If you've been considering laser hair removal, you may have heard stories of people who didn't get the results they were expecting. It's true that laser hair removal isn't always successful, but why? In this article, we'll explore the top 10 reasons why laser hair removal might not be working for you. First and foremost, if the laser passes too quickly over the skin, the laser energy won't be absorbed properly. This can result in some patches being missed and the hair growing back faster than others.
Additionally, if you're not given breaks during a session, the treatment can become uncomfortable. At Medispa Jouvence, I often see clients who have had unsuccessful laser hair removal treatments before coming to us. Sometimes it's obvious why they didn't get results - for example, if their hair is gray - but other times there's no clear explanation. The laser won't be able to detect gray, blonde, or red hair.
If you were treating your chin and it had both black and gray hairs, the black hairs should have been treated successfully but the gray hairs will remain. If the treatment site only had dark and dyed hair, then you should have seen a result. The thicker the hair, the better. If the hair at the treatment site is too fine, it won't be treated well - if at all. I often see clients who say that when they started their laser treatment, the hair was fine but now it's all still there.
The treatment zone needs to be shaved so if fine hair is shaved, its texture will change. If the hair is very thin, you should leave it alone - don't shave it or do laser hair removal on it. Some people are simply not good candidates for laser hair removal and I've seen many clients who have come for a consultation after having had lasers before without getting results or burning their skin. People with a lot of skin color should also be cautious when considering laser hair removal as there is a limit to how much skin color I will treat. Even if a client with a lot of color gets any improvement, it will be very slow and expensive as they will need many more treatments than average. If you've had laser treatments, have a lot of skin color, and didn't get a result, it's likely because the settings were set too low so you didn't get burned but you didn't see an improvement either. When performing laser hair removal, the only way to remove hair from the treatment site is by shaving - you can't remove it from the follicle. If you're waxing, waxing or threading the treatment site before your session then there won't be anything for the laser to see and that follicle won't be treated. In Canada, the laser hair removal industry is not regulated so if you receive treatment from an unqualified technician then your results may not be good.
Often inexperienced technicians will set the laser at very low energy levels to prevent burning but this won't give you good results either. To do laser hair removal well, a technician must have worked on many different skin types and hair types and must be able to recognize the amount of color in both skin and hair as well as thickness of the hair in order to set up the machine correctly. The technician must also be meticulous and cover the entire surface of the treatment site as attention to detail and thoroughness are key to getting good results in the end. Rarely, laser hair removal can cause blistering, crusting, scarring or other changes in skin texture as well as graying of treated hairs or excessive growth around treated areas - especially on darker skin. You'll likely see results right after treatment but these vary from patient to patient depending on factors such as color and thickness of hair, area treated and type of laser used as well as skin color. Most patients need 2-6 treatments to remove all their unwanted hairs and after finishing treatments most patients don't see any hairs on their treated skin for several months or even years. When hairs do grow back they tend to be thinner and lighter in color. Laser hair removal can only target follicles in their growth stage so some areas may require more rigorous training and study of hair growth patterns while other areas have more flexible guidelines. The pigmentation of follicles must also be dark enough in relation to skin for lasers to locate them. However if you have too much hair this could be due to a hormonal imbalance which could negate results of laser hair removal.
