We decided to dispel myths about laser hair removal and asked Karina Musaeva, a laser therapist and chief physician of the Laser Lounge Clinic and LazerJazz, the laser hair removal and cosmetology clinics, to answer a few pressing questions.
Is it true that any hair method will ultimately enhance hair growth?
Partly. Not all, but some methods of depilation do lead to hardening of hairs. For example, if you use a razor or remove hair with an epilator or wax, then vellus hair (and most of them on our body are thin barely noticeable hairs) after such depilation really becomes harder and darker. However, this story does not apply to already dark hair, it certainly will not grow faster than before.
What is the most effective permanent hair removal method?
At the moment, laser and elos hair removal is considered the most effective method of hair removal. They allow you to completely solve the problem of unwanted hair on any part of the face and body in half a year with maximum comfort for the patient.
Lasers are different: alexandrite and diode - the most popular. The first is considered the "gold standard of hair removal", since the wavelength is 755 nm, that is, the very length that is maximally absorbed by the hair pigment, without affecting either the skin or blood vessels. The Alexandrite laser is suitable for all skin and hair types, including fair-skinned blondes and dark-skinned brunettes. In addition, such epilation takes very little time: two legs - about ten minutes.
If your hair follicles are located deep enough (coarse hair and bristles), then I advise you to pay attention to another type of popular laser - diode. Epilation with this device is carried out at the longest light wave - 800-940 nm, which makes it possible to carry out an effective procedure even on the most difficult cases.
It is also believed that diode lasers are more comfortable than alexandrite lasers, but their main disadvantage is that they do not cope well with thin vellus hair, which is on the face, or with weakened hairs at the end of the epilation course.
Let's move on to Elos epilation. Elos technology is a combination of two types of energy at once: laser and RF energy. This method is ideal for areas with high sensitivity - armpits, bikini, men's face hair removal, hard, deep hair. Copes with blond hair. And the restrictions on the period of abstinence from hair removal "after" and "before" the beach are lower than those of a laser - just a week instead of two or three "laser" ones. The only drawback is that the procedure takes longer than other types of hair removal.
There is also a method of electrolysis. At first glance, it seems more affordable, but this procedure is significantly inferior to the laser in terms of efficiency, especially since there is a high risk of scarring. Although, it also has advantages, for example, electrolysis allows you to remove gray hair, which a laser cannot do.
When choosing an epilation method, many people also consider photo epilation. It appeared before the laser one, so it seems to many to be reliable and "proven". However, today it is an obsolete method, like floppy disks and DVD players. That is, they work, but why use them when there are flash drives and online TV?
Photoepilation is approximately 20% less effective than laser hair removal. The limitations are embedded in the technology of the method itself. With photoepilation, a beam of waves is produced, and they are all of different lengths. Therefore, some of them are absorbed by the skin, some by the vascular pigment, and only a part by the hair pigment. That is, photoepilation will be effective only for people with white-white skin and black-black hair. Others will take the course for a long time and painfully, and burns may still wait for fair-haired ones.
How many laser hair removal treatments do you need for a lifelong effect?
The result is influenced by many factors, including physiological characteristics such as skin color, hair thickness and color, but still, first of all, it is the apparatus and knowledge of the laser therapist. This is a separate specialization in aesthetic medicine, so always take an interest in these aspects before signing up for laser hair removal.
For the most effective laser and elos hair removal, you need to come into the active phase (that is, the hair is visible). A course of laser hair removal with alexandrite laser or elos-hair removal of the legs is 4-5 procedures to an ideal result. During each procedure, we destroy about 30% of unwanted hair, that is, those follicles that are in the active phase, the rest is "sleeping" and we will destroy it the next time. Bikini, armpits, upper lip are a hormone-dependent zone, where hair grows faster, the cycle is shorter, that is, the procedure needs to be carried out more often: once a month, so it will take about 12 procedures, that is, an average year.
Three more "bonuses" of laser hair removal
- From the first procedure, the problem of ingrown hair will disappear (laser hair removal is an indication for the treatment of this problem)
- Laser hair removal does not require growing hair (as for wax), it can be completely shaved between treatments, but unlike shaving, the stiffness and intensity of the hair will never return.
- The laser improves the quality of the skin - its tone is leveled (post-traumatic pigmentation from ingrown hairs disappears, its microrelief improves ("holes leave" from which the hair shaft grew). That is, the skin really becomes incredibly silky, this is not an epithet, it is a fact.
Photo: Getty Images
Related materials
- The Naked Truth: The Non-Brazilian Story of "Brazilian" Hair Removal
- 5 outdated myths about hair removal
- Society and beauty: for whom do we really want to be beautiful (not for ourselves)