doctornev
12-05-2007, 03:12 PM
This is a repost of a reply I made in the Guys Forum. Its a critically important part of getting a good hair removal result so I thought I'ld repost it here in the laser hair removal forum
Good Shaving is a really important part of the laser hair removal procedure. The shorter the hairs the better the hair removal result. So its critically important you get the hairs on their back as short as possible. The hairs should be as short as a good shave with a razor and should be done either the morning of or the night before the treatment.
The reason is the Intense Pulse Light is absorbed by the melanin in the hair. The energy, wavelength, fluence and pulse length ensure the thermal relaxation time of the hair is exceeded. The energy travels along the hair into the hair follicle deep in the skin and destroys it. If the hair is very long most of the energy is wasted on the surface of the skin resulting in extra pain, extra smoke, extra burnt BBQ smell (no kidding) but LESS hair removal.
My patients have found the following the best way of getting the hairs really short and close to the back. Especially when they have very thick back and chest hair.
1. Use a hair clipped to initially cut the hair very short
2. Optional but it gives a very good result. Use a hair removal cream in the shower brands like Nair are fine. It allows you to get really short hairs. You can virtually get rid of the hairs with a butter knife. They are good.
3. Use either a razor blade (gillettes are good because they nick less frequently - which is easy to do when you are using a razor on your back using a mirror as a guide) or more easily a good electric shaver like a Braun or Phillips triple head.
Just remember. You want the skin about as smooth as your face would be after a good shave. And DO NOT wax.
If the hair is pulled out by the root there is nothing for our laser to target and heat up the follicle.
Good Shaving is a really important part of the laser hair removal procedure. The shorter the hairs the better the hair removal result. So its critically important you get the hairs on their back as short as possible. The hairs should be as short as a good shave with a razor and should be done either the morning of or the night before the treatment.
The reason is the Intense Pulse Light is absorbed by the melanin in the hair. The energy, wavelength, fluence and pulse length ensure the thermal relaxation time of the hair is exceeded. The energy travels along the hair into the hair follicle deep in the skin and destroys it. If the hair is very long most of the energy is wasted on the surface of the skin resulting in extra pain, extra smoke, extra burnt BBQ smell (no kidding) but LESS hair removal.
My patients have found the following the best way of getting the hairs really short and close to the back. Especially when they have very thick back and chest hair.
1. Use a hair clipped to initially cut the hair very short
2. Optional but it gives a very good result. Use a hair removal cream in the shower brands like Nair are fine. It allows you to get really short hairs. You can virtually get rid of the hairs with a butter knife. They are good.
3. Use either a razor blade (gillettes are good because they nick less frequently - which is easy to do when you are using a razor on your back using a mirror as a guide) or more easily a good electric shaver like a Braun or Phillips triple head.
Just remember. You want the skin about as smooth as your face would be after a good shave. And DO NOT wax.
If the hair is pulled out by the root there is nothing for our laser to target and heat up the follicle.