Society in the last couple of decades has become obsessed with not only being hairless, but permanently removing the fluffy-stuff. Waxing, shaving, threading and depilatory creams are all still popular, but how do we drastically reduce or remove hair long-term? Enter the age of laser hair removal…
Laser works by targeting specific colours or chromophores in the skin. These can be the brown colour of melanin or the red colour of haemoglobin in the blood. By selecting a specific wavelength we can target just the brown colour in the hair. This laser light creates heat around the hair follicle and destroys it, but leaves the surrounding tissue unharmed. This is called selective photothermolysis.
Laser hair removal is best to be done in Winter when we don’t see the rays of the sun and the skin is as pale as possible. That is correct. The paler, the better.
If you choose to embark on the laser hair removal journey, no other form of hair removal may be done, like waxing or threading. Shaving may be done in between treatments as you aren’t removing the hair from the pore.
Hair grows in cycles and the best time to do this is when the hair root is still attached to its blood supply. How do we know if it is or isn’t? Its very difficult to determine what stage all the hairs are in as they all grow at different times. For this reason, several treatments need to be done, spaced 6 to 8 weeks apart.
Certain ingredients in creams and tablets can make the skin more sensitive to light. Please let your therapist know before you begin. Vitamin A in creams (eg. Retin-A, Retinol) should be avoided at least 3 days beforehand. Supplements like St John’s Wort should be avoided. Let your therapist know if you are on treatment such as antibiotics, cortisone, and tablet form of Vitamin A (Roaccutane, Orrutane).
In preparation for your hair removal treatment, it is best to shave the area 1 day or 2 beforehand. The hair should just be visible on the skin. Don’t apply deodorant or creams to the area either. Do not expose the area of skin to be lasered to the sun at least 2 weeks beforehand.
At AD&L we offer two kinds of laser hair removal:
Our Forever Bare BBL is a powerful, highly selective hair removal device where we are able to treat a vast variety of skin tones and hair colours. As long as the hair shaft as pigment in it, we can zap it!
We can treat small areas such lips and chin, to large areas such as full legs and backs.
The treatment itself is not an entirely painless one. The sensation of the laser feels like a rubber band hitting the skin. However, the feeling is short-lived and only lasts as long as the treatment is being done. If a patient does have a low pain threshold, we suggest a topical anaesthetic cream be applied about 30 minutes before the treatment to assist in the pain management. The skin can be red and sensitive afterwards, with little bumps appearing. These bumps are evidence of the heat pocket around each little hair follicle under the skin. It is actually a positive sign and these bumps do subside after a couple of hours. These bumps are called Perifollicular edema.
- How many treatments does one need?
Normally between 6 to 8 treatments. This is entirely dependent on the patient’s hair colour, the density of hair growth and their adherence to their treatment plan and post-care.
- The procedure
The area is cleaned and skin and hair are inspected for colour and hair density. A sonar gel is applied to the area. Protective goggles are placed over the patient’s eyes. Once the therapist has inserted the parameters into the laser machine, she then places protective goggles on her own eyes and the treatment can begin. The handpiece is placed on the area to laser and the light is discharged which will feel like a quick, hot stingy sensation. A small area like a lip, chin or jawline can take a couple of seconds to 5 minutes. A medium-sized area like an underarm or bikini can take about 5 to 15 minutes. Larger areas like full leg or back can take up to 30 minutes to do.
- Recovery period
The skin can be red, sensitive and sometimes heat bumps. These are all temporary and resolve within 24 hours.
While Forever Bare BBL is great for large areas and Fitzpatrick skin types 1 to 4, the ND YAG device targets hairs on darker skin types 4 to 6, and stubborn individual hairs on smaller areas, like on the chin. It has the same preparation before and aftercare. This laser light targets the red haemoglobin in the blood vessel attached to the hair, and it leaves any form of brown colour untreated. Therefore, it makes treating dark hair with dark skin type perfect!
- After your treatment, the skin may be sensitive to the touch and maybe a little red. Post-procedure cream will be applied straight after, but a neutral barrier cream can be applied in the days following. Avoid hot showers or baths, steam rooms, Jacuzzis and spa baths.
- Avoid sun exposure, and sun beds for at least 48 hours after the treatment. SPF must be applied to the treated area.
- Don’t exfoliate or use body scrubbing products for at least 1 week after the treatment. Treat the skin as delicate and keep the skin hydrated with soothing creams. This will also help with any ingrowing hairs.
- As the treated hair is pushed out of the follicle, the hair will fall out naturally. Therefore, no need for plucking or pulling. You can keep the area smooth by shaving until your next treatment.
Book a skin consultation with one of our Skin & Laser Specialists
Written by Skin & Laser Specialist, Lindsay Lourenco
Lindsay qualified from Durban university of technology in 2003 and obtained a degree in Dermal aesthetics at Isa Carstens in 2019. She has been working in the aesthetic industry for 7-8 years. Her career brought her to places such as London and Brisbane, where she was able to further developed her skills and passion for beauty therapy. Some of her favorite treatments to do are laser therapies and dermapen peels. One of the biggest factor that Lindsay enjoys about her job, is to see the results of treatments on her patients and the boost of confidence it brings to them.