Does Laser Hair Removal Mean I'll Never Have to Shave or Wax Again?

Shaving and waxing are two unpleasant, time-consuming chores most of us would rather not have to think about, at least not as often as we normally do. Fortunately, laser hair removal offers an alternative — but are results permanent?

If laser hair removal is in your future, you’re probably looking forward to avoiding the need to shave or wax. But if you’ve never had laser hair removal, you’re probably also wondering: Does it eliminate unwanted hair permanently?

Yamuna Gurrapu, MD, and Jenine Referente, FNP, are leading providers of laser hair removal treatment, using the most advanced technology to help women and men at North Texas Med360 enjoy smoother, sexier skin. Here, learn how laser hair removal works and whether or not your results will be permanent.

Laser hair removal 101

The basic premise of laser hair removal is pretty simple: Laser hair removal uses the focused light energy of lasers to target hair follicles, damaging them so they stop producing hair. But the way it works is actually a bit more involved.

To understand how laser hair removal really works to stop hair from growing, you first need to know a little bit about how hair grows — specifically, the three stages of hair growth:

• The anagen stage is when active growth happens
• The telogen phase is when hair is resting
• The catagen stage is a transition stage

In order for laser hair removal to work, it needs to focus on hairs that are in the anagen (active) phase of growth.

Considering the body is home to millions of individual follicles, it makes sense that not every hair will be in the anagen stage at the same time. (If they were, you’d lose all your hair at once instead of shredding a few hairs every day!) In order to target every follicle when it’s in its anagen phase, you’ll need multiple treatments spaced out over a few weeks.

Long-term results for sexier skin

Now for the real question: Will your results be permanent? The answer is — maybe. While some people experience permanent results, most find their results last for months or years, and when hair does regrow, it’s finer and more sparse than it was before, so even if you do need to shave, it's a lot faster and simpler.

Best of all, if you do want more or less permanent results, you can keep hair growth at bay by having touch-up laser treatments when hair begins to regrow. Many people find yearly touch-ups are a great way to stay smooth, but the frequency of your touch-ups depends on lots of factors, like the thickness of your hair, your skin type, and even your hormones and age.

Bottom line: While laser hair removal may not remove all hair for good, it dramatically cuts down on hair growth, and with regular touch-ups, you can kick the shaving and waxing habits for good.

To find out how laser hair removal can help you enjoy smoother, sexier skin, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at North Texas Med360 in Frisco, Texas, today.