Answering 6 Laser Hair Removal Reddit Questions
People have a lot of questions about laser hair removal on Reddit so I thought it would be helpful for anyone to ask any question they had. So here's a couple of the questions that some Reddit users had, as I'm sure they are some common questions our clients may have as well!
Question #1: Can you Tan with LHR?
"I have pale skin and dark hair, I’ve completed my 4th session on underarms and Brazilian a few weeks ago and I have amazing results. My 5th session is next week, then I fly to Spain on Saturday (I’m from Ireland) it’s 18 degrees in Spain.
I don’t plan on sunbathing and the laser areas won’t be in the sun, I’ll be wearing shorts and t-shirt or light shirt to cover underarms. I’m not getting legs or arms or face done so the areas being done are out of sight.
My LHR clinic says to avoid sun exposure for 2 weeks post session, do you think I should move my session? But then I would have to wait until another 6 weeks after sun exposure."
Answer #1
You should have no problems doing those areas when keeping them out of the sun. Even when I get people who have tanned, we can still do laser hair removal. I just changed the settings a bit on our laser. I would let them know when you go in, but make sure to tell them that the areas have been concealed for sure.
Question #2: Can I be on Isotretinoin?
Answer #2
Unfortunately that medication is a no go with laser hair removal. You would need to be off that medication for at least 6 months before you could start laser hair removal.
Question #3: No Results...How Often?
Answer #3
You are definitely doing it too often, every 2 weeks is just a waste of your money. Tell your spa to schedule every 4 weeks because hair grows in 3 cycles and if you aren't hitting it in the right cycle then it won't be effective. But yeah the time period is around 3-6 weeks apart. We usually do 4 weeks apart so our clients aren't wasting their money. Good luck!
Question #4: Random Hairs Popping Up?
Should I do more treatments and hope the new hairs go away as the laser gets stronger, or should I avoid laser treatments in that area now? The laser removal company I go to said I should continue but they are of course biased so I am nervous."
Answer #4
They are biased probably lol. But also correct, that is just so frustrating. Get those hairs taken care of as well. So I love seeing people get hair free, that's what I feel keeps our clients happy and coming back and trust us. So I feel like they want to get you hair free in that area so that you may want to get another area done next. So it sucks that other ones popped up but really look at your face and have them zap any areas you may see. We charge for the whole face so we just zap anywhere we see anything, I know companies like ideal image do partial face which they may have an issue doing that. But yeah keep it up, it will work. Good luck!
Question #5 part 1: Stop After 1 Session?
For the sake of conversation, if I was to stop sessions now would my hair always grow this slowly? Or would it eventually return to normal?"
Answer #5 part 1
That's great to hear that it's already slowing down the process but only 1 treatment won't be enough to stop the hair cycle. So the hair cycle grows in 3 stages, laser hair removal goes deeper and deeper into the hair follicles until the hair is completely depleted. While you are currently seeing no hair growth right now above the skin, the hair below your skin is trying to grow back already. We have a before and after of a clients back on on our website that is just after 2 treatments and it looks almost completely gone, but he needed to come back for his 6 treatments otherwise it would have reverted back to normal or close to it unfortunately. So keep it up and you won't regret it in the future!
Question #5 part 2: Factors in Hair Growth
After 2 treatments, the hair that was lost never grew back and the hair that did grow back grew back normal.
After 3rd treatment. 100% of the hair grew back. I was horrified! Was this that paradoxical hypertrocisis I was told about. No it wasn't because my hair was so fine and it took at least 3 times as long to grow back.
After 5 treatments, I have almost 0 regrowth after my appointment 3 weeks ago.
I am hoping to keep the appointment count under 10 in order to get 95-99% reduction for months before regrowth again.
Is this something attainable without electrolysis?"
Answer #5 part 2
There's a couple factors to determine how thick or much hair grows back after the 6-8 treatments: age (the younger you are, the more chance it won't be as completely gone but will not look as bad as before treatments), hormonal balance (if you have a lot of hormones, your body will just keep trying as hard as possible to keep growing hairs), and also if your treatments are too close together or too far apart (try to keep it within 3-6 weeks).
But your hair will be thinner for sure by the end. It might be one of those things you have to touch up once or twice a year after your initial treatments, but I think thats so much better than the painful electolysis or waxing, and saves so much time over shaving every week. So great news on your treatments, keep it up.
Question #6: Hyperpigmentation & Ingrown Hairs
Answer #6
If your hyperpigmentation is caused by ingrown hairs, then yes it will help. If the hyperpigmentation is caused by acne, then it will not. It sounds like your skin tone on the Fitzpatrick scale is a 4, so you would need the nd:yag laser (the gentlemax pro laser does both alexandrite and nd:yag). The yag laser is awesome for darker skin tones and darker hair. So find a spa or laser company that has a nd:yag laser and you will love it!
Oh and laser hair removal is awesome for ingrown hairs! I had a client with a darker skin tone with a bunch of ingrown hairs and it changed their life! They said there was no more pain, that kind of stuff just makes me so happy.
