About Laser Hair Reduction

When the laser was first invented several decades ago, everyone knew it was a major breakthrough, but no one knew for what. Since that time, thousands of applications have been discovered, including hair reduction. As it turns out, this discovery was an accident by a laser technician who inadvertently lased his arm hair.

The principle behind laser hair reduction is simple; heat the hair up hot enough so that it injures the surrounding hair follicle causing permanent cessation of growth. The trick is to do this without heating other tissues (like your skin).

A laser beam is just light. What makes it special is that it is of a very specific color, pulsed over a very short period of time (microseconds or less) and of a very high intensity. It is these properties that allow the laser light to be absorbed (and thereby heat) a specific target (like hair) and not other non-target tissues (like skin).

To remove your hair, the hair must be treated when it is in the active growth phase. The amount of hair in this phase varies from one part of the body to another and from one person to another. On average, about 30% of your hair is in this phase meaning that at best, only 30% of your hair can be eliminated with one treatment. This is why multiple treatments are necessary. Usually about 5 treatments separated by about 2 months each is necessary to achieve our goal.

The process of laser hair reduction is only minimally uncomfortable in some places but in other areas may be difficult to tolerate. For example legs and backs tend to be very easy to treat without any pain control. Areas like bikini lines and arm pits can sting. If you find that the discomfort is too much, we offer sedation that will make the process completely painless.