What Affects The Success of Laser Hair Removal?

Laser hair removal is an effective, non-invasive procedure that permanently stops hair growth on the area that is treated. Most people see permanent results after three to five treatment sessions, although some people respond better to laser hair removal than others. Let's take a look at the 3 things that affect the quality of laser hair removal results.

1. Your Skin Color
The laser used in hair removal treatments targets the pigment in the root of the hair, and essentially burns the follicle, damaging it so that no more hair can grow back. To do this, the light from the laser has to pass through your skin. If your skin is dark colored, then the laser would have to be calibrated to a fairly low setting, and this means that the treatment would be far less effective. For this reason, people who are fair skinned are usually advised to avoid tanning while they are getting laser treatment. If you have naturally dark skin, you can try a couple of treatment sessions, but no good clinic would guarantee that the treatments will be effective. The best laser to use on dark skin is the YAG laser.

2. The color and thickness of the hair
Dark hairs tend to respond better than light hairs. The laser emits a highly calibrated beam of light which targets the melanin in the follicles, and there is more melanin in dark hair than there is in light hair. As long as the hair is darker than the skin surrounding it, the treatment should be effective. To maximize the effectiveness of the treatment, the clinic will tell you not to wax or use other hair removal treatments in the run up to your treatment. When you go for the treatment, they will cut back the hair so that there is just a millimeter or two showing. This will make the laser able to more easily find the follicles. Laser treatments are not like electrolysis. They do not target one follicle at a time. Each pass with the laser targets several follicles, so you can treat a small area like your upper lip in a single session.

3. The area being treated
In theory, you can use laser hair removal on any part of your body, but there are some parts which are more easily treated than others. Laser hair removal works very well for facial hair, the bikini line, armpit hair, and hairs on your legs and forearms. The darker and coarser the hairs, the more effective the treatment will be. If you want to remove very fine hair, or hair that is incredibly light, then you may find that the treatment is not very effective.Laser treatment is a drug-free, safe way to remove hairs, but it is not the only option. Electrolysis may be a better option if you need to remove just one or two coarse hairs, for example. However, to remove hair on your upper lip or bikini line, laser removal is a great option.

Source: http://goarticles.com/article/What-Affects-The-Success-of-Laser-Hair-Removal/7805698/