When it comes to removing hair, we only tend to focus on what we can see, but it grows all over your body, with as many hairs on our bodies as our fellow primate, the chimpanzee. This includes the prepubescent light hair that is harder to see (vellus hair) and post-pubescent terminal hair, the visible hair we struggle to eliminate. Facial hair may grow faster than any other body part, but common areas of visible hair growth (arms, legs, chest, back, pelvic region) can grow back quickly after it’s removed.
Laser treatments have become a very popular way to remove unwanted hair, but what does it do for the hair that grows back? Let’s examine this closer by looking at the stages of hair growth, how the various laser treatments remove hair, and what that method does for growth rate after treatment.
If you live in the Koreatown, Midtown West, or New York, New York, area and you’re struggling with removing hair, our experienced team at the Laser Bar and Spa can help you get the look you want.
Stages of hair growth
Anytime you’re attempting to remove hair, just bear in mind it’s always in one of three stages:
- Anagen: this is the aptly labeled growth phase of your hair, where most hairs spend many years and new hair pushes old hairs out of their follicles
- Catagen: also called the transition phase, that phase last only a few weeks and is when growth slows and the outer root sheath attaches itself to the root
- Telogen: this is the resting phase which goes on for about three months and makes up about 15% of all hair, and is when hair stops growing (club hair)
All of the different types of hair removal are affected by what stage your hair is in, and that can help determine how many treatments you need to get the look you want.
How laser treatments remove hair
To remove your unwanted hair, laser treatments use photothermolysis, a process that targets and eliminates the darker hairs on your body (terminal hairs) and damages the follicles to prevent hair from returning. This is best during your hair’s anagen phase, and since different hairs will be in various stages of growth, this often results in several visits to remove all the hair you want gone properly. We accomplish this using the Cynosure® laser system, which is a perfect fit for all skin and hair types and can be used in most places on your body.
Hair growth after treatment
Since the treatment is non-invasive, there is little to no recovery time, and you’ll see results pretty quickly once it’s completed (often a 10-25% hair reduction in treated areas). Because follicles grow hair at different rates, hair growth may resume in about up to eight weeks after treatment. Hairs that grow back after a treatment will be lighter and thinner but hair caught at the right phase in growth may not grow back for many months after a single treatment. Permanent hair loss will take several sessions to get hair at all stages of development.
So, even as the laser treatment is doing its work, any stubborn hairs that come back will be weaker and lighter, making them harder to see and easier to manage. Once the process is complete after several sessions, your skin and hair will look better than ever. If you’re ready to see what we can do for your unwanted hair, make an appointment with Laser Bar and Spa today.