Laser Hair Removal Expectations and Questions Answered

Laser hair removal has likely crossed the mind of every woman on the planet as she begins to prepare for summer and the entailed exposure, but the procedure is beneficial to both women and men alike. Knowing some of the risks and recommendations for successful treatment is helpful in making the decision to undergo the procedure. 
Laser hair removal is a procedure in which a laser is used essentially to damage a follicle in order to prevent growth of hair, therefore each follicle that houses an unwanted hair has to be treated for optimal results. This can be more easily attainable in the lip or chin area, and this procedure can in fact be successfully treated in just a few hours. Any area of the body can be treated though, and larger areas such a limbs, backs, and even underarms take a longer amount of time and sometimes even subsequent procedures to obtain success.
It is helpful to know how and when laser hair removal is most effective. The procedure itself as it is administered today seems to discriminate hair and skin color. If you do not fit the description for the most successful combination, you can still undergo the procedure, but you should know that success is not guaranteed. Those with lighter skin who are targeting darker hair will have the most desirable results. This is because the laser targets pigment and an individual with dark skin and dark hair runs the risk of the laser determining that the melanin in the skin is its target. The process is also not known to work with overwhelmingly positive results on light or gray colored targets, but studies and improvements are continuing to be made concerning the hair and skin combinations less prone to success, and perhaps it will not be long until a method is put into practice that is more effective on dark skin or light hair. 
If you are considering the procedure, doctors have a few recommendations and guidelines to follow. As previously mentioned, darkly pigmented skin does not present the best success rate in laser hair removal, and that includes tanned skin. If you have a tan either from a tanning bed or sun exposure or even from topical skin tinting lotions, you should let your skin fade back to its lightest color possible before you book your appointment. You should also avoid plucking, waxing, or electrolysis as these activities can cause damage to the follicle. Since the follicle is the area that is being treated, this opens up the possibilities of the process being rather ill-effective or causing damage further and irreparable damage to the follicle that is not an intention of the procedure.