Laser Hair Removal: You’ll Wonder Why You Waited So Long

If you’re anything like the average adult, you dedicate a considerable amount of time and energy to routine hair removal. At best, getting rid of undesired hair can seem like a mundane, obligatory task. At worst, it can feel like an exhausting, repetitive process that you simply have to endure if you want to maintain smooth, hair-free skin.

It’s easy to understand why laser hair removal ranks as one of the most popular aesthetic treatments available. After all, why would you want to continue buying expensive razors or scheduling overly personal Brazilian wax appointments when a few quick and painless laser treatments are all it takes to get rid of unwanted hair forever?  

Here at MDCS: Medical Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery in New York City, we’ve helped countless people bid adieu to endless hair growth on their legs, bikini area, face, back, and virtually anywhere else they wanted to see smooth, hair-free skin. Here’s how laser hair removal can help you ditch your razor for good. 

The hair where?

Virtually everyone has at least one area of undesirable hair, but the exact location of that area (or areas) tends to vary widely among individuals. Luckily, laser hair removal is a highly versatile treatment that can safely and effectively stop unwanted hair growth almost anywhere on your body.

Whether you’re a woman who’s tired of having to pluck away excess chin hairs every morning before you head out the door, or you’re a man who requires a standing wax appointment to keep back hair at bay, laser hair removal can help you permanently reduce or totally eliminate unwanted hair quickly and painlessly. 

Some of the most popular treatment areas for women include the upper lip, chin, bikini area, legs, side of the face, neck, fingers, and toes. Men are more likely to use laser hair removal to reduce or eliminate unwanted chest, shoulder, or back hair.   

The only part of your body you can’t safely use laser hair removal is the area around your eyes — for now, plucking, waxing, and threading are still the best ways to maintain perfectly sculpted brows.  

A highly targeted treatment

As one of the most advanced and evolved forms of aesthetic laser therapy, laser hair removal has come a long way since its early days, when it was only safe to use on lighter skin tones and only effective at targeting the darkest hair follicles. 

Many of today’s laser platforms are more versatile than ever before, and the device we use to perform laser hair removal here at MDCS is no exception — the Elite MXP laser by Cynosure®. This highly specialized dual wavelength laser is designed to accommodate a wide range of skin tones, making it perfectly safe for virtually everyone. 

So how, exactly, does the laser get rid of unwanted hair? By targeting the melanin, which is a pigment that resides in each follicle and gives your hair its color. 

When the laser is passed over the treatment area, it sends pulses of focused energy directly into each active-growth hair follicle, where it’s readily absorbed by the pigments. This brief but intense internal heating process effectively “flips the switch” inside the targeted follicle, so it can no longer produce hair. 

Although the Elite MXP can help reduce areas of light-colored hair, it tends to work best on darker hair, which contains more melanin and therefore absorbs a higher concentration of laser energy. 

The bottom line? While laser hair removal can definitely help thin out the light peach fuzz growing along the sides of your face, it can pretty much eliminate the darker hairs that keep sprouting on your chin or upper lip.   

Multiple sessions for optimal results 

It can be exciting to see slower growth and a noticeable reduction in hair following your first laser hair removal treatment, but you’ve only just begun. Because your hair grows in cycles, it takes a few laser hair removal sessions to attain optimal results. Since the laser only targets active-growth follicles, any follicles that are in their shedding or resting phase when you undergo laser hair removal won’t be affected by the treatment. 

To ensure you’re able to get rid of all of the hair in a specific area, you may need anywhere from three to six laser hair removal treatments, with each session spaced at least a month apart to give your follicles enough time to cycle through each phase.  

If you’re ready to say goodbye to unwanted hair for good, our top-notch team MDCS: Medical Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery can help. Call our Midtown Manhattan office today, or use the easy online tool to schedule a visit with one of our laser hair removal specialists any time.