Laser Hair Removal 5 Reasons to Try It

Getting rid of unwanted hair on the face, legs, bikini area, or elsewhere might not be something you think about all that often. But have you stopped to consider how long you spend removing that hair? Laser hair removal in Minnetonka is available at Wayzata Cosmetic Surgery in Wayzata, MN, and there are some good reasons to give it a try.

Laser Hair Removal: 5 Reasons to Try It

1. State-of-the-Art Technology

The Sciton laser is state-of-the-art and offers the best laser hair removal in Minnetonka. This device is cleared by the FDA for safety, and more than a million hair reduction treatments are performed with it worldwide every year.

2. Remove Hair From Anywhere

This is a gentle, non-invasive treatment that removes or reduces hair from nearly any area of the body. It can be used to treat the:

• Face
• Neck
• Chest
• Back
• Underarms
• Abdomen
• Bikini area
• Legs

 

3. Everyone Is a Good Candidate

Perhaps the best thing about this technology is that, with it, laser hair removal in Minnetonka is now available for nearly every skin type and hair color. The laser can be programmed for various skin and hair types so there is no risk of damage to the skin while the hair itself is being treated. This is a great treatment for both men and women and for people of any age.

4. No More Wasted Time

Hair removal is an endless cycle. No matter how good a job you’ve done, you’ll have to shave, wax, or pluck again very soon. With laser hair removal, you can stop the ride and get off: spend your time on something more fulfilling!

5. A Much More Permanent Solution

Most hair removal methods just target the hair itself. This is inefficient, since new hair will immediately begin growing in its place. With laser hair removal, you target the follicle that produces hair in the first place. The Sciton device generates a very focused, intense beam of laser light energy. This beam is absorbed by the pigment in the hair and travels down those hairs to disable the follicle beneath the skin’s surface. Once the hair follicle is disabled, it can no longer grow new hair.

What to Expect

Treatment

During the treatment, your eyes will be protected with a special pair of goggles. This is an important step, and your treatment professional will also wear them to ensure protection for everyone involved. We’ll also make sure your treatment area is shaved, unless you’ve done that already, and then apply a cooling gel. This provides double protection for the skin.

Once you’re ready, your clinician will use a handheld device to precisely target those areas where you want to remove unwanted hair. The device sits flush against your skin so no light is lost around the sides. Instead, all the energy goes quickly and efficiently into the hair to destroy the follicles. It typically takes anywhere from a few minutes to a half-hour to finish treatment, depending on how much area you’re having treated.

Results

As soon as treatment is over, you’ll be able to wipe off some of the hairs. The rest will fall out over the next week or two. In some cases, the hair will fall out slowly and may actually look like hair growth at first. Rest assured that any hair growing from a damaged follicle is now actually falling out and not growing. Results will be more or less permanent, and it’s also always possible to come in for a single maintenance treatment as necessary.

Repeat Treatments

You should expect to come in for multiple treatments in order to get all the hair. It can take anywhere from three to eight sessions to get everything, though most people get the results they’re looking for with four to six. Multiple treatments are necessary because of hair’s growth cycle patterns.

Understanding the Hair Growth Cycle

At any one time, an individual hair can be in a growth cycle, a dormant cycle, or in one of two other shorter cycles. Laser hair removal can only target hair follicles that are actively growing. Follicles in other stages of the cycle can’t be damaged by the laser’s energy.

This means that, at the very most, you can expect to get 80% of the hair on your first treatment. When you come for another treatment, you’ll get up to 80% of the remaining hair, and so on. This is why it’s necessary to have several treatments in order to get all the hair.

FAQ About Laser Hair Removal in Minnetonka

Does It Hurt?

The innovative Sciton laser hair removal system is far more comfortable than previous laser removal technology. In addition, the cooling gel helps to keep the skin calm and protect it for the best possible comfort.

What Should I Do to Prepare?

There are only two key things to do before you come in for a treatment. First, it’s important to avoid all tanning beds, creams, or excess time in the sun. Although the laser can treat a wide variety of skin types and colors, you’ll always get the fastest personal results when you have the greatest contrast between your skin color and hair color.

The other thing to do is avoid waxing, plucking, epilating, or tweezing the hair for a few weeks before you come for treatment. This is a purely practical measure. In order for the laser to do its work, it must have a route to reach the target. That route is the hair shaft itself.

Waxing, plucking, and the like remove the entire hair shaft and even the root, leaving no way for the laser energy to reach the follicle. However, you may be glad to know that there’s no need to allow the hair to grow to a certain length before treatment. You’re welcome to shave regularly up until the day before your appointment.

Who Can Get This Treatment?

Both men and women and people of all ages seek laser hair removal in Minnetonka at Wayzata Cosmetic Surgery. Many men want to reduce hair on their chests or remove hair from the back where it’s difficult to reach with a razor. Some men want to thin out the hair on their face and neck so shaving is faster and easier but they can still grow a beard if they wish.

Women enjoy removing unwanted hair permanently from the upper lip, underarms, legs, and bikini area. Wherever you have hair you’d like to be rid of, come talk to us about how Sciton can help.

How Can I Get More Hair Into the Active Growth Cycle?

Since you can only treat hair that’s actively growing, it makes sense to see if there’s any way to get more hair into that stage. While there’s no fool-proof way to do it, shaving often has the effect of encouraging more follicles to enter the growth stage. If you shave regularly for the two weeks before treatment, it may help.

How Do I Care for My Skin Afterward?

After getting laser hair removal, you can protect your skin best by treating it gently for a few days. Don’t shave the treated area for one to three days and avoid rubbing it vigorously with towels or face cloths. It’s also a good idea to protect your skin from the sun during this time by using an SPF broad-spectrum sunscreen and avoiding the sun during the time of day when UV rays are the strongest: usually mid-morning to mid-afternoon. We’ll give you more specific aftercare instructions when you come in for treatment.

I Have Dark Skin: Are You Sure This Is OK for Me?

Many people with dark skin have been told in the past that they cannot seek laser or IPL hair removal treatments. This is because the older technologies couldn’t be calibrated to differentiate between the pigment in the skin and the pigment in the hair.

The modern laser we use at Wayzata Cosmetic Surgery does away with this issue. It’s safe for all skin colors and types. The only hair that can’t be treated is white or very light red hair, which doesn’t contain enough pigment to attract the laser’s energy.

What If I Have a Lot of Bumps?

If you have shaving bumps, there’s nothing to worry about. The Sciton laser can “see” through those bumps and still effectively target the hair follicle.

How Does This Compare to IPL Treatment?

IPL, or intense pulsed light, is another common hair removal technology. It’s also popular because, unlike lasers, there are at-home IPL devices available that can seem like a good deal for doing the treatment yourself. There are several reasons to prefer laser treatments, however.

Laser treatments offer a more permanent solution than IPL. They are also faster, more precise, and better suited for those with darker skin. This is true even when comparing lasers to professional IPL treatments, and the benefits of laser over IPL only become more pronounced when you compare them to less effective at-home IPL devices. These devices can be dangerous when not used correctly and are not powerful enough to give the kind of consistent results most people are looking for.

How Does This Compare to Other Types of Hair Removal?

Waxing, Plucking, and Epilating

Both these methods of hair removal get rid of hair all the way down to the root, meaning that the results last for a lot longer than with shaving or depilatory creams. The primary downsides of all three are the pain they cause and the fact that treatment isn’t permanent. You must also have enough hair growth above the skin for the device you’re using to grab, whether it’s an epilator, a wax strip, or tweezers. This means you must allow unwanted hair to become fully visible before you can remove it.

In addition, waxing, in particular, can be very costly over time, particularly if you have your waxing done at a spa. Laser hair removal avoids all these issues, and while it does cost money, it offers a far more permanent solution than waxing ever can.

Shaving and Depilatory Creams

Both these methods of removing hair are hard on the skin. They are also deceptively cheap. While they cost little at any one moment, the amount of money you spend on them over a lifetime adds up to many thousands of dollars for most people.

These treatments must also be repeated very frequently, wasting enormous amounts of time. Laser hair removal is a one-and-done expense and saves you tremendous lost time over the course of a year while sparing your skin.

Get Rid of Unwanted Hair Today

Most people are good candidates for this treatment, so if you have hair you’d like to be rid of for good, contact Wayzata Cosmetic Surgery in Wayzata, MN to set up a consultation. We can’t wait to help you get started!