What is Laser Hair Removal?

How laser hair removal work?
Laser hair removal is the use of laser energy to produce long-term hair reduction. This is accomplished by producing heat in the hair, which is transferred to the hair follicle, which in-turn produces inflammation, and this inflammation sends a signal to the hair follicle to go into the resting (telogen) phase.

What is a laser, really?
First of all, what is a laser? A laser is a device that produces light of a single color or wavelength. In dermatology, these lasers produce pulses of high-energy light that is taken up by the desired target. In the case of hair removal, the target is the melanin pigment contained within the hair shaft.

A delicate balance
The tricky part of laser hair removal is targeting the hair shaft without damaging the melanin pigment in the surface of the skin. Thus the laser light has to be on long enough to heat the hair, but not too long to allow that heat to spread to the surrounding skin causing damage. In addition, the darker a patient’s skin, the more difficult it is to avoid injuring the surface of the skin while treating the hair. For this reason, there are three main types of hair removal lasers that are used today, and depending on the thickness of the hair and the color of the skin, one laser may provide benefits as compared to another.

When Performing Laser Hair Removal, Experience Matters
In addition to lasers, intense pulsed light sources are also used for hair removal. These light sources do not emit a single color or wavelength of light, but emit light containing many colors. It may be more difficult to predict the outcome and avoid complications when using light sources that contain many wavelengths of light. However, the results with any device depend upon the experience of the practitioner.

How many treatments?
Normally, a series of three to five treatments are administered at four to eight week intervals depending upon the location of the hair. Following the initial series of treatments, subsequent treatments are administered, usually at longer and longer intervals. Some number of maintenance of treatments may be needed to keep all the hair away in a given area. After a single treatment, the hair in a given area is usually reduced in amount and thickness for a very long period of time. However, it may not be completely gone. To keep an area completely devoid of hair, maintenance treatments are always required. These maintenance treatments may eventually be required at only yearly intervals or even longer. This depends on the area being treated as well as the individual. As with any other traits in an individual, the frequency of maintenance treatments varies considerably from person to person.

Does Laser Hair Removal Hurt?

First Session Hurts the Most

Because the laser energy is absorbed in the hair follicle producing heat, there is some sensation when performing laser hair removal. Certain areas of the body hurt more than others during laser hair removal. In addition, patients with very thick, dark hair may experience more discomfort than those with thin hair. This is because the thicker, darker hair will absorb more of the laser light during any given treatment. Generally, the hair becomes thinner and less dense after each subsequent treatment. Therefore, the most discomfort is usually experienced during the first treatment.

Pain Varies Between Individuals

The discomfort associated with laser hair removal varies considerably between individuals, and is a function of the patient’s skin type, the laser being used, the thickness and density of the hair, the area of the body where the hair is being treated, and ones ability to tolerate or feel pain. In some situations, numbing creams can be used. However, numbing creams partially eliminate the ability of the patient to report on the discomfort associated with a treatment, which may be an indication of how this treatment compares with previous treatments.

Discomfort Rarely Limits Treatment

Discomfort is one of the many factors the person administering the laser treatment will use to determine the appropriate setting for the laser. Patients should be discouraged from applying numbing cream themselves to large areas of the body prior to laser treatment. Although prescription numbing creams are generally safe, putting them on large areas of the body can result in the numbing medications being absorbed into the bloodstream in significant amounts. In my office, I prefer to have my staff apply numbing creams while the patient is in my office when they are needed, so that I can control the amount of cream applied and the surface area over which it is applied. In general, discomfort rarely limits the ability to perform laser treatment. However, in a small number of patients it does limit ones ability to receive laser hair removal treatments.