Introduction
According to Dr Richard Nahas, laser hair removal is something that brings long-term consequences. While some opt for waxing or shaving which has its own advantages and disadvantages, laser hair removal also comes with its own pros and cons. Let’s check them out.
The Pros
- Best option – Laser hair removal is undoubtedly the best hair removal option on the market. Nothing else comes close. While laser hair removal isn’t permanent, it’s certainly long-term. Once laser hair removal is done on your body, it may not grow back for years. Even when hair returns to your body, it will be sparse and will not be as dense or thick as it used to be. Laser hair removal on the face has even better results. You may not get any hair growth on the face for up to a decade.
- It isn’t painful – If you’ve waxed, shaved, or opted for any other type of traditional hair removal process, you know each one comes with a varying degree of pain. While shaving is the least painful among them, it does make your hair thicker and easily irritates your skin as the hair grows back.
With laser hair removal, there is no pain. Most laser hair removal treatments have a cool tip. Advanced vacuum-assisted high-speed lasers are so quick that you won’t even feel the notion of heat, only a tingling sensation on your skin. If your skin is very sensitive, topical anaesthesia would be used to make the process completely painless.
The Cons
- Con – It’s a long process – Laser hair removal isn’t instant. It’s a lengthy process that’s spread over months. You’ll notice 90 per cent less hair growth on a body part after around 6 to 8 sessions and you’ll need to wait around 6 or more weeks between each session. For instance, if you want to remove hair from your underarms for the long term, you’ll need to opt for at least 6 sessions. Add 6 weeks on average between each session and you’ll spend around 7 months on the entire treatment.
- Less effective on dark-skinned individuals – During laser hair removal treatment, lasers are used to target melanin pigments in hair follicles. Once targeted, light emitted by lasers turns into heat to damage the hair follicle and delay or inhibit its growth. That’s why laser hair removal is a bit risky for dark-skinned individuals since the machine can’t differentiate between the melanin in hair follicles and the skin.
This leads to scarring, blisters and hyperpigmentation in dark-skinned people. However, with more demand for inclusivity and advancements in technology, newer machines have been developed that can differentiate between epidermal melanin and melanin in hair follicles and targets the latter. However, adoption is slow, and it would take time to be widely available across the country.
Conclusion
Dr Richard Nahas suggests that you weigh the pros and cons before opting for laser hair removal. While laser hair removal has become more affordable over the years, it is still quite expensive compared to waxing and shaving and also comes with a few risks.
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