Is Laser Hair Removal Right For Me?
If you are interested in laser hair removal, it is important to know who is not an eligible candidate for this treatment.
One of the first individuals that cannot be treated through laser hair removal is a woman who is pregnant. The reason for this is not because the laser is harmful to her baby, but because when women are pregnant, they are increasingly hormonal. First of all, this will make the woman very sensitive to pain, meaning that the laser hair removal treatment could be even more painful or unbearable as a result. Furthermore, since a woman is hormonal during her pregnancy, it will also negate any effects of the laser hair removal treatment, so hormones will cause her hair to grow back right away. The bottom line is that laser hair removal will be a waste of time and money for any woman that is pregnant. However, she can look forward to treatments immediately after her pregnancy recovery!
Other individuals that are not eligible for laser hair removal include anyone who may have red, blonde, or gray hair completely. If you have red hair growing in your pubic area, underarms, or legs, that is not a pigment that can be picked up by the laser. There is no way for a laser to treat hair that is red, blonde, or gray, so the laser treatment will be ineffective. It is also important to keep in mind that within many laser hair removal treatments, you may not realize that you have naturally blonde hair growing with darker hair. As soon as an area is treated, like the bikini area, you may notice that blonde peach fuzz grows back right away since it cannot be treated by the laser. The truth is that this blonde hair will never be able to be treated through the current technologies in laser hair removal.
The next individual that is not eligible for laser hair removal is anyone with diabetes who is insulin-dependent. Insulin-dependent diabetics are much more susceptible to infection, meaning that they cannot risk a potential reaction in laser hair removal. For the most part, laser hair removal is quite safe without any side effects. However, there is no way to guarantee how a body will react, and there is potential for swelling, blisters, or infection. If an insulin-dependent diabetic has an infection reaction from laser hair removal, it may be very difficult and dangerous for them in getting the wound to heal completely.
Another person that is not eligible for laser hair removal is anyone who has had unprotected sun exposure in the past 30 days. This is something that is important to be honest about since you will be asked if you have had sun exposure before your laser hair removal treatment. The reason that a person who has had sun exposure cannot have laser hair removal within 30 days is because the sun deposits melanin underneath the surface of the skin. A laser hair removal settings specialist will look at your skin color to determine the settings of the laser, but if they cannot see the melanin below the surface caused by sun exposure, it will be very easy for the settings to burn or blister your skin. There is no way to determine how to effectively set the laser with melanin from sun exposure underneath the surface of the skin, which is why you must either regularly tan or avoid the sun 30 days before your treatment.
The last individual that cannot have laser hair removal is anyone with a tattoo. This includes permanent cosmetics and also tattoos that are white or invisible. As an example, there may be someone that has had a scar tattooed with a flesh colored tattoo for camouflage, which is an area that cannot be treated by the laser. If the laser hits any type of tattoo pigment, it can potentially turn it black and cause a blister. Not only will this cause an unsightly appearance to the tattoo, but it will also damage and discolor the surface of the skin. If a woman has a permanent cosmetic lip liner tattoo, she cannot treat an inch in diameter around her lips. It is important for the laser to stay away from lip liner tattoo by at least an inch to prevent any potential of hitting the tattoo and causing it to turn black.
If you are hoping to see the greatest results in your laser hair removal, make sure to follow all of these guidelines carefully! This will offer success in completely removing unwanted hair.
This article was written by Bethany North. Bethany is a licensed esthetician with experience in hands-on experience in chemical peels, microdermabrasion, facials, laser hair removal, makeup applications, skin analysis, waxing, spray tanning, and product ingredient assessment. She has also worked as a salon sales and training consultant, as well as a consultant for beauty and hair care product lines in branding and marketing.