Between laser hair removal sessions, it's best to avoid using any products that may irritate the skin or interfere with the treatment process. This includes harsh exfoliants, retinol-based products, and perfumed lotions.
It's generally recommended to have sessions about 4-6 weeks apart for the best results.
Shaving is the best way to remove hair between treatments. Shaving does not stimulate hair growth as it does not tug or shear the hair. The best way to get rid of your hair, permanent reduction, is to treat regularly so that you affect all stages of growth and continue to damage and shrink the hair follicles.
It's perfectly acceptable to shave between laser hair removal sessions.
The skin is usually sensitive after laser hair removal, and squeezing can cause further irritation and redness. Instead of squeezing, it's best to allow the hair follicles to shed naturally over time. This can take up to 10-14 days.
So, what causes this? It's called paradoxical hypertrichosis — and even the name sounds scary. No one actually knows why this happens with laser patients, but after treatment, the laser can do the opposite of what you're expecting and actually stimulate hair growth.
Inadequate Contrast Between Hair Color and Skin Tone
This light energy is absorbed by the dark pigment, increasing the follicle's temperature and causing damage that stops future hair growth. Therefore, for the treatment to be effective, there must be a significant difference between the hair color and skin tone.
The more energy you pump into the laser to get those atoms all excited, the greater the intensity of the light.
Depending on the hair, skin type, and body area being treated, you will require treatments at 4-6 weeks intervals. For the facial area, treatments should be done in 2-week intervals unless recommended otherwise.
Overdoing laser hair removal can result in skin irritation, redness, and swelling. This can happen if the skin is exposed to too much laser energy, causing damage to the surrounding skin tissue. The skin can become sensitive, making it more prone to burns and hyperpigmentation.
It could indicate that the follicles were not sufficiently damaged during the procedure, which may necessitate further sessions or even alternative treatments, conducted with the same precision you'd expect from plastic surgery procedures.
Avoid make-up on the treated area for at least 48 hours. Avoid the application of perfumed products or bleaching creams for 48 hours. Avoid scratching the treatment area if blistering or crusting occurs, as this can cause scarring. Avoid waxing, tweezing and threading for the complete duration of the treatment course.
Regularly spaced treatments can lead to optimal results. Missing appointments or waiting too long between treatments can result in less effective results and may even require you to restart the treatment cycle.
While laser hair removal significantly reduces hair growth, it doesn't always eliminate it completely, and some may still require occasional touch-ups. Skin reactions can also play a role in feelings of regret, although this is rare when the procedure is done correctly.
Hair Growth Cycles: The primary reason you might notice stubble after laser hair removal is the nature of your hair's growth cycles.
The best way to help speed up shedding after your laser hair removal treatment is by gentle exfoliation once or twice a week once you start to see signs of your hair starting to shed.
The growth cycle is the reason why it could take between 6 and 8 sessions before the hair follicles have been destroyed. Each treatment area has its own unique growth cycle, and hair growth in the upper lip can be four weeks, and the cycle for the legs can take between 8 and 10 weeks.
You can speed up the shedding process by gently exfoliating with a soft brush or daily scrub. The goal is to slough off the dead skin cells so trapped hairs can surface. Avoid picking or scratching the spots, as this can cause scarring.
It may be tempting to pick or scratch at any little surface hair remnants that eject after a laser hair removal treatment, but this can cause unnecessary skin irritation. Let the skin recover naturally.
This is a sign that the laser successfully treated the follicle, and it's clearing out the dead hair shaft. This shedding process, also called “peppering,” can last anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. In some cases, it may feel like the hair is growing back because it's breaking through the skin.