Permanent Hair Reduction – Bellingham

Permanent Hair Reduction

This is the most efficient way to permanently remove unwanted hair anywhere on the body. Many women appreciate being able to permanently eliminate unwanted facial hair. Women also love the freedom from the routine of waxing and shaving legs, underarms, and bikini lines. Men often choose to reduce or eliminate hair on the neck, shoulders, back, chest, underarms, or pubic areas.

We also offer varicose vein treatments in Bellingham to improve the appearance of your legs.

How does it work?

We can treat larger areas (back, chest, legs) as well as smaller areas (underarms, bikini lines, ear and nose hair). Pulses of light energy at specific wavelengths target the pigment in the hair follicles, which absorb the energy as heat. The heat permanently disables the cells responsible for generating the hair. Specific wavelengths of light can target both finer and coarser hair. Because the light energy targets the hair pigment, it may be less effective on lighter hair and white hair may not respond to treatment.

What can I expect during the procedure?

Because the follicle absorbs the light energy as heat, you will feel a warm to hot sensation with each quick pulse. The handpiece has a built-in cooling system to minimize this sensation and the intensity of the energy can be adjusted to individual comfort thresholds. Treatments can last from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the area being treated.

What can I expect after the procedure?

Hair removal appointments are quick, and you can return to work or other activities, looking and feeling fine! Generally, there are no after-effects that cause concern. Immediately after treatment, hair stubble in the treated areas will be stiff and bristle-like and will fall out in a few days. The use of sun screen is recommended on any treated areas exposed to the sun for a few days following treatment.

How permanent is this type of hair removal?

Hair follicles that are disabled by the infra-red light in each treatment are permanently disabled; they will not generate new hair again. Because hair growth occurs in cycles, your hair follicles that are in a dormant phase at the time of treatment are not affected because there is no hair growing out of them at that time to absorb the light energy. As they come into their active phase, they will generate hair which will need to be treated during the active phase. For this reason, multiple treatments are necessary at 4-8 week intervals to catch all the cycles of hair growth in their active phase. You can expect significantly less hair growth each time.
The number of treatments you may require for optimal long-term benefits depends on the hair density in the area you want treated and your hair’s growth cycle. Some people completely eliminate hair growth in 3-5 treatments, while others may require 6-8 treatments. In a few cases, there is a minimal amount of new hair after a period of years, but a quick and easy “touch-up” treatment will take care of that.

Find out if you could benefit from this procedure.

Schedule your free aesthetic consultation by calling Bayside Vein & Laser Center at 676-1225.