1. How does laser work?
Lasers produce beams of highly concentrated Light that are attracted to the melanin or dark pigment of the hair, This produces an intense heat that damages the hair follicle and inhibits future hair growth within the follicle without damaging the surrounding tissue.

2. Is laser hair removal Painful?
Everyone’s pain tolerance is different. It feels like a rubber band snap against your skin. Yes and no depending on you. The overwhelming consensus is that the sensation is bearable and worth it.

3. Am I the right candidate for Laser hair removal?
If you have gray, white, red and blonde NO due to not having any pigmentation. Dark skin is not to successful also due to having to much pigmentation, there maybe some circumstances where these general rules do not apply, come in for our free consultation and test patch if you are not sure.

4. What are possible risks and side effects?.
The side effects or complications can occur given various variables, including

• Itching, during treatment
• Redness for up to 3days
• Swelling(around the follicle)for up to 3days
• Pain, tingling, or feeling of numbness(cold Spray)

Rare

• Crusting/scab formation(on ingrown hairs)
• Bruising
• Purpura (purple discolorations of the skin)on tanned areas
• Infection
• Temporary pigment change(hypo-pigmentation or hyper-pigmentation)
  Contact your therapist or doctor if you are concern.

5. How does the laser work on removing hair?
First you need to understand the hair growth cycle.

There are 3 hair growth cycle

• Anagen – new growth - active stage
• Catagen - Relaxed state
• Telogen - Shedding of hair.

The Anagen stage is perfect as it has the highest melanin in the hair. This is what the laser is targeting, hair in the active growth phase to get results.

6. How many times do I need treatments?
You will need 6 to 8 treatments normally, spread out over 6 -10 weeks apart depending on the growth phase. Wait until you have experienced shedding of the treated hairs (2 to 3.5 weeks) then you’ll see the Anagen growth this is when you need to call to rebook.

7. Is Laser Hair Removal Permanent?
The General opinion is that laser hair removal is permanent and the FDA approved it as permanent reduction, but doesn’t work on everyone. Generally, this means that you shouldn’t expect laser to remove every single hair from the area. Most will need touch up treatments 1-2 times a year after initial treatments.

8. What are the possible causes of excessive hair growth and how can it affect my treatments?

The causes of excessive hair growth pattern are many and varied, including:

• Heredity
• Pregnancy
• Glandular and/or hormonal imbalances (possible PCOS condition for women), including diseases causing these effects
• Insulin resistance issues
• Reactions to certain medications
• Normal aging processes
• Excessive temporary removal methods like waxing, tweezing, creams and depilatories, etc.

Every laser candidate should explore a possible underlying reason of the extreme hair growth before starting laser because if there is something in the body consistently triggering hair growth, laser treatments might seem ineffective because the body will keep developing new hair. Consult a Doctor to find the cause before starting treatment.

9. What Should I Expect Before and After Treatment?
You should shave the area to be treated 1-3 days before treatment (some clinics will offer to do this for you, but beware of irritation caused by disposable razors etc). No waxing or removing hair with the root with any other way is allowed 4-6 weeks before and throughout the course of treatment as hair needs to be in place to be targeted by laser. The area should be shaved as closely as possible so that laser can target the most energy towards the hair follicle and not waste energy on the part of the hair above the skin’s surface. If your hair is the type that you can’t see where it was right after you shave, make it a bit easier on your tech not to miss the spots you want treated by shaving 1-3 days before so the outline of where hair is growing is just VERY slightly visible. Stay out of the sun for 1month prior treatment and use spf 30+sunscreen.

After treatment is completed (underarms take under 10 minutes, back treatment can take 1 hour or so), you should apply aloe vera to soothe the skin for a few days. Within 2-3.5 weeks, you should experience shedding of all treated hair. At first, hair will look like it’s growing back in, but it is just coming through the skin to shed. Shedding starts at about 1.5 weeks and can last until 3.5 weeks post-treatment or so. Exfoliating and/or scrubbing gently in the shower with a loofa can help speed up the process. After shedding finishes, you might experience little black dots still “stuck” in the skin. These are commonly referred to as “pepperspots” and will shed eventually, but might take a bit longer. Exfoliate to help those out as well.

After shedding occurs, you should experience a hair-free period for a few weeks, until next set of hair that was dormant starts to come out. Once you have enough to justify one, go in for another treatment. This usually happens within 4-6 weeks post-treatment. Patient continues this process until he/she has reached diminishing returns and the remaining hairs are too fine for laser to target, or until you have reached you desired reduction.

• No excessive perspiration until the area has healed.
• No hot showers or rubbing in the area treated until healed
• No shaving 48 -72 hrs following treatment.
• No scented creams or lotions whilst the area is sensitive
• No plucking, waxing bleaching, epilating or electrolysis.
• No Roaccutane, Retin-A, AHA’s, vitamin A serums and glycolic acid.
• No Makeup until healed.
• No swimming, spa’s until skin has healed