Laser Epilation
Excessive Hair Growth
The idea of beauty changes over time and people follow contemporary fashion trends. Today excessive hair growth is undesirable, especially for women. More than 90% of our clients requesting excessive hair removal are women from various countries and cultural backgrounds. They want to remove hair on the face – usually on the upper lip and chin, and on the body – on the calves, in the bikini area and the armpit. Men usually request hair removal on the back and shoulders.
What is the cause of the excessive hair growth?
In most cases, excessive hair growth is hereditary. People with darker skin, e.g. coming from Mediterranean regions, have more conspicuous hair and that is natural. However some diseases, taking specific drugs or transsexualism may produce excessive hair growth. A disorder of the endocrine gland may be discovered. Therefore, it is necessary to be examined by your physician before you decide to undergo laser epilation.
How does the laser treatment work?
The laser beam is absorbed by skin pigment called melanin, which is found in hair root cells. Light energy is transformed into heat energy which burns the hair root. This removes the hair permanently.
Every hair on the body has an active growth phase, then a quiescent phase, after which the hair falls out. The hair root then remains inactive for some time before the new growth phase begins again. In this phase, all the cells are very active and contain a large amount of melanin. To affect the maximum amount of hairs in the growth phase, it is necessary to repeat the treatment in regular intervals.
How many times do we have to repeat the treatment?
The growth phase has different lengths depending on the part of the body. We have to determine the date of the next session carefully to be able to hit the most hairs in their growth phase. Usually 3 sessions are needed to treat a particular body section. More sessions will be needed in parts of the body where hair growth is regulated by hormones (i.e. upper lip, chin). Your physician will inform you.
Laser beams best affect dense and dark hairs on individuals with pale skin. Brown and blond hairs need more sessions. Laser epilation results on red and grey hairs are very poor.
Is the procedure painful?
The laser beam travels through a glass plate through which cold water runs, before it touches the skin. This cools and calms the skin. During the procedure clients may feel a slight tingling or stinging sensation at the treated area. This is highly individual. At the sensitive parts of the body, i.e. armpits or neck, we may apply an anesthetic cream
How to prepare for the procedure?
Do not remove hairs by plucking (wax, tweezers or epilator). You have to shave the hairs one day before the treatment. The procedure cannot be performed on tanned skin (sun or solarium). You will have to wait until the color fades.
Protect the treated skin from sunlight for at least one month after the procedure. We recommend using a sun screen with high sun protection factor (30 or more) while the skin is still sensitive. During the summer months, we advise to use a sunscreen during the time between the procedures to prevent the emerging of pigment spots.
Side Effects and Complications
The epilation will be effective and without great risk if you follow our post operative advice. There may be temporary depigmentation with darker skin types and there is the possibility of mild burns with reddish skin and small blisters, but these complications are very rare.