Why You Should Consider Doing Laser Hair Removal

So you’ve made the life-changing decision to get laser hair removal treatment, congratulations! Now that you’ve dished out a couple hundred bucks for your procedure it’s time to prepare both mentally and physically.

You’ve prepared yourself for the price (obviously $$$) and now it’s time to prepare yourself mentally. Under normal circumstances, laser hair removal requires 6-12 sessions for optimal results (and sometimes even more) so get ready to give up some of your weekend day or take a few hours off from work. Next on the list is to prepare yourself for the feeling you get from the laser itself. Laser hair removal is by no means a pleasant experience, but that doesn’t mean it’s awful either. The best way I can describe it is like the snap of a rubber band against your skin; not unbearable but not comfortable either. Now this is by no means medical advice as I am not a doctor but you may choose to take ibuprofen and an allergy pill before your appointment as this will help with pain and skin irritation. Finally, you will need to prepare yourself physically; but first let’s talk about how laser hair removal works.

Laser hair removal is done using an extremely powerful laser. So powerful in fact, that it can be used for: tattoo removal, vein removal, treating cavities and a whole list of other services. If you haven’t guessed by now, the price of the laser itself is what makes laser hair removal treatments so pricey. I’m here to reassure you that you have made the right financial decision despite the high cost. If you calculate how much money you spend on razors, shaving cream, and waxing over the course of your lifetime, the laser hair removal will more than pay for itself. The way the laser works is by emitting light (the laser beam) which burns the hair follicle down to the root. Unfortunately, this process must be done multiple times for the full effect to take place although you will start to notice thinner, lighter hairs after just one procedure.

You’ve prepared yourself financially and mentally so here’s where the really important part comes in; preparing yourself physically. The reason physical preparation is the most important step is because when done wrong or insufficiently, the whole process (and all your money and time) goes right out the window. So, to prepare yourself physically you’ll need to do the following: shave within 24 hours of your appointment, and that is really it for physical preparation. Now you will notice I specified within 24 hours; this piece is key. The reason you need to shave so close to your appointment time is that the shorter the hairs, the more effective the laser treatment. If you have nice short hairs, the laser beam reaches the root of the follicle of hair much faster with little to no intervention from the hair itself. Unfortunately, if you leave your hair unshaved the laser beam will need to travel down the length of the hair to reach the root… and the root is where the magic happens aka a loss of laser beam energy.

Now that you’ve read all about preparation the next step is the procedure itself. What should you expect? At your first visit you can expect a “meet and greet” with your provider and a consultation. The reason for a consultation is that everyone has different laser hair removal treatment needs and your provider will need to evaluate your hairs and how much treatment they think you need, and at what laser strength. It’s important to remember that this is an estimation and you may need more treatment than initially recommended… this does not mean you should go buying more packages right away, it just means you should save up for the services in the event that you need more time under the laser. At subsequent visits you can expect 10-45 minutes on the laser chair/bed for the laser treatment itself for a first visit, and even less time at follow ups.

Now the question is: are you going through with your laser hair removal treatment, or have you chickened out? Let us know in the comments section below. Happy hairlessness!