How does laser hair removal work?
Who can be treated?
How long does the treatment take?
Helpful tips for Laser Hair Removal

HOW DOES LASER HAIR REMOVAL WORK?

By using a specific wavelength in the uniquely, designed Sciton Profile Laser, our Aestheticians can individualize the treatment for our patients. Those patients who want unsightly hair removed with less pain should consider treatments using the Profile™ ClearScan™ protocol. Because the Profile™ ClearScan™ contains an infrared laser that selectively targets microstructures such as hair follicles, it is very effective in removing unwanted hair for light skin types. Although the laser energy passes through the patient’s skin, the pigment in the hair follicle absorbs the light. Consequently, a percentage of the follicles are instantaneously and permanently disabled with each treatment.

The prevailing theory for how laser hair removal works is that the light energy causes thermal damage to the hair follicle. Because laser light is converted into heat as it passes through the skin, the heat is absorbed in the melanin found in the hair follicle. If enough heat is absorbed by the hair follicle during its active phase, the targeted hair structures are disabled. Consequently, the hair cannot re-grow.

WHO CAN BE TREATED?

We believe that the Sciton Laser allows us to offer all types of patients the best technique available for permanent hair reduction. Sciton obtained U. S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, approval for permanent hair reduction in skin types I-VI in 2001. Sciton’s unique technology, coupled with efficient delivery system and superior epidermal cooling, uses the longer wavelength to effectively treat dark-skinned individuals by bypassing the epidermal melanin, making this laser the best choice for patients with darker skin and those patients who “love the sun.” However, patients from Skin Type I (very fair, always burns, never tans) to Skin Type VI (never burns) are candidates for laser hair removal using this laser. By using a non-sequentially-scanned long-pulse 1064 nm laser module that covers a 31 x 31 mm area in a single scan, the Sciton provides treatment more than twice as fast as other systems and can be used on patients of all skin types. The integrated cooling device and scanner allows treatment of large areas – backs, legs, etc. – in skin-types IV and V and smaller areas in type V, without any problems.

HOW LONG DOES THE TREATMENT TAKE?

The time required for a treatment and the number of treatments required for removal of unwanted hair varies with the individual because of the amount of hair and its location. Factors that may be responsible for hair growth include: sex, age, hormones, medications, genetics and part of the body. The rate of hair growth, its length, color, density and coarseness vary from patient to patient. Unwanted hair growth may accelerate with the onset of puberty or a pregnancy and with the use of certain medications, such as hormones, birth control pills and blood pressure medicines. Unfortunately, your genetic predisposition rather than a correctable medical problem or condition is generally responsible for excess, unwanted hair.

Human hair consists of three distinct parts: the bulb at the base of the hair follicle hair, the shaft, and the hair follicle itself. Only the hair itself is visible to the naked eye because the bulb and the shaft are embedded within the skin. In order to produce permanent hair removal, the hair follicle must be destroyed along with its germinating centers located in the bulb. Because only hairs in the active growth phase can be successfully treated, you may require from 3 to 5 treatments at intervals of 3 to 8 weeks to obtain an optimal result. The active growth phase, anagen, is one of the three phases of hair growth – anagen, catagen, and telogen. The length of the laser treatments is usually brief; however, some laser treatments may last more than an hour, depending on the size of the area being treated. 

HELPFUL TIPS FOR LASER HAIR REMOVAL

A few tips to keep in mind if you are considering laser hair removal:

1. Do not tan the area to be treated 3 weeks prior to your treatment
2. Do not wax, tweeze or pluck, use a depilatory, or electrolysis 3 weeks prior to your treatment (any of the techniques listed will remove the hair from the follicle leaving you with less than optimal results)
3. We ask that you shave the area to be treated the morning of your treatment.  When the area to be treated has been shaved the laser will spend its energy destroying the hair in the follicle versus destroying hair on the surface of the skin.
4. The laser treatment may cause a slight tingling sensation, some-what similar to a sunburn; most patients tolerate this well.
5. The appearance of the treated area after a laser treatment will vary from patient to patient depending on the treatment and their skin type.  You may have a small amount of redness that will disappear a short time after the procedure.