With the advent of laser hair removal, painful hair removal methods such as shaving, tweezing, or waxing are slowly being replaced. As of today, one of the most commonly asked for cosmetic procedures in Canada is laser hair removal.

The procedure involves beaming highly concentrated light into hair follicles. The pigment in the follicles absorbs the light, which destroys the hair. While it is useful for removing unwanted hair from the face, leg, arm, underarm, and other areas, lasers specifically target coarse hairs while leaving the surrounding skin undamaged.

However, laser hair removal is a medical procedure that requires training to perform and can carry potential risks by an untrained hand. So, before you schedule your first appointment, Tropicalaser has compiled a list of common mistakes that you should avoid making when getting laser hair removal.

1.To laser skin with unprotected sun exposure. Many of our clients confuse sun-exposure with sun tanning. It is not safe to laser skin that has had unprotected sun exposure (and definitely not a good idea to laser suntanned skin). The reason for this is that the laser targets the pigment of the hair and should ignore the surrounding skin. If the skin has been sun exposed, even if the color of the skin is unchanged, the melanocytes may have been activated, attracting the laser light and potentially burning the skin. When we refuse to treat someone who has had unprotected sun exposure, it is for their own safety – not to be difficult.

2.Expecting to be hair free after the first session. Many clients believe that laser hair removal will remove all hair in just a few treatments. Firstly, we talk about permanent hair reduction – not removal. It is normal for new hair to continue to be generated throughout one’s lifetime, so it’s entirely possible to find a small amount of new hair growth occurring over time. Secondly, hair can be destroyed only in the anagen phase (when it has a root). On the body, between 20 and 35% of hair is in the anagen phase at any time. Therefore multiple treatments are required to effect optimum clearance.

3.Arriving with oiled and unshaven skin before the treatment. Many clients do not prepare fully for their treatments. We ask clients to arrive with hair shaved the night before or the day of treatment and with no lotions or cream on the skin. The presence of any lotions/oils/creams on the skin is against protocol. It can take unnecessary time and effort to remove this from large areas. We require hair to be shaved before treatment. Cleanly shaved skin will result in more effective treatment and less painful treatment. Some clients believe the myth that this will cause hair to become darker and more abundant.

4.Compromising on follow-ups. Clients are sometimes not as consistent in coming in for treatment as we would like them to be. To achieve the best results in the shortest time, we do ask them to try to follow our recommended treatment schedule.

5.Unrealistic expectations. Some clients have unrealistic expectations for hair removal. We do warn them at the time of the initial consultation that the laser cannot detect light hair and has great difficulty in detecting very fine hair. However, when most of the coarse, dark hair has gone, revealing light peach fuzz, they may have forgotten that we really cannot treat this effectively.

To learn more about a successful laser treatment, reach out to the experts at Tropicalaser.

We provide a number of skin treatments including laser hair removal, skin tightening, and skin rejuvenation, body sculpting, cellulite reduction, and microneedling services. Using superior equipment with the latest in FDA approved genuine lasers and radio frequency (RF) technology, Tropicalaser provides its services to clients from all over Edmonton, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Nisku, and Fort McMurray.

For a complete list of services that we provide, please click here.  If you have any queries about our services, we’d love to hear from you. Please click here to contact us.