Laser hair removal has already become a very popular way to combat unwanted hair on the body. Women all over the world resort to this method in order to deal with hairs once and for all and make their skin smooth and soft, but in order to use the procedure correctly and not be disappointed, you need to know more about the mechanism of its effect on hairs and contraindications.
The essence of laser hair removal is that the light waves of the device affect the melanin contained in the hairs, the heating of which destroys the hair follicle. The more of this pigment in the bulb and the less in the epidemis, the more effective the procedure will be, which is why laser hair removal especially helps people with fair skin and dark body hair. At the same time, this method leads to heating of the skin, as happens during intense tanning, so the result of using this hair removal method may be redness and peeling in the areas affected by the laser.
04/25/2006 First laser hair removal procedure
I was very nervous when I entered the office. The manager who made my appointment said that I did not need numbing cream for the first procedure, and I was terrified that it would be too painful to endure. I followed the instructions, did not sunbathe for four weeks before the start of treatment (I used SPF 30 sunscreen every day) and shaved the relevant areas on the morning of the clinic.
The nurse was very nice and professional. She gave me Tylenol as soon as I walked into the office and told me to relax. She led me into the room, pointed to the laser, and asked if I had any questions. Then she left me for a minute so I could get ready.
The room was cold, but I was so nervous that it didn't bother me. I had to take off my clothes and put on one of the hospital gowns. I sat down on the bed as the nurse returned to begin the laser hair removal.
“We’ll start with your lips,” she said. "Don't worry. It will happen very quickly."
She sprayed me on to reduce the redness and swelling. The nurse said that I would feel more cold from the spray than the laser itself during the first treatment.
I lightly pressed my teeth together and pulled out my upper lip as the nurse brought the large white laser tip to my face. She placed the tip on the tip of my mustache and gave a pulse. She made it. It doesn't hurt at all*, not even a little bit. It was worse when the nurse had to shave my upper lip because I forgot to do it in the morning.
The laser beam has a small spot size. The main thing you feel is a splash of cool liquid. The impulse itself is like a tiny shock, less painful than the shock from static electricity. It did 6 pulses on my upper lip, then a couple of pulses to remove hairs from my nostrils. A total of 8 pulses. I didn't even flinch.
The nurse said there was some redness, but not much. She also suggested that next time I shave the night before instead of the morning of the procedure, so that my skin would be less sensitive.
The next step was my armpits. The nurse allowed me to remove my gown halfway as she treated my armpits one at a time. Again it was quick and easy. This time I felt a moment of discomfort during the actual pulses, but once the cool spray hit my skin I felt fine. There was no pain after she completed the process.
Before the nurse moved on to my bikini line, I asked what I thought was an awkward question. I asked if they could remove the hair around my nipples on my chest. I didn't think it would have an effect because the skin is so dark pink, but I was wrong. The nurse said that this is a very popular procedure, and many women come just for this. She also reassured me that it was absolutely normal to have hair around my nipples. This information cost me $3,000 worth of treatment. For years I considered myself a hairy animal and thought that the hair around my nipples was due to low estrogen levels.
The nurse treated the hair around the nipples for free. I only have a few hairs, so it only took three pulses on each breast. I felt the laser pulses more strongly in this area, but it still didn’t hurt, and I’m a real child when it comes to pain.
The clinic provides you with three random pulses free of charge when you undergo treatment. They don't tell you this in advance, but the nurse told me this during the procedure. So I was able to add the nipple area to my package for $2,962.
Now comes the worst part - the bikini line. I have a lot of hair and it's not my imagination. Three different people who waxed my bikini area said I had a lot of hair. My hair is thick, thick and black. I have constant stubble, even after shaving. When I waxed them, there were always hairs that they couldn't remove, and I tried several different types of waxes.
There is another problem, I have a mole in the middle of my bikini area. (I tried to shave it off when I was 13 years old). I was concerned that the laser might cause problems with the mole. Looks like you'll just have to bypass it. If it is treated with a laser for hair removal, scars may remain there.
I alerted the nurse to the mole, took a deep breath, and prayed it wouldn't hurt. It doesn't hurt at first. The nurse worked very quickly and at times, when the impulses followed each other, a little pain was felt. It's not as painful as waxing hair removal, and it's really fast. You should move your legs up and apart as if you were waxing.
The nurse worked very carefully. I was nervous about a few hairs at the very top of my bikini, or down my thighs, but she covered the whole area. She told me to stop her when I needed a break and although it hurt, it didn't hurt enough to ask her to stop.
After the nurse treated my bikini area, she asked if I wanted to remove hair on the inner surface of my labia. Of course I wanted to do it. I live in Miami and was determined to undergo complete deep hair removal in my bikini area. I was hesitant because it was uncomfortable and I was worried about the pain, but I said yes. She suggested that I wait until the next procedure and use a numbing cream. I agreed, and that was the end of my treatment. It only took about 30 minutes.
The nurse gave me a soothing aloe gel for the treated surfaces. I used it, but I don't think it was necessary. The only area that turned red was in the bikini area. It was not swelling or pigmentation. It was just a slight shade of red. There were no curled, burnt hairs.
I went straight to the toilet to take a photo, but the redness had already subsided. There was no pain, only redness or swelling in the treated areas, but this was only the first procedure. The first treatment is to see how your skin will react. The laser is set to low power (in my case the power was 10 joules out of 16), and you should not expect great results right away.
I returned to work and no one noticed that I had just returned from my first laser hair removal treatment.
*The reason the first procedure was painless is because the laser was set to too low a power. The treatment was not effective! Over time, the laser power increases and the procedure becomes painful! Quite painful!
What is a diode laser for hair removal?
To get rid of the fear of the procedure, it is better to first familiarize yourself with information about what a diode laser for hair removal is. This is the most popular method used by cosmetologists. It is characterized by minimal pain and effectiveness.
The principle of operation of a diode laser is based on the effect of the beam on melanin, which is contained in the hair. Under the influence of the laser, the hair follicles heat up and die. The skin is not damaged.
To avoid burns, sapphire is used as cooling, which is placed on the tip. It feels warm and slightly tingling.
The procedure is most effective for dark hairs. But also suitable for all hair types and shades. Research has shown that this method is the most effective among other laser systems.
Cosmetologists note the safety of the diode laser and its positive effect on the skin. Removal occurs efficiently, without burns. After the procedure, you are left with smooth, even skin, without blackheads.
But the device cannot affect dormant hairs, so the manipulation must be repeated several times during active growth. A cosmetic session can only be carried out in a specialized room, subject to all standards. A specialist who understands the principles of operation and will do everything with the highest quality and safety knows how to use a diode laser.
05/10/2006 First results
I didn't shave my armpits for two days and they remained perfectly smooth. Hair began to fall out sharply in the bikini area. I rubbed the skin of my lower abdomen with a sponge until all the hair fell out. I noticed that I could pull them out with my fingers. (Like plucking, but without the roots, the hair just fell out.) I also noticed that the nurse who performed the laser hair removal procedure must have missed a small area in the bikini area, about two flashes in area. There is a strange patch of hair on the right side of the bikini area.
What types of lasers are used in the procedure?
Several types of laser systems are used for hair removal. Which laser is right for you depends on the phototype and hair color: some have light, thin and barely noticeable hair, while others have dark, coarse and thick hair. Lasers with different wavelengths are effective on different types of hair.
The ruby laser operates at a depth of 694 nm. This is a short wavelength, so in Cleo Line we do not use a ruby unit, preferring more modern and effective options:
- alexandrite;
- diode;
- neodymium.
The Alexandrite laser has a wavelength of up to 755 nm. It is suitable for those with sensitive skin who have red or blond hair. In one flash, the device does not cover the largest area of skin, but absolutely the entire radiation force is directed to the hair, so you can see the effect immediately after the procedure.
The diode laser is considered the most versatile. It has a wavelength of 810 nm and is suitable for women and men with any skin type and hair structure. It is this laser that helps in the fight against hypertrichosis - that is, excess vegetation. After laser exposure, hair first becomes softer and more invisible, then stops growing altogether. A diode laser works faster than an alexandrite laser - the radiation covers a larger area, so the procedure is reduced. The diode laser is safer: after its use, burns and other undesirable phenomena occur extremely rarely.
The neodymium laser has the longest wavelength of 1063 nm, making it easy to remove dark hair and epilate tanned and dark skin (IV-VI phototypes). We also use neodymium units to treat acne and resurface scars. The neodymium laser beam does not affect healthy skin and tissue, it only affects the nutrient vessel and hair follicle - it destroys them beyond the possibility of restoration.
05/16/2006 A whole week of smooth skin
I haven't shaved my armpits for one week and I just started feeling soft hair growth. Visually, everyone looks great, even better than after shaving. Typically you can still see stubble or hair follicles after I shave my armpits, but now they look perfectly even.
In the bikini area, hair growth has slowed down, there is less of it than usual, but it was not possible to achieve smoothness like in the armpits.
There is no longer any black hair on my upper lip, just small whitish hairs.
In any case, the hair no longer falls out.
06/04/2006 Re-growth of hair after the first procedure
I shaved my armpits a couple of days ago and need to shave again. The hair is certainly growing, but it is still a little thinner than usual.
I didn't have any ingrown hairs the entire time after treatment. I usually have 2 – 3 small, ingrown hairs under my arms and 1 – 5 in my bikini area. I currently have large ingrown hairs in my bikini area. It looks like there are only big hairs in the bikini area that have grown in forever. The ingrown hairs that I had before the first procedure have only now started to go away. I'm not sure, but I think the treatment made the ingrown hairs shorter because the hairs don't continue to grow because they have a harder time breaking through the skin.
When I shaved my bikini area this morning, it looked as if the hair had been waxed several weeks ago, some of the hair was long, some of the hair was short. My hair has become thinner, but still as black as before the first laser treatment. Shaving became a little easier, just like after weeks of waxing. I'm guessing my hair will grow back much like before until my next laser hair removal treatment later this month.
My upper lip looks almost the same as it did before the first laser treatment. The hair is a little less black, but there is still quite a bit of long black hair, as well as a lot of blonde hair. The only thing that disappoints me about laser hair removal is that the laser had no effect on blonde hair.
Several black hairs appeared around the nipples on the chest, just like before the treatment.
Diode laser: indications and contraindications
Indications for contacting a cosmetologist for hair removal with a diode laser are:
- thick hair in unwanted and hard-to-reach places: on the face, groin, intergluteal area, armpits;
- excessive hair growth;
- skin sensitivity to other removal methods: irritability, redness, ingrown hairs;
- excessively hard hair structure.
There are also contraindications that should be taken into account when planning diode laser hair removal and preparing for the procedure:
- removal will have to be postponed during pregnancy and breastfeeding;
- refuse a session if there are an excessive number of moles on the skin area;
- the procedure is impossible for a number of diseases: herpes, epilepsy, varicose veins, cancer, diabetes;
- taking antibiotics;
- fungal skin infections, psoriasis and other infections;
- Be sure to reschedule the session if your skin is tanned.
It is important to follow the recommendations of a specialist who will not take on the job if one of the signs listed above is present.
06.26.2006 Ordering anesthetic cream and cost of perineal treatment
The cost to add the crotch area to my package is $695.
I was asked to call the clinic a few days before my procedure to obtain a prescription for numbing cream. I called the 1-800 number and was told that I should call the clinic directly. I said that I also wanted to add a crotch area for treatment, they were very kind. Not only did they add a zone, but they also decided to take care of ordering the numbing cream. I asked for perineal hair removal, which cost $695, to be added to my credit line.
I bought pain cream today for $10.00 after losing my prescription at the pharmacy. Be sure to do this a week in advance as I had to make several phone calls to get the cream. In addition, the pharmacist did not know what the application of the cream was intended for, so she had to use an “online chat” service to clarify this.
I was instructed to apply Lidocaine/Prilocaine cream one to two hours before the procedure. Apply the cream generously to the areas to be treated, but not more than 50% of the entire body. For maximum effectiveness, immediately wrap areas in cling film, which acts as a “seal bandage.”
Added later - I used the numbing cream and felt a huge difference in my pain levels. It was definitely worth it!
