Hair Reduction - Energy Assisted

AKA Laser Hair Removal, IPL Hair Removal



What is Energy Assisted Hair Reduction?
If you’re sick of shaving or fed up of spending a fortune on waxing treatments, chances are you’ve considered a more ‘permanent’ method of hair removal.

We’ve called this section ‘Hair Reduction’, because so far no manufacturer has been able to claim that their product results in complete and permanent removal of hair, but you can certainly expect a significant reduction in fuzz.

The two main energy sources used to remove hair are laser and IPL, or Intense Pulsed Light. Both methods achieve hair reduction by causing damage to the hair follicle itself.

Laser delivers energy to the follicle in one high energy beam of light with one specific wavelength, whilst IPL delivers hundreds of different wavelengths in one go.

Who is suitable for Hair Reduction?
IPL hair reduction tends to only be suited to those people with dark hair and pale skin, because the light is attracted to the melanin in the hair, so it needs to be able to differentiate between hair and skin.

Laser has a broader treatment group, but is still unsuitable for those with very pale blonde or ginger hair, as well as for very dark skin tones.

You should have a skin test before going ahead with treatment, and it’s advisable to stay out of the sun for a few weeks before your appointment, as recently tanned skin is prone to experience pigmentation problems as a result of hair reduction treatment.

What’s the treatment like?
A small handpiece is run over the treatment area, which emits either a laser beam or intense pulsed light to base of the hair follicle.

This causes damage to the cells that cause hair to grow, and if enough damage is done it can prevent hair from growing there again.

Depending on the size of the treatment area, this can be a fairly lengthy process – it can take anything from just ten minutes for an upper lip to around an hour to treat the back of one leg.

Some people have described treatment as quite painful, so if you’re having a sensitive area like the bikini line treated you might want to ask your practitioner to apply a local anaesthetic cream beforehand.

What happens after Energy Assisted Hair Reduction?
There might be a small amount of redness and swelling, but this should calm down pretty quickly, and your practitioner should be able to apply an ice pack or a cooling aloe vera gel to help things along.

It is absolutely essential that you apply sunscreen to the treated areas for at least four weeks after treatment and avoid exposure to the sun.

Will I have a scar?
There is very little risk of scarring from hair reduction procedures, but there may be a slight increase or loss of pigmentation – although this, too, is unlikely provided you take the necessary precautions.

Cosmetic Doctor