Women's Laser Hair Removal Overview

Posted Feb 1, 2010

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! For women, the cry has more accurately been "razors, waxes, and electrolysis, oh my!". Hair removal has never been a painless, simple task for women of the modern era.

However, things are finally making a change for the better. With technology constantly improving, so too are new ways to deal with unwanted hair. The most promising candidate? Laser hair removal. Between the near permanent results and the painless procedures involved, women are singing praises.

Hair growth is a sign of a healthy, properly functioning body. But, for most women, hair is unwanted. Hair goes through three stages in its life cycle: anagen (growth phase), catagen (intermediate phase), and telogen (shedding phase).

During the growth phase, a follicle can output as much as 6-7 inches of hair length annually. It should be noted that the arm, leg, and eyelash follicles have shorter growth cycles, thus do not produce as lengthy hair. During the transitional stage, hair follicles shrink in size as the lower regions of the follicle are re-absorbed by the body, ceasing to make hair. During the shedding phase, your hair begins the process of exiting the body, then falling out.

One of the most commonly asked questions about laser hair removal relates to its safety. Laser hair removal has been shown to be safe in a variety of clinical studies. When the therapy is done properly, taking into account your specific skin type and using proper precautions, there is little to fear (as long as your treatment is being done by a medical professional).

Another common question: how does a laser remove hair? It should be noted that this works only when the hair is in the intermediate phase. The concentrated beam of light that is output by the laser is absorbed by the pigment in your hair's follicle. The light pulses for just a millisecond so as not to damage skin, but only the elements that are stimulating your hair's growth.

So, what body parts can I use laser hair removal on? The answer is ALL of them; legs, back, shoulders, bikini line, etc.

This all sounds too good to be true, how expensive is laser hair treatment? Well, this question is a tough one. The cost varies based on a number of factors, such as what body part the treatment is being done on and where the treatment is taking place. You can expect a legitimate laser treatment clinic to charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 a session.