No one likes shaving. OK, maybe a 15-year-old who can’t wait to drag a piece of sharp metal across the few hairs poking out on his chin. The rest of us? Puhleeze. This is especially true for shaving the bikini line, legs, underarms, and other locales on our bodies. You shave, pluck, wax, or assault your skin with harsh depilatory creams and then two or three weeks later you’re right back at it again. Ugh.
Why not have the team at Dr. Jensen’s get rid of the hair permanently with laser hair removal?
How does the laser get rid of the hair?
Some people incorrectly assume that the laser energy somehow cuts the hair, but if that were true the hair would still return. The key to getting rid of the hair permanently is to destroy or seriously damage the ability to grow the hair in the treatment area. This involves two keys — laser energy and the hair follicle. For permanent hair removal, the hair follicle’s bulb, bulge, and papilla must be destroyed.
The vehicle is laser energy. We calibrate the laser to the wavelength where the melanin in the hair will absorb the laser energy. Melanin is responsible for that color. When the laser energy is delivered onto the target area, the melanin absorbs the energy. It converts to heat and travels down the hair shaft into the follicle. When it reaches the follicle the heat damages the follicle so that it cannot produce hair.
Timing is important
That’s why the timing of laser hair removal is important. People wonder why you can’t zap the hair once and have it gone forever, but the timing has to be right. Only actively growing hair responds well to laser treatments because the hair is actively anchored in the follicle in that phase. But in addition to the anagen (active growth) phase, there are telogen (no growth), and cathagen (hair ejection) phases. The human body has around five million hair follicles; men have a few hundred thousand more than women. All of those hairs are in different phases at different times. Plus, different areas of the body have more hairs in anagen phases than others, because hair growth is more important in those areas.
Now you can see why it takes multiple laser hair removal sessions to get the maximum hair reduction. Each client is unique, but in general you can expect to need between four and eight treatments, spaced six to 12 weeks apart. These numbers vary by the body location of the unwanted hair. Also, some areas grow hair more densely. Compare, for instance, a man’s beard area with chest hair. Big difference in hair density.
Ditch the razors and the wax! Call the team at Dr. Jensen’s and let’s zap your unwanted hair away. Call (801) 728-9258 to make an appointment.