Until now, the only options for removing unwanted hair were shaving, waxing, hair-removal creams, tweezing or electrolysis, and these are all temporary and/or painful. In the 1980s, a Russian physicist while developing the Ruby laser for defense purposes accidentally lasered himself on the arm. He noticed that the hair in the lasered area was vaporized and new hair growth occurred only after a number of months. As a result of this accident, laser hair removal was born. This technique has been found effective for underarms, face, legs, back and most other skin surfaces.
How does laser hair removal work?
The laser light targets hair in the active growth cycle and then damages the hair follicle with minimum trauma to surrounding tissue. Since only 20-30% of the hair will be active at any one time, additional treatments will be necessary. Only the hair in the anagen or growth phase is treatable. Results of this procedure vary with skin type, hair color, and the area of the body to be treated. Because the filtered light and/or laser only detects color, people who are very fair skinned and have dark hair in the treatment area usually obtain the best results. Persons who have darker skin with lighter hair may experience little or no improvement because the light and/or laser energy is more dispersed in areas with darker pigmentation. This treatment is usually not effective for natural blonde, gray, white or red hair. Although the goal is hair removal, sometimes only modifications are made. For example, coarse hair may be replaced with finer, lighter hair. Some conditions may exclude clients from treatment. These conditions are pregnancy, the use of certain medications, herbs and vitamins that increase photo sensitivity, diabetes, a history of keloid scarring, or if the skin turns brown when it is scratched. A recent suntan received within six weeks will preclude treatment until your tan fades.
What kind of results can I expect?
Results of laser treatment will not be immediate. For hair removal, the hair shaft will fall out in about two weeks. Since only the active hair that is present is removed and/or modified, the re-growth of dormant hair will necessitate additional treatments. Most of our laser hair removal patients return when there is evidence of new hair growth. In facial areas, this growth usually appears after four weeks. Hair growth in other parts of the body can be noticed in six to eight weeks.
Ready to remove that unwanted hair for good? If you would like more information on our state-of-the-art expertise to remove your unwanted hair by a trained physician, please call English Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Center at (501) 227-9556.
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