is no risk of cutting yourself with a razor. There is no razor burn. There are no razor bumps. There are no harsh chemicals that will burn or bleach your skin. There is no pain because hair is not ripped from the roots. There is no risk of the superficial layer of your dermis being ripped off. There is no safer method for removing unwanted hair than laser treatments.
What Kind of Laser Do You Use?
During your initial consultation, we will evaluate your unique case to determine which laser is the most appropriate for you. We have a number of FDA-approved lasers to help you eliminate unwanted hairs safely and effectively regardless of your skin tone or type.
Who Is Suitable for This Treatment?
Virtually anyone who wants to eliminate unwanted hairs for good is suitable for this treatment. It is a popular hair removal technique for men and women alike and can be performed safely on individuals with any skin tone or type. However, this treatment is the most effective when there is a stark contrast between the color of the targeted hair and skin tone. If you have pale skin and dark hair, you may only need four sessions for total unwanted hair removal.
If you have pale skin and fair hair or dark skin and dark hair, you may need six to 10 sessions to achieve your desired results. For the most effective sessions possible, avoid tanning for a couple of weeks before your treatment so there is as much contrast between hair and skin color as possible.
How Soon Will I See My Ideal Results?
Depending on the region of the body targeted, a single session can remove between 10 and 30% of unwanted hairs. You will notice continuous improvement after each session. Since appointments are spaced four to six weeks apart and the average person needs four to six sessions, you can expect your final treatment to be 16 to 36 weeks after your first treatment.
A few days after that, you can enjoy months of flawlessly smooth skin without shaving. In other words, you can expect to see your final results in no more than nine months.
How Long Will the Results of My Treatments Last?
Numerous factors affect the longevity of your treatment results. Some people need to come in for follow-up sessions once or twice a year. Other people don’t need to come in for a touch-up for years until they experience a hormonal imbalance that triggers hair growth. The bottom line is you can expect to be hair-free for at least six months as your hair follicles recover from the damage caused by the laser heat.
What Are the Benefits of This Hair Removal Method?
You Will Save Time
One of the most compelling benefits of this hair removal treatment is its convenience. Most areas can be treated in under 30 minutes. If you’re targeting larger areas, like your back or legs, you may spend up to two hours being treated. However, shaving may take 15 minutes per day, three days per week (45 minutes per week). Shaving may be so ingrained into your routine that 15 minutes every couple of days doesn’t sound like a significant time burden.
Nevertheless, you could end up spending 975 hours shaving over the course of the next 25 years to maintain hair-free skin. That’s over 40 days! The time cost of depilatory creams is roughly the same as the time cost of shaving and needs to be performed just as frequently to maintain your ideal results. In contrast, you need to invest no more than 12 hours into laser treatments to enjoy at least six months of hair-free skin.
You Will Save Money
Whether you shave, use depilatory creams or have a professional wax you regularly, staying hair-free for life costs a lot of money. For instance, ignoring inflation, a lifetime of shaving can cost roughly $10,000. With just a few affordable laser sessions, you can save thousands of dollars.
Your Skin Will Thank You
Traditional hair removal methods, like waxing, tweezing, depilatory creams and shaving, irritate the skin. They must be repeated regularly to maintain the desired results but often lead to razor burn, ingrown hairs, cuts, razor bumps and redness. Laser treatments do not irritate your skin.
Say Goodbye to Razor Burn and Bumps
The number of laser hair removal sessions you will need to achieve your desired results depends on a number of factors. However, most people find they only need four to six treatments to achieve the smooth, hairless skin they desire. Once your course of treatment is complete, you won’t have to worry about unwanted hair in the future. Contact us now at The Dermatology, Laser & Vein Center in Cincinnati, OH to book an appointment.
