Now that you know more about this procedure, consider all of the factors to figure out whether it’s worth it for you. If you decide to go forward with laser hair removal, it’s important to choose a trained and experienced medical professional that will perform the procedure correctly with minimal side effects.
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March 16, 2015Laser hair removal sounds amazing when you think of never having to shave or wax again. You might imagine always being ready for anything, whether it’s a dip in the ocean or a date night. You’d never have to cover up because you didn’t have time to shave or get to the beauty salon. And you could skip all the hassles of removing hair time and again. So removing your hair once and for all sounds amazing, but is it worth it? Let’s explore the different sides of this procedure.
How It Works
During laser hair removal, a medical professional will direct intense light and heat onto the hair follicles, destroying the hair that’s there and blocking hair from growing back. You can have this treatment done to many spots of your body, including your legs, underarms, bikini line and parts of your face.
Laser hair removal can provide many benefits, such as homing in on specific hairs, treating large areas of hair quickly and providing positive results to most people. You might find it easier than waxing, plucking, shaving and using depilatory creams across your body.
Downsides of Laser Hair Removal
This procedure doesn’t provide instant results with no risks or drawbacks. These are some potential downsides that can come with laser hair removal:
A Prolonged Hair Removal Process
Don’t expect this procedure to instantly wipe out your hair for good. It can take up to a month after the procedure for the hair to fall out. Then, you won’t necessarily be hairless from then on. Laser hair removal doesn’t technically remove hair forever like the name suggests. Instead, it inhibits the hair so it doesn’t grow back as fast as it normally would. Generally, you need a few treatment sessions in the beginning to see results, although it depends on the person. After that, you will likely need to have additional sessions every so often to maintain your results.
Varying Results
This procedure works best on fair-skinned people who have dark hair, so it might not be as effective for you if you don’t fit that description. Although advances in the field have made it more effective for different skin types, you might need the procedure more often if you have darker skin. Also, the procedure doesn’t work well on light hair or red hair.
Possible Side Effects
The procedure itself can come with certain side effects. Commonly, people experience temporary irritation to their skin and/or changes to the color of their skin. Some people have experienced their skin becoming crusty, scarred or blistered.
Changing Trends
Another thing to consider is that trends change. Women might always want shaved legs, but what is popular for the bikini line and the eyebrows has evolved over time. Therefore, remember that even if the hair does grow back to a certain extent, you might not be able to get it back to its original state if you ever desire to in the future. Before you have the procedure, ask yourself whether you think you’ll want the results in the long run.
Costs
Another downside to this treatment is its expense. There is a wide range of pricing based on factors such as the area of the body and where your procedure is being done, but on average, a session costs $301, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ 2013 Plastic Surgery Statistics Report. Multiply that by the number of sessions it takes to see results. Nonetheless, you do have to factor in the amount of money you would spend over the course of time on waxing and other treatments to remove hair.
