Popular Body Areas for Laser Hair Removal
Plucking, waxing, and shaving all too frequently become chores from which you may want a break. Unwanted hair can spring up almost anywhere and sometimes, your hair removal burden increases as you get older.
It’s time to turn to laser hair removal, the best treatment for reducing your grooming time and complications. The team at Bayview General Medicine recommends the dual-wavelength Elite iQ™ laser system for our patients who are serious about permanent hair removal.
Common body areas for hair removal
Most people, women and men, seem to be most concerned with unwanted facial hair, whether it’s on the lips, the chin, sideburns, or elsewhere, but problem hair can crop up anywhere. Women often want to control hair growth on the underarms, legs, and bikini line, while back hair is sometimes an issue for men. Grooming hair around the genitals can be a priority for both sexes, and permanent hair removal can make the job easier.
Stubborn hair can crop up almost anywhere, and laser hair removal can help with issues on the chest, stomach, toes, and buttocks as well as any even more unusual spots for stubborn hairs.
How laser hair removal works
All the hair on your body has a three-stage growth cycle, with roughly one-third of your follicles in each stage at a given time. Hair follicles are at their darkest during the growing portion of the cycle, and this is when they’re most vulnerable for laser removal.
Contrast between skin color and follicle color is important for laser hair removal because heat is the active agent that disrupts hair follicles. Follicles absorb light energy from the Elite iQ system, warming up to the point where they become damaged and your body begins the process of removing them. No follicle means no hair growth.
Added to that, Elite iQ uses the Skintel® Melanin Reader™ to evaluate your skin type. As a dual-wavelength laser platform, your hair removal treatment is customized to your skin conditions, making sure that you receive the most effective procedure.
What to expect
Because of the growth cycle of hair, you’ll need more than one treatment for anything approaching complete hair removal. Spacing of sessions depends on the part of your body being treated, since some spots have faster-growing hair.
While the laser light used is quite powerful, the duration of light pulses is very short. You’ll feel warmth from the laser as well as a sensation that feels like a rubber band snapping against your skin. Numbing gels may be used if you’re being treated in a sensitive location, but most patients find laser hair removal treatments tolerable. The length of your session depends on the amount of skin area being treated.
Dr. Richard Blanchar and the team at Bayview General Medicine are laser hair removal specialists. Contact the office by phone or online to learn more about the procedure and what you can expect from treatment.