You can get rid of unwanted hair on the body with a laser. However, many people hesitate to resort to a new method of cosmetology, considering it potentially harmful. How justified are the people’s fears, is laser hair removal dangerous, and are there any special recommendations?
Benefits of Laser Hair Removal
The benefits of laser hair removal:
- Getting rid of unwanted hair for several years.
- Removal of ingrown hairs.
- Getting rid of black dots remaining after shaving.
- The skin becomes smooth, and soft.
- The procedure can be used in intimate and sensitive areas.
- Lack of skin roughness, as after shaving.
- Relative painlessness of the procedure.
Procedure
The Procedure takes place in several stages:
- Initial consultation.
- Conducting a skin sensitivity test.
- Cutting hair on the treated area to a length of 1-2 mm.
- Carrying out hair removal (from 3 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the cultivated area). The procedure itself is mandatory in safety glasses. During the session, there may be a feeling of slight tingling and warmth. Between flashes, the cooling system automatically turns on to reduce the pain of the process. If you have a high threshold of sensitivity, then a specialist will suggest using an anesthetic cream.
- Treatment of the skin with special formulations to eliminate the risk of allergic reactions, infections, irritations, and burns.
Is Laser Hair Removal Suitable For Everyone?
If a person wants to know whether laser hair removal is safe, he must find out to whom it is suitable, and to whom it is initially contraindicated. The laser works to destroy pigment, so it is better to use it for people with dark hair and pale skin.
It is advisable not to carry out such a cosmetic procedure for tanned skin owners since there is a high probability of developing hyperpigmentation, the appearance of light ugly spots that are difficult to treat.
How Painful Is Laser Hair Removal?
Laser hair removal, reviews of which are very different, is not considered a painful procedure. But some people say that removing hair in this way is very painful. It all depends on the height of the pain threshold of a person, as well as on the hormonal background. During the session, there is a slight discomfort. The denser the hairs, the more powerful the flow of light radiation is needed, and the sharper the sensations.
Important! For each patient, the doctor individually selects the power of the laser light in order to maximize the effect on the follicles and not deliver pain.
Contraindications
When asked whether laser hair removal is harmful to health, doctors respond negatively. However, this procedure has an impressive list of contraindications. It is strictly forbidden to use a laser when:
- Dermatological diseases of an acute or chronic nature (psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, etc.).
- Any type of diabetes
- Herpetic infection
- Oncological diseases
- Colds, fever
- Exacerbated allergies
Doctors do not recommend conducting hardware hair removal during pregnancy, lactation, and during critical days.
Is Laser Hair Removal Dangerous For Health: Possible Undesirable Consequences, Side Effects
If laser hair removal was performed in the cosmetology clinic, the contraindications and consequences of which were not taken into account by either the patient or the specialist, then side effects may occur.
Skin Burn
It develops for several reasons:
- The presence of fresh tan.
- Treatment of sensitive areas of the body.
- Non-compliance with the laser operation technique by a cosmetologist.
- Device malfunction.
Signs of burns after a laser hair removal procedure include:
- Redness, swelling of the integument.
- Itching, burning;
- Peeling
- The formation of blisters and crusts in the problem center.
- 80% of people who get burnt after hair removal complains of skin damage of 1 and 2 degrees.
Important! To treat a burn, it is recommended to apply a cold compress or ice cubes to damaged soft tissues for 15 minutes. After this, apply a bandage with a regenerating ointment (Panthenol) or anti-burn gels. This will help speed up the healing process of the skin.
Allergic Reactions
If laser hair removal has been performed using anesthetics or cooling gas, then patients may experience:
- Urticaria
- Contact or atopic dermatitis
- Severe itching.
Allergic side effects are observed during the application of topical care products, which are recommended to treat the body after the procedure.
Skin Discoloration (Hypo-pigmentation Or Hyper-pigmentation)
Develop due to thermal damage to the epidermis. Hypopigmentation appears at the 1st degree of burns, when the crust formed after the blister disappears. Hyperpigmentation is observed in people who neglect the recommendations of a cosmetologist for body care in the post-treatment period.
Folliculitis
This is an inflammation of the hair follicles that can begin in people suffering from excessive sweating.
Activation Of The Growth Of Gun Hair
The causes of the violation are:
- The use of low light flux density.
- Activation of “sleeping” bulbs in the treated areas.
Often, such effects are recorded in people with 3-4 skin phototypes (related to skin colors).
Scarring
Due to deep thermal injury to the epidermis, scarring occurs in its tissues. Most often, such scars appear in the neck and mandibular area.
Itching And Irritation
The laser beam removes not only the melanin in the hair follicles. When used improperly, it can damage healthy cells of the skin As a result of their destruction, itching and irritation appear.
Causes Of Complications
There are several main reasons leading to the development of complications after hardware hair removal:
- Unprofessionalism of a doctor.
- The state of health of the patient during the procedure.
- Non-compliance with doctor’s recommendations.
Is Hair Removal In A Deep Bikini Zone Harmful?
It is not worth doubting whether laser hair removal of a bikini is harmful. This technique gently and carefully processes the skin in intimate places. With the right approach to manipulation with the exception of all negative factors and contraindications, no complications arise.
The only nuance that is important to be aware of is that the follicles in the intimate zone lie deeper than in other parts of the body (about 4 mm). This means that it is necessary to use an apparatus that operates on longer waves. The higher sensitivity of the skin in the delicate area explains why the patient may experience more pain during the procedure.
How Often Can Hair Removal Be Done?
Some women, in pursuit of beauty, epilate their bodies almost every month. Is it harmful, and how often is this procedure required? It is impossible to completely get rid of unwanted hairs at a time since the laser beam acts exclusively on active follicles, and the bulbs that are in the sleep stage are not destroyed.
Only on the 3-5th growth circle can we say that epilation begins to produce results. Each stage lasts at least 40 days. This explains the long time interval between successive sessions.
