Laser hair removal is the best way to end the cycle of constant shaving, waxing, and plucking. It goes to the root of the problem to disable hair follicles and stop the regrowth of unwanted hair. At InVogue Rejuvenation in El Paso, TX, we use the Pronto laser to give the best and fastest results. So how quickly can it really work?
How Fast Can I Get Results From Hair Removal?
Consider Your Goals
You’ll see results from your first treatment within a day or two, but the timeline for seeing your final results will depend on your overall goals and how many areas you want to target. If you’re only removing hair from your underarms, then sessions will be very quick. If you want to target your legs, underarms, and parts of the face, you may not be able to get every area in just one appointment, depending on how much time you can set aside.
Another factor is how much hair you want to have removed. If you want to clear the area of hair completely, this will require more treatments than if you simply want to thin an area out. Many men with thick beards, for example, enjoy thinning their beards to make razor burn less likely while still retaining the option to grow a full beard if they like.
Average Treatments
For the average person looking to thoroughly rid themselves of hair in a particular area, five to six treatment sessions are usually enough to do the job. If you just want to thin out the hair, this can often be done in just two or three sessions. There are always exceptions to any rule, and some people will see their desired results in fewer sessions or more.
It’s important to note that each treatment session has to be spaced out a few weeks, and this means your final results might not be fully apparent for six months or so. To understand why this is, it’s important to consider your hair itself.
Consider Your Hair
Treatments have to be spaced out in order to accommodate the growth cycle of our hair. Laser hair treatments can only disable a hair follicle if it’s in the active growth stage. If it’s in either of the other two stages of hair growth, the laser won’t have an effect. Our hair is constantly cycling in and out of these phases, so any one treatment will get all the hair that is in the growth cycle at the moment of treatment.
Having another treatment immediately afterward won’t help since the remaining hair needs time to cycle over to the next phase. This takes about a month, which is why treatments are scheduled with a few weeks between them.
The Pronto Laser: Faster Results
Traditional laser hair treatments need as many as eight sessions to be effective. One reason we use the Pronto laser is that it’s faster, more effective, and more permanent than other laser hair treatment options.
Doubly Effective
The basic idea of laser hair removal is the same no matter what device you’re talking about. Focused light energy from the laser travels down the hairs themselves and generates heat at the follicle. This heat disables the follicle. The follicle won’t grow hair again for a long time, if it ever does, and if hair does re-appear, it is typically thinner and finer.
Most lasers are attracted to the pigment in our hair. The pigment is what gives hair its color. This is one reason that laser hair treatments haven’t always been recommended for those with darker skin or lighter hair: with older technologies, the laser can’t differentiate between the pigment in hair and the pigment in the skin. But the Pronto laser works for more people, and it works more quickly, because it targets two things: the melanin in the hair and follicle, and the vascular structure of the follicle. The vascular structure is the blood supply that feeds the follicle. By targeting both, the Pronto laser gets faster results that last longer.
Benefits of the Pronto Laser
The Pronto is the fastest laser option on the market and the most requested laser in the world of aesthetics. Not only does it do a better job than other lasers, but its 12Hz size with large treatment area options allows us to treat you far more quickly than with other laser options. It’s possible to treat the entire back of an adult man in less than seven minutes!
This is also the only laser on the market currently that offers dual-wavelength technology. By blending 810nm and 940nm wavelengths, this laser can target more hair colors on more skin types than any other. If you’ve been told in the past that laser hair treatment wasn’t an option for you because your hair is too light or your skin too dark, talk to us at InVogue Rejuvenation and see if the Pronto could work for you.
Is It Worth It?
When you have to wait a while to get your results, it’s natural to ask whether the results are really worth that time investment. When you’re talking about laser hair treatments, the results are absolutely worth it, especially when you compare them to other options.
Shaving and Depilatory Creams
Both of these hair removal methods only target the hair that appears above the surface of the skin. As a result, they have to be repeated regularly–sometimes every day. And while it might seem that shaving is so inexpensive that it’s the smartest use of your money, it’s important to think about the long-term financial costs.
The average woman will spend more than 80 whole days out of her life shaving. The average man will spend about 75 days shaving. For both, the lifetime cost of shaving regularly runs about $10,000 when you consider all the razors, creams, lotions, and other paraphernalia involved.
For depilatory creams, not only must you repeat the process continually and spend money on creams for a lifetime, but you also have to consider the harsh chemicals you’re putting on your skin every time you use one. These creams are meant to dissolve your hair to jelly: is that really something you want on your skin?
Waxing and Plucking
Both of these methods remove the entire hair, not just the hair you can see above the skin, so they both last longer than shaving. But they still have some serious drawbacks. Perhaps the biggest drawback is pain. No matter how you slice it, it hurts to yank your hair out! Plucking is also time-consuming, meaning it’s not suitable for removing hair from a large area of the body. And while waxing gets a lot at a time, there are two big problems with this method of removing your unwanted hair.
First, it’s expensive. It’s less so if you do it yourself at home, but this is also more painful and less efficient than spending more to have it done at a spa. The second problem is you have to allow your hair to grow a certain length before the wax is effective. This means there are periods of life when your unwanted hair is very visible and has to be covered up with clothing.
IPL Devices
IPL is perhaps the closest alternative to laser hair treatment, and it works on the same principle. It uses light–in this case, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)–to generate heat that disables the hair follicle. It also delivers far more lasting results than shaving, waxing, or other traditional methods of removing hair. But compared to laser hair treatments, it still falls short.
First, IPL simply isn’t as effective as the Pronto laser. The light emitted by these devices has a broader wavelength. What this means in practical terms is that more of it is “wasted” along the way instead of “lasering in” on the follicle. This wasted light energy means IPL is less effective, takes more treatments to get results, and is suitable only for a narrow range of skin colors.
Second, at-home IPL devices aren’t even as effective as the ones you see at spas and clinics. These devices are advertised all over the internet, but they are far less effective than promised. It takes many treatments to see results, and your skin and hair must be just the right color to use one. These deliver good results for only a very small minority of those who try them.
Electrolysis
Electrolysis uses hair-thin needles inserted into the follicles to deliver a burst of electric energy that kills the follicle. The result is 100% permanent hair removal. In fact, electrolysis is the only method of removing hair that can guarantee 100% permanent removal. So why is laser still a better choice?
First, electrolysis is extremely costly and time-consuming. Imagine having to stick a small needle into every single hair follicle, and you can see how long it would take just to treat one leg. Even worse, electrolysis is very painful. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to understand how delivering a jolt of electricity strong enough to kill a hair follicle could be a bit uncomfortable!
FAQ About Laser Hair Treatments
Will It Work for Me?
The best way to find out if this is a good treatment for you is to come to see us for a consultation. However, in general, this treatment is right for almost anyone who wants it. We are able to help both men and women and people of all skin types and ethnicities. If your hair is white or the very fairest blond, it may not be treatable, but the Pronto laser can deal with hair colors that were untreatable in the past.
What Should I Do to Prepare?
There isn’t much required in preparation. You shouldn’t remove your hair by plucking, waxing, or epilating since the laser needs something to target! You can keep shaving, however, and it’s a good idea to shave the day before your treatment.
Although the laser can treat a wide variety of skin colors and tones, it always works fastest when the contrast between hair color and skin color is greatest. Therefore, it’s best to avoid sunbathing for about six weeks before treatment. Doing so will get you the fastest results that are possible for you.
How Should I Care for My Skin After Treatment?
Again, there’s nothing much you need to do. Just treat the area as if you’d exposed it to the sun for a bit too long. Use moisturizer liberally, don’t spend time out in the sun without a good sunscreen, and stay away from tanning beds for a while.
Try Laser Hair Removal for Yourself
If you’re interested in this treatment, don’t wait. Contact InVogue Rejuvenation in El Paso, TX today and set up a consultation. We’ll be happy to talk with you about your hair concerns and help you understand how quickly it will work for you!
