Question: I’ve done a lot of research on laser hair removal but no one has said anything about the side effects. What are some of the main side effects of a laser hair removal treatment?

Answer: The most common side effect of laser hair removal treatment is simply sensitivity of the skin in the area where the treatment was performed.  You can also get small bumps on the skin where the hair follicle has been injured and has caused some swelling, and this sensitivity and bumpiness typically subside within the first 48 to 72 hours.  I think patients are slightly sensitive to the sun as well and we also recommend sun protection due to the fact that we do not want anyone to have a tan prior to a laser hair removal treatment since that will increase the skin’s sensitivity to the laser energy.  Overall though, when performed with experienced hands, laser hair removal is extremely safe and effective.

Question: I am a 24-year-old male with fairly dense back hair. I find it quite unappealing. How many treatments will I need to undergo for complete removal of this hair?

Answer: Laser hair removal is extremely successful at removing dark, dense hair in a permanent fashion, but we certainly can never guarantee that 100% of the hairs will be gone forever and in fact we expect that a small percentage of the hairs will be stubborn and remain despite multiple treatments. With that being said, at the very least you need six to eight laser hair removal treatments spaced six to eight weeks apart to adequately reduce the number of hairs on a man’s back. The reduction can be quite astonishing and the remaining hairs are typically thinner, lighter, and shorter than they had been in the past.

Question: I am male, 32 years old with too much hair on my chest. I would like some of this hair removed permanently and I know exactly what I want to look like. Can laser hair removal be used for this?

Answer: Laser hair removal can be extremely successful at reducing the amount of hair on a man’s chest, but I certainly cannot guarantee you that it will look exactly the way that you will want it to simply because we have no way of truly sculpting the hair removal process so that you end up with hair in certain areas that are certain lengths and certain thicknesses and then no hair in other areas.  Ultimately, if your overall goal is fewer hairs that are smaller and shorter then laser hair removal will most likely satisfy you.

Question: How can you remove hair with a laser without burning the skin? Can this type of hair removal cause infections?

Answer: Hair removal lasers work by using laser frequencies that pigment absorbs. The pigment in the hair follicle or even sometimes the blood vessels in the hair follicle absorb the laser energy much more efficiently than the surrounding skin does and, therefore, are preferentially damaged compared to the surrounding skin. So, the trick to laser hair removal is really to give enough energy into the tissue that the hair follicle is damaged and will be destroyed but not enough energy that we damage the actual surrounding skin. Overall, this can be performed in a very safe and effective manner in virtually all skin types, but due to the fact that hair grows in various phases throughout its life cycle, we do have to perform six to eight laser hair removal treatments on everybody to give them an adequate amount of hair reduction long term.

Question: My roommate has some black chest hair. She has never plucked or waxed it because she was afraid that it would grow back even denser than it is. I know that she is really embarrassed about this so I told her I would find out about laser hair removal. Can laser treatments remove chest hair? How many sessions would be required?

Answer:  Yes, laser hair removal can be used for chest hair and no matter what part of the body or face, six to eight treatments are always necessary for adequate reduction of the number of hairs.  Overall, this can be extremely successful for dark chest hairs, and I would highly encourage your roommate to come see us at the Quintessa Aesthetic Center.

Question: I am female, 43 years old, and have black hair growth on the underside of my chin going up into my sideburns. How many treatments would I need to remove this hair permanently?

Answer: No matter what part of the face or body, you are going to need six to eight treatments of laser hair removal for adequate long-term relief of the hair. When these are spaced appropriately and the treatment guideline is kept, we expect greater than 90% of these hairs to be permanently removed and after that periodic touch ups with a laser may be necessary every six months to a year.

Question: I am male, 55 years old, and hairy. I get pretty mean looks on the beach and I have heard some very negative comments about the amount of hair on my body. Would laser hair removal work for me? Is it permanent?

Answer: Laser hair removal is very effective for male patients who are overall very hairy. We certainly cannot guarantee that all hair will be permanently gone but the far majority of hair, in fact we typically say 90% of the hair, will be treated successfully and will permanently be gone. The new Duet by Lumines hair removal system is an extremely fast and virtually pain-free technology for hair removal that we have in our Mequon location at the Quintessa Aesthetic Center. Ultimately, I would recommend a consultation so that we can discuss your areas of concern and set up a series of treatments to give you the result that you desire.

Question: It looks like there are a few problems associated with laser hair removal, one of them being discoloration of the skin. I am a very dark African-American woman with facial hair that I would like removed. Can you tell me if the procedure can be done without discoloring my face?

Answer: Yes, laser hair removal can definitely be performed in darker skin types in a safe manner without discoloring the actual skin of the face. It, certainly, does take extensive experience in the appropriate type of laser technology to accomplish this and it may require a few extra treatments than our average client but, all in all, laser hair removal can be successful in darker skin types in a very safe and effective manner.