Unwanted Hair? How Laser Hair Removal Can Help

Shaving causes razor bumps, razor burn, and acne. Tweezing is time-intensive. Waxing hurts. Do you ever wish there was a better way to remove unwanted hair? At the office of Michael I. Jacobs, MD in New York, NY, we’d like you to know there is a better way. Today, we’re talking about the incredible benefits of laser hair removal to eliminate unwanted hair.

What Is Laser Hair Removal?

Laser hair removal involves using pulses of laser light to destroy hair follicles in unwanted parts of your body. For women, this may be the back, face, legs and pubic area. For men, this may be the chest, stomach and underarms. One of the most incredible benefits of this hair removal method is it’s effective on nearly every region of the body.

Am I a Good Candidate?

During your initial consultation, we will review your medical history, current health status, and other factors to determine if you are an ideal candidate for this hair removal method. You may be a good candidate for this treatment if you do not have a:

• Skin rash
• Active infection
• Open wound
• Tan

While most lasers can’t be used on clients with dark skin and dark hair, the Motus AX settings can be customized for such conditions. In fact, this laser is the best in existence for removing unwanted hair with low contrast to skin tone on the Fitzpatrick scale. It can even be used to treat pigmented lesions.

Who Is Not a Good Candidate?

Nearly everyone is a good candidate for hair removal with the Motus AX laser. However, it should not be used near the eyes or eyelids. If you want to remove hair from your eyebrows, an alternative hair removal method would be better for you.

How Should I Prepare for Treatment?

Before treatment, you will come in for an initial consultation to determine if you are an ideal candidate for this hair removal method. Your board-certified doctor will review your medical history including prior hair removal treatments, scarring, and skin disorders and medication use. The doctor will also make sure you have realistic expectations about results and take pictures for before-and-after evaluations and long-term reviews.

Your doctor will also discuss a treatment plan and expected costs. Finally, you will be given a list of pre-treatment instructions to prepare for your laser hair removal. These include:

Lighten Your Skin

The Motus AX can be used for a wide range of skin tones. However, treatment is most effective when there is a stark contrast between the pigmentation of your skin and hair. For example, people with fair skin and dark, coarse hair are ideal candidates for this treatment.

People with fair skin and blonde hair may be good candidates, but they are not ideal candidates. If you have tanned recently and have dark hair, you may be prescribed a skin bleaching cream to use prior to treatment. These creams aren’t permanent. Once you’re done with your laser hair removal treatments, stop using them and your skin tone will return to normal.

Do not use any tanning creams for six weeks before your first treatment session. Avoid using them until you’ve received your final laser hair removal treatment. You should also avoid tanning beds for the six weeks preceding your treatment.

Stay Out of the Sun

Before your Motus AX hair removal treatment, avoid unnecessary sun exposure. This means no sunbathing. Wear broad-spectrum sunscreen daily, even if you’re treating your back or chest. Clothing does not provide 100% ultraviolet radiation protection.

Avoid Other Hair Removal Methods

Do not use other hair removal methods, including waxing, plucking and electrolysis, for at least four weeks before your treatment. This may disturb your hair follicles and affect the results of your treatment.

However, we recommend you trim or shave the treatment area the day before your treatment. This removes the hair above your skin and keeps the underlying hair shaft intact.

Don’t Take Blood-Thinning Medications

During your initial consultation, we will give you a list of blood-thinning medications to avoid. These include prescription MAOIs, over-the-counter NSAIDs, and certain nutritional supplements.

What Can I Expect During Treatment?

Just prior to your treatment, we will trim your hair to a few millimeters above your skin’s surface. No anesthesia is necessary to undergo treatment. We will customize the laser equipment’s settings to your hair color, thickness, and location, as well as your skin tone.

Depending on the treatment location, you may need to wear eye protection. Most lasers require the use of cold gels or special cooling devices to protect the outer layers of your skin. However, the Motus AX double energy transfer implements contact cooling technology during treatment sessions. This allows for safer, more effective treatment of a wider range of skin tones than ever before. The best part is treatment isn’t painful at all.

Your doctor will pulse laser light to the treatment area and observe for several minutes to ensure the best possible settings were used. Once your treatment is over, you may want to use anti-inflammatory lotions or creams, cold water or ice packs. However, you shouldn’t feel any pain or discomfort from the treatment session. At this point, most of our clients like to schedule their next treatment session for four to six weeks later.

Following Treatment

After treatment, your doctor may apply a steroid cream to the affected area. However, this isn’t usually necessary. The most important thing to remember is to avoid sun exposure for six weeks after your treatment. This includes both natural sunlight and tanning beds with harmful UV rays.

Avoiding sun exposure serves a couple of purposes. First, it keeps your skin healthy. Sun-damaged skin can affect the quality of your treatment. Second, it keeps your skin as light as possible before your follow-up treatment.

Results of Treatment

This treatment will not make your hair fall out immediately. Rather, you will shed your hairs over the next several days and weeks. This may be mistaken for continued hair growth. However, patience is important. Not all of your hair follicles are in their new-growth cycle at the same time. Most of our clients need to come in for a follow-up treatment several weeks after their first one to target the hair follicles that weren’t originally in their new-growth cycle.

Follow-Up Treatments

Clients usually need three to seven treatments to see the best results. After several years, maintenance treatments may be required. In general, clients with fair skin and dark hair will require fewer treatments. Contrastingly, if you have red, white, gray or blonde hair, you may need more treatments to achieve your desired results.

What About Home Lasers?

In an attempt to save money, many New Yorkers turn to home lasers for hair removal. There are several problems with this. You may notice modest hair reduction after using one of these devices. However, there is no unbiased research examining the efficacy of these home devices.

More importantly, the FDA considers these devices cosmetic rather than medical. As a result, they are not held to the same safety standards as the Motus AX used in our office. Given the safety risks and unreliable results, we cannot recommend our clients use home lasers for hair removal. 

Benefits of Laser Hair Removal

A laser can be beneficial for removing unwanted hair from the arms, underarms, bikini lines, chin, back, legs, face, and other areas. During your initial consultation, we will address your areas of concern to determine if lasers are the ideal hair removal method for you. Here are just a few benefits of laser hair removal:

Precision

The Motus AX with Moveo Handpiece is incredibly precise. It selectively targets dark, coarse hairs without damaging the surrounding skin. Other lasers designed for hair removal can burn and bleach the surrounding skin.

Speed

Our hair removal lasers are unbelievably fast. Each pulse of laser light takes only a fraction of a second and can treat several hairs at once. In fact, they can treat trouble spots around the size of a quarter every second. Small areas, including the upper lip, can be treated in under a minute. If you need to treat larger areas, such as your legs or back, treatment shouldn’t last over an hour.

Predictability

While everyone is unique, our lasers are so advanced that results are fairly standard. Most of our clients experience permanent hair loss after only three to seven sessions.

Energy Delivered

A benefit unique to the Motus AX with Moveo Handpiece is the amount of energy delivered. Most hair removal lasers emit visible and infrared wavelengths that are mostly reflected by the skin. This means the light can’t penetrate and destroy active hair follicles. Thanks to the cutting-edge Moveo handpiece, total energy absorption is possible. This means you get faster, more effective results.

Pain-Free Treatment

The Motus AX isn’t just the fastest laser used for hair removal. It’s also the most comfortable. This Deka laser uses gradual heating which eliminates the “rubber-band” sensation produced by most lasers during hair removal treatment. With its integrated contact cooling, the comfort is unmatched.

Alternatives to Laser Hair Removal

Electrolysis

Like using a laser for hair removal, electrolysis destroys hair at the root. The primary difference is the follicle death comes from radio frequency rather than pulses of intense light. Electrolysis products for home use are viewed as cosmetic devices by the FDA. Therefore, they are not held to the same rigorous safety and efficiency standards as devices found in cosmetic clinics or spas.

Moreover, you’ll need between 15 and 30 treatment sessions to achieve your desired results. Intense light hair removal is far more affordable in the long-run.

Plucking

Plucking unwanted body hair removes the hair at its root. Unlike laser treatment, it doesn’t destroy the hair follicles. The best you can hope for is a week to a month of improved cosmetic results. It also increases your risk of ingrown hairs and acne.

The most significant disadvantage of plucking is it can’t be performed on large regions of the body. If your unwanted hair is on your chest or back, the best hair removal method is laser treatments with the state-of-the-art Motus AX with Moveo Handpiece.

Waxing

Waxing is a faster hair removal method than plucking. However, the hair is only removed rather than destroyed at the follicle. Thus, the results don’t last long. Many people need to wax weekly or monthly to keep their skin free from hair. Waxing also puts you at risk for ingrown hairs and stings even after treatment. While it’s better for large regions of unwanted hair, it’s not the best or most cost-effective hair removal method.

Schedule Your Initial Consultation Today

There are more permanent hair removal solutions than shaving. There are more comfortable hair removal solutions than waxing. If you’re tired of your old hair removal method, laser hair removal may be right for you. To learn more, contact the office of Dr. Michael I. Jacobs, MD in New York, NY today to schedule your initial consultation. The skin-smoothing results of the advanced Motus AX with Moveo Handpiece could be exactly what you’ve been looking for.