How Long Does Laser Hair Removal Take?

If you have had enough with constant waxing, shaving, tweezing, or painful depilatory creams just to get rid of unwanted hair, laser hair removal is something you should look into. All other methods of hair removal cost a lot more over the course of a lifetime, can be quite painful, take up an enormous amount of time and effort, and interfere with your ability to be spontaneous. At WellSkin Med Spa in Dallas, TX, we offer a faster and more convenient way to be rid of unwanted hair in the form of laser treatments.

How Long Does Laser Hair Removal Take?

The answer to this question will depend a bit on your final goal. Some people only want to send out the hair in a particular area, which naturally takes fewer sessions, while many people want to remove it altogether. Most people see their final results in about 8 to 12 sessions.

Your sessions will normally be scheduled about 4 to 6 weeks apart, though this will depend a bit on how quickly your hair grows. While this may seem like a long time to have to wait, compared to spending the rest of your life shaving every other day or waxing every few weeks, it’s actually quite a small time investment.

FAQ About Laser Hair Removal

How Do Laser Treatments Work?

Other forms of hair removal treat the hair itself, either slicing it off just where it appears over the skin, as with shaving, or pulling it out completely, as with tweezing or waxing. Laser treatments treat the hair follicles from which the hairs grow. Laser energy is directed at the hair, which serves as a conduit that carries heat to the follicle, damaging or destroying it. Destroyed follicles can no longer grow hair at all, while damaged follicles will grow thinner, lighter hair that comes in more slowly. Damaged follicles are usually fully destroyed at the next treatment.

The laser energy is attracted to the pigment in your hair. Pigment is what gives your hair its color, and we calibrate the laser so it is attracted to the pigment of your hair while ignoring the pigment in your skin. This allows us to safely use this treatment on people with a wide variety of skin and hair colors.

How Will My Skin and Hair Colors Affect Treatment?

The greater the contrast between the color of your skin and the color of your hair, the faster and easier treatments tend to be. This means people with pale skin and dark hair get their final results most quickly. This does not mean that you cannot be treated if you have lighter hair or darker skin: it just means it may take a few more treatment sessions, as we want to be very careful with the laser in order to protect your skin.

You might also realize from this description that it’s wise to avoid changing the color of your skin or hair prior to treatment. If you bleach your hair, or if you get a dark tan, you could make your treatment more difficult and time-consuming. You always want to enhance the contrast for the fastest results.

Why Will I Need Multiple Sessions?

This is a common question, and it’s worth asking why the laser doesn’t just get all the hair in the treatment area the first time. The laser is only able to damage and destroy follicles that are in the active growing stage. The hair on our bodies is constantly cycling in and out of various stages of growth, and different hair follicles are in different stages at different moments. At your first treatment, about 30% of the hair in your target area will be treated.

You then need to let a few weeks go by so that more of the dormant hair can cycle into the active growing stage and be targeted in your next session. At your next session, you will be able to remove about 30% of the remaining hair, and the cycle will continue until you treat all the hair. It does take several sessions to see your final results, but at the same time, you will see your initial results very quickly and feel encouraged. Considering precisely how it all works may help to clear this up.

Explaining the Math

Imagine that you want to get rid of 5,000 hair follicles in your target area. In your first session, you will remove 30% of them, which will be approximately 1,500. At your second session, you will not remove another 1,500. Instead, you will remove 30% of the remaining hairs. You have only 3,500 hairs remaining, which means your second session will remove 30% of that: 1,050.

After just two sessions, you will have removed more than half the hair in the target area and will be seeing an enormous difference. Shaving will be much easier, and at your next session, you will get another 30% of the remaining hair, which will be about 735 more. As you can see, results will be very noticeable, but multiple sessions will need to finally get those last hairs.

How Often Should I Schedule Sessions?

You will need to give your hair enough time to cycle into the next stage, and each of us grows hair at different speeds on different parts of our body. This means you may have a different scheduling interval for different sessions if you’re having several areas of the body treated with laser hair removal. Your timing will depend on your own physiology as well as the area or areas of the body that you are treating, and your goals. When you come to talk to us, we can chat with you about what you can expect personally.

For most people, treatments should be scheduled about 4 to 6 weeks apart. Treating an area too quickly after the previous session may not do much of anything. That means you’re paying for treatment, but you’re not really losing any of the hair.

However, it’s equally true that you should not let too much time pass between treatments. If you stop treatment early, you will notice a thinning of your hair, but you will still find yourself constantly engaging in hair removal processes like waxing and shaving in order to get perfectly smooth skin. And since some of the follicles will have been just damaged instead of completely destroyed in early sessions, they may eventually recover and begin growing hair energetically again.

How Do I Prepare for Treatment?

The first step is always to come see us for a consultation. We will look at your skin and hair, evaluate whether this is the best treatment for you, and talk over your goals and desired aesthetic. Then, we can help you develop a personalized schedule so you know how many treatments you are likely to need, how long you should schedule between your treatments, and what results to expect. We can always change any part of this plan along the way as we see how your body responds.

For about a month before your treatment, you should hold off on any hair removal methods that completely remove the hair. This means, for example, no waxing or tweezing. The laser energy needs the pigment of your hair to target the follicle. If there is no hair, the energy will have nowhere to go and the follicles will not be destroyed.

However, this does not mean you have to go around with long hair for a month, hiding it. You are free to shave whenever you want, and you ought to shave the day before your treatment. Shaved hair is usually just the right length for laser treatment: there’s enough hair for the laser energy to target but the hair is too short to allow laser energy to be lost along the way.

How Do I Take Care of My Skin After Treatment?

It is important for your skin to be in good condition before this treatment and after it, for the best results. In addition to avoiding the sun or any form of tanning, you will also get the best results if you stay well hydrated and keep your skin moisturized. Be sure to wear sunscreen carefully after your laser treatment, and, if possible, stay out of the sun completely for about 48 hours after treatment.

Get Smooth Skin Today

Come visit us at WellSkin Med Spa in Dallas, TX today to get started. We have been providing premier beauty treatments in comfortable spa conditions to the people of the Dallas area since our founding. We use advanced technologies to improve your aesthetic without surgeries, scarring, stitches, or pain. Our staff is highly trained and hand-picked for their personal approach and experience. We know you’ll love it here!