1. Am I a candidate for laser hair removal?
Laser hair removal is not for everyone. The absolute requirement is that one's hair must be darker than the surrounding skin. Additionally very darkly pigmented people absorb too much laser energy in their skin and are not candidates for most lasers, however, our lasers (Sciton 1064 and Iridex 1064) can treat any skin type.
2. What will it cost for laser hair removal for me?
Treatment cost varies with the size of the area treated. Large areas, such as the entire back, or the entire legs, cost considerably more than small areas, such as the upper lip, can be less. Individual consultation is necessary to obtain exact pricing.
3. Influence of skin color on laser hair removal.
Light skin makes laser hair removal easier to perform. Fewer treatments are required, and better, faster results are obtained. People with darker skin can be treated, but results are slower, more sessions are required, and greater expertise is required on the part of the laser center. Laser hair removal must be individualized for each patient.
4. Influence of hair color on laser hair removal.
Dark hair absorbs more laser energy and is easier to treat. Coarse dark hair responds the best to laser treatment. Light hair is more difficult to treat. Blonde or red hair is very difficult to treat. Multiple treatment sessions are required, and results are variable. Blonde or red hair usually contains pheomelanin, which absorbs laser energy less avidly than the eumelanin pigment which is present in black or brown hair.
5. Laser hair removal requires multiple treatments.
Although one laser session can produce long-term hair removal, as a rule multiple treatment sessions are necessary to obtain optimal results. In large part this is due to the fact that laser hair removal is most effective for hair which is in the anagen phase. Anagen is the growth phase of hair. Since hair grows in cycles, not all of the hairs are in anagen at any given time. Additional sessions are necessary to catch all of the hairs when they are in anagen.
6. What areas can be treated?
Any area, except adjacent to the eye, where there is excess hair. The most common areas requested are the face, upper lip, neck, chest, peri-areolar, underarms, back, abdomen, bikini, and legs.
7. About permanent hair reduction by laser.
Waxing, shaving, and plucking all produce temporary hair removal. The FDA has approved lasers for permanent hair reduction. The results tend to be additive, i.e. more treatments lead to greater degrees of permanent hair reduction. For any given patient results cannot be precisely predicted. Results can be variable.
8. Pulsed light and laser hair removal.
Intense pulsed light devices can produce effective hair removal. Although these devices are not lasers, they are "laser equivalents", utilizing the same principle of selective photothermolysis to achieve hair removal.
9. Guarantees in laser hair removal.
It is impossible to predict the exact result a patient will achieve with laser hair removal, especially with regard to how many sessions a given individual will require.
10. How long has Daws Wellness Center been performing laser hair removal?
We purchased our first laser in 2004 and began by experimenting on ourselves. Being skeptical, Dr. Daws wife, Laura, began by removing the hair on only 1 leg so she could easily compare the results. She is now a firm believer and years later still has hair on only 1 leg because she is too busy with patient care to complete the treatments.
