Using a laser for hair removal may seem more painful than conventional methods like waxing or shaving, but that’s not true. In fact, laser therapy may be even more comfortable than more conventional methods. What’s more, laser therapy offers other benefits, such as convenience, low risk and cost savings over time.
In this article, we’ll look at the benefits of choosing laser for hair removal, how the process works, and how it compares to traditional methods in terms of comfort.
Laser For Hair Removal: Understanding How The Process Works
Laser hair removal is a modern treatment that uses a laser system. This advanced piece of technology has been engineered to take light and concentrate it into a powerful laser beam. While laser beams are a much-discussed concept in fictional sci-fi universes, our laser systems don’t see much action in the stage of intergalactic warfare. Rather, they’re used with incredible precision to target specific tissues in your body, selectively damaging them without harming the surrounding area.
There are many different kinds of laser therapy currently available to us, and the exact way these tissues are targeted and the reasons for doing so vary depending on the nature of the treatment. However, in the case of laser hair removal, the aim is to target the hair follicle and cause sufficient damage to curtail its ability to produce new hair. This process is aided by the natural pigments found inside hair follicles, called melanin. Melanin absorbs the laser’s energy far more readily than the surrounding tissue, causing it to heat up and break down from the inside.
That’s why laser hair removal is more effective on people with dark hair and light skin, because their hair is richer in melanin while their skin is the opposite. Fortunately, with modern laser hair removal technology, we can still perform the procedure on those with more melanin-rich skin; it simply isn’t as straightforward as it would be otherwise.
Please note that the end result of this treatment is actually a significant reduction in hair growth, rather than a permanent removal. Despite this, you’ll still be able to enjoy an extensive period of smooth skin with only the occasional touch-up session recurring in the months that follow your treatment’s completion.
Laser For Hair Removal: What Pain Levels Should You Expect
The idea of targeting your skin with a laser beam can reasonably elicit some level of fear. Perhaps you’re envisioning yourself as a certain famous spy strapped to the table of a moustache-twirling villain busy narrating your impending demise, but we assure you that this is not the case.
Rather, using a laser for hair removal is a surprisingly painless option. Most clients who’ve undergone the procedure describe the sensation of having their hair lasered away as a kind of burning or snapping sensation. It’s not always the most comfortable, but it’s really nothing to get too worried about. The pain is minor and very quick to pass, leaving you with very little lingering discomfort. You may find that your skin is still a bit sensitive after the treatment, but this should fade within the next few hours or days.
Also, keep in mind that the overall discomfort will depend on your hair and skin type, as well as the size of the surface area and its location. If you have darker skin, it’s going to absorb more of the laser energy being directed towards the follicle, increasing the amount of pain per blast. Your technician will be considerate of this and move at a more manageable pace, and likely offer you extra numbing agents.
Larger target areas will take longer and more energy to complete, causing discomfort to build up over the session. Although small areas such as the lip can be more sensitive than the legs or back, be aware that the pain will be more acutely felt in these areas.
Laser For Hair Removal: What We Do To Minimise Discomfort
Of course, our goal at NuSkinnovation is not for you to get hurt. We want you to enjoy your remarkable and lasting laser therapy results without having to suffer for them. Although using a laser for hair removal would be more accurately described as uncomfortable rather than painful, we still do what we can to minimise any unpleasant sensations.
It’ll all begin with a free consultation at your nearest NuSkinnovation clinic, where we’ll open the floor for you to ask any questions and voice your concerns regarding the treatment and any pain you may feel. We’ll also observe and ask you questions, ascertaining not only things like skin and hair type but also any medical conditions or medications that may interfere with the treatment and affect pain levels.
If everything is good to go ahead, we’ll prepare you on the treatment day by applying a numbing agent to the target area. We also use the most modern laser systems on the market, which have been innovated to minimise your discomfort. Your technician will be attentive and communicative with you, checking in on your discomfort levels and adjusting the pace or applying more numbing agents if need be.
At NuSkinnovation, we walk alongside you every step of the way to ensure a satisfactory experience throughout.
Laser For Hair Removal: What You Can Do To Minimise Discomfort
While we at NuSkinnovation will try our best to minimise your discomfort through our practice, there are still a number of things that you yourself can do to keep comfortable during and immediately after treatment. First off, it’s important that you arrive at your session without any cosmetics, creams or deodorants on the target area. These are likely to react to the treatment and cause you unnecessary discomfort, as well as disrupt the efficacy of the therapy.
Secondly, you’re welcome to take an over-the-counter pain medication roughly an hour before your treatment to help with the experience, as it won’t interact with the laser therapy at all. If you feel that the numbing agent applied by the technician wasn’t enough or is wearing off, there’s no need to suffer in silence. Feel free to ask them to apply more until you feel happy with the results. At any point, you can tell the technician if it’s growing too uncomfortable and they’ll adjust accordingly.
While it may simply spark a change of pace, unexpected levels of discomfort or pain could tip a technician off to something awry with the machine or a poor reaction from your body. It’s always better to speak up in the moment rather than holding it back until it evolves into a real issue. Once your session is complete, you should wear loose and comfortable clothing that doesn’t press up against your sensitive skin and gives it space to breathe.
At NuSkinnovation, you can rest easy knowing all of our aestheticians are experienced and qualified laser experts, and we only use the most advanced modern-day laser machines.
Laser For Hair Removal: Pain Levels Compared To Conventional Means
While we as a species have yet to discover a means of removing our hair with absolute zero discomfort during or after, laser therapy offers you a rather good deal that pairs only moderate short-term discomfort with long-term results and a low risk of side effects. To put this into perspective, we’ll talk about a few other methods of hair removal.
Shaving
To shave properly, you need a clean and sharp blade as well as the right technique. Without these, you’re likely to damage the top layer of skin, causing a temporary but irritating condition called ‘razor burn.’ Even with a sharp blade, you may end up hurting yourself with small nicks or cuts.
Depending on the sharpness of your blade, your technique and natural physiology, you may end up experiencing ingrown hairs and skin irritation during the regrowth process. Using a laser for hair removal is a great way to avoid regular ingrown hairs and lingering skin irritation each time after a shave, which needs to occur with some regularity to maintain smooth skin.
Waxing
Waxing is an effective means of removing hair within a particular area, as it pulls the hair out from the follicle. That being said, the process can be very painful, particularly if done in areas of dense hair growth.
While laser therapy can sting a bit, it’s only required as a one-off discomfort during one’s treatments. The pain of waxing needs to be repeated regularly to maintain smooth skin, which can lead to irritation.
Depilatory Creams
Depilatory creams, also known as hair removal creams, can be an effective and convenient way to remove unwanted hair. One simply applies the cream to the target area and waits for the active ingredients to break down the proteins that maintain the hair’s structural integrity.
However, it carries with it the risk of serious irritation for those with sensitive skin. Even those with the toughest hide need to be careful about how long they leave the cream in contact with their skin, as anything beyond 10 minutes is likely to cause a chemical burn. Free of chemical components, laser hair removal is a far less risky option for those with sensitive skin.
Laser For Hair Removal: More Than Just Physical Discomfort
While physical pain is a distinctly unpleasant prospect, it is far from being the only form of pain that a person can experience. When it comes to hair removal in particular, the two other forms of discomfort that come to mind are inconvenience and cost. The concept of inconvenience is one likely familiar to those who have had to shave their legs with only limited time or a dull razor at hand.
The time and energy spent in endeavours like these would feel more bearable if their results weren’t so short-lived. With laser therapy, however, you only need to go through the inconvenience once to enjoy results that last you for months to come. Cost is another matter entirely.
While laser therapy has a higher upfront cost than virtually all conventional hair removal methods, the numbers look different in the long run. The cost of regularly repurchasing short-term hair removal methods is cumulative and may eventually outpace the cost of laser hair removal, without offering the same level of convenience.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, laser hair removal is an exceptionally painless method compared with more conventional means. While the procedure can cause you some discomfort, the experience is mild and made even more so by our caring NuSkinnovation technicians.
It’s a non-invasive procedure that carries little risk while delivering long-lasting results that save you both time and money in the long run. If you’re interested in experiencing this relatively painless procedure and its outstanding results, visit our NuSkinnovation website to book a consultation.