Laser Hair Removal: A Post-treatment Review

Hair-free=Flawless.

Laser hair removal is one of the breakthroughs in epilation. Over the years, a bunch of medical literature have proven its effectivity in the long-term removal of unwanted hair. Take those on the pits for example.

I've always been less confident about raising my arms ultra high because I feel like my pits are so darn ugly. Blame genetics and the media for my insecurity, but I always minded reaching my arms up in public. I was always on the look-out for the right tools to keep my pits as flawless as it can be, but I grew tired of the fact that I always have to tweeze (haha, lazy me), plus the fact that my neck gets stiff because of it. Hence, my experiment with laser hair removal.

My first session with the procedure gave me results that I noticed a week after. I know that there are girls who've had instant results, but I wasn't that sure I noticed something instantaneous after leaving my derma's clinic. 7 days post-treatment, I noticed that it made the growing hair less black, thin and frail, like it was so easy for them to tweeze off my kili-kili (haha, remember that Rexona commercial: "It's like a spa for my kili-kili"). And indeed, it was! I tweezed em off in a jiff and I must say I'm impressed. The other thing I noticed was that it took some time for my underam hair to grow back. I just love skipping my usual 2x/week tweezing sessions (lazy talaga!)!

I can't wait till my next session. I'm hoping to see even better results soon.

Some Laser Hair Removal FAQ's:

What are the mecahnics in Laser Hair Removal? Laser hair removal made simple:

The principle used is selective photothermolysis (rooting em out: photo=light, thermo=heat, lysis=break-down/destruction). Laser can damage and destroy specific areas by its heating properties. Since laser is actually light (LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulatted Emission of Radiation), and light gets easily absorbed by dark objects, LASER is the perfect killng machine for melanin ( the dark appearance of both the skin and hair). LASER is selective since it only chooses to target our melanin.

How many sessions does it usually take to permanently stop hair growth?

4-8 sessions. Rarely, some people get to their 12th session.

After-care instructions?

Common MD orders are: deodorant application can be done a day after the procedure, not to rub or exfoliate the pits in between treatments, and not to freak out when you see your pits reddish and a little swollen post-treatment (they will disappear in afew hours). There are also anti-inflammatory creams that can be used.

Treatment interval?

3 to 8 weeks.

Factors affecting the number of laser hair removal sessions needed to get our pits looking gloriously flawless:

skin color & coarseness of hair (Coarse hair on light skin is easier to treat vs. Light hair on dark skin)

How much does it cost?

The lowest Laser hair removal for the pits that I've heard of was around 2k/session (~$35/session). Usually, it costs around 3,500 to 5,000php/session (~$60 to $90). There are also packages you can avail of that allows you to save thousands of pesos. I know my derma offers an unlimited package for 20k until you get the results you want (lifetime package, as she calls it).

What are other permanent hair removal techniques?

There are: topical and oral medication (requires continuous use), electrolysis, flashlamp, and photodynamic therapy (still on its experimental stage).

Intriguing, eh? Why not give laser hair removal a try?

My MD, a fellow Thomasian: Sixta Foronda , M.D.

6F Aesthetic and Anti-Ageing Center
14/F Medical Plaza, Amorsolo St., Makati City

Royally yours, Bleak