What You Need to Know About Laser Hair Removal
There are many questions people have when considering laser hair removal. Here are some of the most common questions answered.
Is laser hair removal safe?
It depends who/what is doing it!
The industry was deregulated in 2010 which meant there was a wealth of cheap (as little as £5000!) lasers and inexperienced operators offering to remove your hair. The lasers can drift off setting and are often associated with high levels of burning. At the Doctors Laser Clinic, we use the best machines available – the Soprano XL laser – and our technicians have tens of hours of experience before they start to use the machines on you. In their hands, laser hair removal is very safe.
Is it painful?
See above! If you have inexperienced operators using cheap machines, there is often pain delivered at the time of treatment. The Soprano is the only laser that carries the Virtually Pain Free removal logo. Until this machine came along, the treatments were delivered with a WHACK when the instrument is held against the skin, burning the hair shaft and sometimes the skin!
How Permanent Is It?
We aim to remove at least 80% of hair from the area (although we usually get more than that!) which will last for 5-10 years or more. You can get individual top-ups every now and then if you want to be 100% hair free 100% of the time.
How Does it Work?
The Soprano laser is stroked backwards and forwards across the area and flashes pure light ten times a second through the surface of the skin. It heats the coloured pigment in the hair up to 45oC which causes the hair root to die. The laser has a cooling mechanism which keeps the skin cooler which means the treatment is relatively painless.
On What Areas of the Body Does it Work?
Laser hair removal works on nearly any area of the body except for very close to the eyes. It’s perfect for underarms, bikini areas, legs, monobrows, backs, fronts, faces, arms – practically anywhere!
Does Laser Hair Removal Work on Blonde Hair?
Yes, it can work on blonde hair but not as well as on dark hair. The dark colour in hair is due to the dark pigment melanin – of which there are two types (brown melanin and red phaeomelanin). Surprisingly there can be a lot of melanin in the deep root of blonde hair. As the hair grows out the melanin gets dispersed to a degree that the hair looks blonde; some really fair blondes have so little melanin that it just doesn’t work and facial hair is particularly difficult if it is very fine.
The Soprano laser targets dark melanin in the hair root, heating it up to a point that it kills the cells that generate the hair. The more melanin the greater the effect and the quicker the result – great if you have black hair and pale skin. With dark hair we can usually easily get 80%+ clearance within 6 treatments.
