Laser hair removal Lafayette LA offers a way to be rid of unwanted hair for good and stop the endless cycle of shaving, plucking, and waxing. At the Dermatology Center of Acadiana in Lafayette, LA, we help people safely and comfortably get the smooth skin they’re looking for with the advanced Excel HR Laser. But is it right for you?

Is Laser Hair Removal Right for You?

As with many cosmetic treatments, laser hair removal can be a good fit for many people, but the best way to decide if it’s right for you is to meet with us for a consultation. We know skin, we know hair, and we know the technology involved and what it can do. We’ll carefully consider your hair type, skin type, and goals to help you find the right answer for your unwanted hair. But if you’re still considering whether to get in touch, there are some things worth thinking about as you consider laser hair treatments.

Are You Tired of Spending Money on Hair Removal?

Whether you’re buying the cheapest razors in bulk at the big box store or are spending money at the salon having a professional wax job on a regular basis, removing your hair is costing you money. So long as you continue to address the symptom (the hair shaft you can see) and not the root problem (the follicle that’s growing that hair), this process will never end. You will continue to spend money on hair removal products and treatments for the rest of your life. With laser hair removal Lafayette LA, you have a chance to end all that. Laser hair removal Lafayette LA doesn’t just get rid of the hair above the skin. It actually destroys the hair follicle so it cannot continue to grow hair. Once you’ve destroyed the follicle, you can enjoy your smooth, hairless skin and stop worrying about whether you can afford a salon wax again this month.

Would You Like to Put an End to Razor Burn?

Razor burn is annoying, uncomfortable, and doesn’t present the look we want to the world. For men with thick beards, in particular, razor burn can be a constant problem that even the fanciest razors and most decadent creams can’t seem to address. For women, razor burn can be a source of embarrassment or even give away that we’re being forced to shave areas of the body that society says women shouldn’t grow hair. Laser hair treatment can put an end to your razor burn worries. If you want all the hair gone from a certain spot, you can have smooth skin.

Is Shaving Too Difficult?

For some of us, the problem isn’t the expense or even the time spend on hair removal. It’s physically reaching the area in question. When you have to do circus contortions just to get rid of some unwanted hair, laser hair treatment could be the right choice for you. Men especially enjoy the way laser hair treatments allow them to remove hair on the back that is difficult to reach.

Do You Resent the Waste of Time?

Shaving takes time. The average woman spends 1,728 hours, or about 72 days, out of her life shaving. The same survey that discovered this also found that shaving is by far the most hated beauty ritual for women, with 35% saying they’d rather be doing almost anything else. Meanwhile, the average man spends 45 days of his life shaving, and that’s just counting shaving the face. If you’re trying to tame the hair on your back or chest, you’ll spend even longer. Our time is worth something, and we shouldn’t have to waste so much of it just removing hair that will grow back again in a few hours or days. Laser hair treatments let you spend a lot less time with the razor and claim back those lost hours for something you enjoy doing more.

Do You Have Skin of a Darker Color?

In the past, laser hair treatments could only be used on people with very light-colored skin. This is because the laser works by targeting the melanin, or color, in the hair shaft. If the color of the hair shaft was too close to the color of the skin, the laser couldn’t find its target and would end up burning the skin. With the advanced Excel HR Laser we use, this is no longer a problem. The Excel HR uses a 1064 nm laser that works well for darker skin types and a 755 nm laser perfect for lighter skin. The only real question is how dark your hair is. If your hair is very light in color, laser hair treatment might not be for you. The laser does need enough melanin to find its target. Fortunately, most of us aren’t too bothered by hair that’s very light. It’s those darker hairs that are more noticeable, and those are usually the ones we want to treat.

Do You Dislike Discomfort?

Shaving over and over can irritate the skin, and the pain of waxing, epilating, and plucking is something we all know about. Even depilatory creams can be uncomfortable, causing the skin to burn if they’re left on for too long. Laser treatments offer a way to get rid of the hair and the discomfort at the same time. Older laser technologies could be very uncomfortable, but the state-of-the-art Excel HR laser is the industry leader for both results and comfort, and it’s the advanced technology that makes this possible. The first way the Excel HR provides a comfortable experience is by using the best possible laser wavelengths. The wavelengths used by this laser are highly absorbable by melanin, meaning they can do their job effectively without distressing the skin or wasting energy. The Index Matching feature allows the laser energy that doesn’t make it to the hair to backscatter, effectively escaping so it doesn’t harm the skin. At the same time, the sapphire cooling contact continuously cools the skin to provide a comfortable experience. As soon as you experience permanent hair removal that’s this comfortable, we think you’ll vow never to use wax again!

FAQ About Laser Hair Removal

Is There Downtime Associated With This Treatment?

One of the best features of a laser hair treatment is that it requires no downtime. You don’t need to do anything special after you’re done. Simply go about your day as you normally would. The only thing you’ll need to do is avoid a lot of direct sun exposure immediately afterward and wear some sunscreen.

Do I Have to Do Anything Special to Prepare?

Before your treatment, avoid any hair removal methods that actually pull out the whole hair and the bulb that attaches it to the follicle. This would include plucking, waxing, epilating, or tweezing. If you pull out the whole hair, there’s nothing left for the laser light to target! Instead, shave or use a depilatory cream. In fact, it’s a good idea to shave the area the day before your treatment to get the best results.

How Long Will It Take?

Your treatment time will depend on how large an area you want to be treated. Larger areas, like both legs or the back, can take between 45 and 60 minutes. If you’re just targeting the upper lip or underarm area, you’ll be finished in 5 to 10 minutes.

Why Do I Have to Come Back for Another Treatment?

Our hair grows in cycles, and the laser can only destroy a follicle that’s in the active growing cycle. At your first treatment, the laser will usually disable somewhere between 50% and 80% of your hair. Over the course of the next few to several weeks, hairs that were previously dormant will enter the growth cycle and be ready for you to target at your next treatment. The hairs on different areas of the body grow at different cycle rates, so you will need to wait eight to twelve weeks before your next treatment depending on what area of the body you’re targeting. For most people, three to six treatments are all it takes to be rid of unwanted hair permanently.

Will I Ever Need Treatment Again?

Our hair growth is very dependent on our hormones. If your hormones dictate it, your body will eventually repair some of the follicles damaged by the laser. However, you’ll likely never have the same density of hair you had before. Even if hormonal issues are a problem for you, it should only take an occasional follow-up treatment, perhaps once a year, to keep the area completely free of hair.

What Are My At-Home Options for Hair Removal?

You probably already know about the big ones. Shaving is just about the cheapest hair removal option, but it’s also the least permanent. Over time, you could easily spend close to $10,000 in shaving products. Waxing, plucking, and tweezing are all uncomfortable. Waxing can get expensive over time, too, and plucking and tweezing aren’t great options if you have a lot of hair to remove. Not to mention, they cause the most trauma to the skin and therefore discoloration and scarring. Depilatory creams can do the job, but they only target the hair above the skin, and they contain harsh chemicals that are bad for you and for the environment. None of these methods of hair removal are as effective as laser hair treatment.

What About IPL Hair Removal?

IPL, or intense pulsed light, works similarly to laser hair removal Lafayette LA, and you may have seen advertisements for at-home IPL devices that claim to be as effective as any treatment you can get at a dermatologist’s office. For most people, however, laser hair treatment is a better option. It offers more permanent hair reduction and takes fewer treatments to get there. It’s also very fast and much safer for people with darker skin. We would counsel you against using an at-home IPL device. Although the devices themselves are cleared by the FDA, they must be used and maintained correctly in order to be safe. Every year the FDA gets reports of burns, hyperpigmentation, and other unpleasant side effects from at-home IPL devices.

Are You Ready to Be Rid of the Hair?

If you’re tired of wasting your time and money on hair removal; if you want to get rid of hair in areas that are hard to reach or put an end to razor burn; if you’re looking for a comfortable and convenient way to be rid of unwanted hair, then a laser hair treatment is probably right for you. To learn more, visit us at the Dermatology Center of Acadiana in Lafayette, LA today and set up a consultation. We’d love to tell you more and help you decide for certain whether this is the right treatment for you.