Vellus Hair

In women of all ages and men before puberty, the soft, fine hair that grows on the face, chest and back is called vellus hair. For some people, this hair is fine and light, so you don’t even notice it’s there. For others, however, this hair can be darker and more noticeable, particularly with darker skin tones. Your vellus hair has a specific, and important, function – it provides insulation and helps the body maintain a steady temperature. Because we live in climate-controlled facilities and wear clothing, this hair can be removed without causing stress to the body. For some people, chest or back hair as well as facial hair can be unwanted. In these cases, laser hair removal is an excellent option.

Terminal Hair

Terminal hair is coarser than vellus hair, and is also darker and longer. This is the stuff that grows on your head, armpits and pubic region. For men, terminal hair also grows on the face, chest, legs and back after puberty. Again, this hair is more noticeable on some than on others. Some men may have excessive hair growth on the back and wish to have it removed in Valencia or elsewhere.

Lasers Work with it All

Laser hair removal technology works with both vellus and terminal hair – it just has to have pigment. You see, lasers are color-seeking; they are designed to be attracted to the pigment or color in hair. Once the laser locks on hair shafts and follicles with color, the hair is heated up to a level that affects its ability to grow more hair. Essentially, the laser destroys the hair and the follicles ability to produce more.

Body Areas

Your Valencia-based doctor or specialist can use a laser to remove hair from almost any part of your body. Your face, neck, back, chest, legs, arms and bikini areas are all common places to target. The size of the area and the type of hair will determine how many session you need. Most laser hair removal is accomplished in three to seven sessions. Your doctor will space these sessions out to hit hair in its growth phase. The laser only works on hair in its growth phase, so it’s important to come back when he or she recommends another session.

The Cutting Edge

Razors have been around for centuries, removing hair from men and women alike. Over the years we’ve moved from straight-edge razors that needed sharpening to disposable razors that you toss after a few uses. Razors now come with wire protectors, strips of moisturizer, vibration and even soap built around the blades to eliminate the need for shaving cream. There are so many to choose from at your local drug store. Shaving is now more comfortable and safe, reducing cuts to small nicks that usually don’t lead to serious blood loss.

Hair, Hair Go Away, Come Again Another Day

That’s exactly what happens when you shave. The hair goes away, but it comes back a few days later. And the re-growth isn’t soft and smooth; it’s rough and stubbly. When you shave, you flatten the tip of the hair, so when it comes back it feels blunt. You aren’t really removing any hair, just cutting it off at the surface of the skin. Furthermore, when you cut hair close to the skin, there’s a chance it grows back into the skin instead of up and out of the follicle. This process results in ingrown hairs. Ingrown hairs are often painful, and can lead to infection.

Lasers Get Down to It

Instead of removing the visible growth of the hair shaft, laser hair removal salons in Studio City use technology that interrupts the growth cycle of the hair. Waxing and plucking remove the hair at the root, but don’t disrupt re-growth. Lasers, on the other hand, target the hair shaft and blast it with heat. This heat moves down the hair shaft and destroys the follicle’s ability to grow more hair. The result is permanent hair growth reduction. You can enjoy Studio City any time without worrying about whether or not you shaved.

Multiple Sessions

You will need a few sessions with a laser to remove all the hair in an area. Why? Because lasers only permanently affect hair follicles that are in the growth phase. If the follicle is in its resting phase, hair will re-grow. Your doctor will recommend spacing out the appointments to address the growth phases of your hair. Most offices include touch-up appointments in the original cost, so that if there are a few hairs that are missed, you can come back in to have them removed.

Wax On, Wax Off

One very popular, and old, method of hair removal is waxing. In Scottsdale, you can find a bunch of salons that offer waxing as a depilatory method. Waxing removes large quantities of hair at the root, leaving skin smooth for three to six weeks. Hair often grows back finer than before, making it a superior method to shaving. Wax can be applied hot or cold. Hot wax is spread on the skin, and a cloth strip is placed over it and embedded into the wax. The cloth is then pulled in the opposite direction of hair growth; the pull must be fast to avoid excessive pain and to fully remove hair. Cold wax doesn’t usually require a cloth; as the wax cools and hardens it becomes grip-able. You simply pull the wax in the opposite direction of your hair growth.

Pros and Cons

Waxing does remove hair at the root, and keeps it from growing back for a few weeks. You can apply wax yourself at home, or you can visit a salon. However, it is a painful process! Particularly if your hair is course and you are removing hair from a sensitive area. Redness, swelling and skin irritations can develop afterwards. You might also have to do some tweezing, as the wax doesn’t always get every hair. In addition, hair has to be a certain length for the wax to grab it properly. So, you might have to walk around Scottsdale with hairy legs for a few weeks before you can wax.

Laser is Better

What’s not to like about laser hair removal? Instead of walking around Scottsdale in pants to cover your attempts at growing out your hair enough to wax, why not just laser it and be done? Laser hair removal is so easy. In fact, you don’t do anything; the laser does! These lasers are specifically calibrated to harmlessly pass through the skin and target the pigment in your hair. Once it reaches the hair shaft, the heat moves down into the follicle and destroys its ability to grow hair. After just a few sessions, your hair growth is permanently reduced.

The Pain Scale

The pain you experience waxing is sometimes enough to “knock” the wind out of you. You practically have to use Lamaze breathing methods to get through a Brazilian wax. Lasers, however, remove hair with a lot less pain. It feels like a rubber band being snapped against your skin. Not the way your older brother would do it! That type of sting doesn’t go away for hours. If you’ve ever accidentally snapped yourself while playing with a rubber band, but continued playing with it because it really didn’t hurt – that’s how laser hair removal feels.

Laser technology is the stuff of science fiction. Being able to focus a beam or wavelength of light on a target is nothing short of amazing. Since the advent of laser technology, science, technology and medicine have all developed uses for these important devices. In the cosmetic realm, lasers are used to treat acne, reduce scars and dark spots as well as remove hair.

Rocky Beginnings

The first lasers used for hair removal weren’t the safe, highly-tricked out versions you see at Medical Spas in Richmond, California. Laser hair removal was a risky procedure at first, with burns, scarring and pain likely side effects of the procedure. These harmful reactions were often the result of the intensity of the laser’s pulsing light, as well as its main function – to target melanin. Melanin is pigment color, and it exists in both your skin and hair. The earliest lasers didn’t have the capacity to move through tanned or darker skin tones without targeting their melanin. The result was that the laser would burn skin cells as well as hair follicles.

If at First You Don’t Succeed…

Fortunately, scientists love a challenge. When the first hair removal lasers weren’t cutting it, research was done to improve how lasers worked. Different types of lasers have since been invented, some with longer wavelengths that can be used on dark-skinned individuals with less risk of those damaging side effects mentioned earlier. We’ve also gotten smart about the heat lasers emit. Currently, lasers in Richmond are equipped with cooling mechanisms that blow cool air on the skin to limit the heat on the skin but not the hair follicle.

Current Types of Lasers

If you haven’t tried laser hair removal before, now is a great time! You’ve managed to avoid the messy, trial period of the process and get to reap the benefits of years of perfecting the technology and application. If you visit a reputable spa in Richmond, your doctor may use one or more of four lasers for hair removal:

• Ruby lasers are technically the oldest laser type, though the technology has been refined throughout the years. These lasers emit a short wavelength, and work best with light skin and dark hair.
• Alexandrite lasers also have short yet powerful wavelengths, making them ideal for use on lighter skin tones.
• Diode lasers have a longer wavelength than the previous two laser types, so are better suited for tanned or darker skin tones.
• Nd Yag lasers offer the longest wavelength. These are the best lasers to use on the darkest skin tones.

Hair Growth

For some reason, hair growth anywhere other than your head (for women) and a few select places (mostly for men) is considered taboo or at least unattractive. Without questioning the “why” too much (maybe because long ago, before there was indoor plumbing, more hair meant more lice…who knows!) most of us can safely say we’ve spent considerable time, money and physical effort removing or taming the hair on our bodies. In warm places like Playa Del Ray, California you want the freedom of being able to put on a bathing suit anytime without wondering if your stubble is showing. Laser hair removal takes away the anxiety, letting you live your lifestyle without fear of unseemly hair sticking out of your shirt.

Why Shaving, Waxing and Plucking are Old News

Honestly, who has the time anymore? Let’s say you suddenly meet Mr. or Mrs. Right in line at the local coffee shop in Playa Del Ray. He or she is just as in to you, and you agree to go out…in about two hours! You just can’t afford to lose any more time apart. So, you rush home and it takes way too long to pick out the right outfit. You’re just running out the door when you remember that you forgot to shave! It could be your face, your back, your legs or wherever, but forgetting to do that might make you feel self-conscious all night. If your date really is “right,” it shouldn’t matter, but first impressions are important. You should’ve had laser hair removal in Playa Del Ray.

It’s Easy and Effective

If you’ve ever fallen over in the shower trying to shave, had your eyes water while tweezing or gritted your teeth in agony while waxing, laser hair removal salons in Playa Del Rey will seem like a vacation. In the hands of an experienced specialist or physician, laser hair removal is safe and effective. Your doctor will specialize your treatment sessions to suit your hair and skin type as well as the area of the body you choose to remove hair. You simply lie there, wearing very cool shades, and let the laser target your hair follicles, disrupting their growth cycle. Lots of work is being done, just not by you.

You may need just a few treatments, or up to seven to achieve full results. Compared to shaving a few times a week, laser hair removal is a breeze.

The Hormone Shift

Both women and men have hormones moving throughout their bodies. Men typically have more testosterone, while women have more estrogen. However, men DO have a small amount of estrogen and women likewise have a small amount of testosterone. All hormones have very specific jobs to perform within the body. Testosterone can trigger hair growth of the face, chest, abdomen, back and pubic region. Certain conditions, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), can affect women, driving their testosterone levels up higher than normal. In these cases, dark hair can grow on the upper lip, chin, chest and back. Though women can shave or pluck these hairs, they always grow back. For women in Phoenix, laser hair removal at Laseraway is an excellent way to permanently reduce hair growth.

Emotional Baggage

As a woman in a society that generally wants you to remove body hair anyway, having dark hair grow in the “wrong” places can be stressful. You may end up with a bit of a beard or mustache that is difficult to keep hidden. As a result, many women with hirsutism exhibit more anxiety and higher social fears than those without the condition. You might avoid social gatherings, fear getting close to someone or become stressed out over your appearance. It’s important to seek medical help for conditions like PCOS. Once you have spoken doctor in Phoenix, he or she may recommend a more permanent hair removal procedure, like laser hair removal.

Freeing Your Mind

People with dark hair growth are excellent candidates for laser hair removal. Why? Because the lasers target melanin, or color pigment, in your hair. If you have dark hair growing on your chin, the lasers will pass through your skin and hit the hair shafts and follicles, heating them up enough to permanently change their hair growth capabilities. After a few sessions, your hair may never grow back in that area. Imagine waking up and not worrying about hair in the wrong places. Laser hair removal is simple, and incredibly effective. It can free your mind, remove your worry and let you live your life without the need to hide.

Different Hair Types

Technically speaking, each pore on your skin is a hair follicle. Sometimes these follicles produce light, fine, soft hairs that you can barely see or feel. Other hair follicles produce dark, coarse hair that’s not so supple. There are two varieties of hair that grow on your body – vellus and terminal. Vellus hair is the soft, fine variety found on women’s bodies while terminal hair is tougher. Terminal hair is found on your head as well as on the legs, chest and back of men after puberty. Hair itself is made of keratin, which is a hard protein also found in finger and toenails.

It’s a Tough Job

Wherever you remove hair, it’s a tough job. You have to be consistent to maintain smooth skin, meaning unless you actually stop hair growth, you’re going to have to continue to do what you’re doing for your whole life. Or until you don’t care anymore. With waxing, you have to wait for hair to reach a certain length, then undergo the painful procedure itself. Results last for weeks, but hair does grow back. Shaving only lasts a few days, and can result in plenty of ingrown hair and red bumps. Depilatory cream also last longer than shaving, but you are exposing your skin to harsh chemicals that can burn and cause redness or irritation. If you don’t want to be fuzzy, you’re always fighting a battle.

Laser Hair Removal to the Rescue!

If you live in Imperial Beach or another sunny area in California, you want to have smooth, hair-free skin all the time. If you’re tired of battling your hair, turn to laser hair removal. It’s a safe, effective process that targets the hair follicle itself. The laser’s light hits the color pigment in your hair and heats the hair. The heat moves down into the follicle and voila! The laser puts a stop to the follicle’s hair regeneration, giving you permanent hair growth reduction.

What Came First? The Laser or the Hair Removal?

Obviously, the answer to this question is the laser. The idea for laser technology, or the harnessing of light energy, isn’t new, but it wasn’t until 1960 that the first “working” laser was reported. Theodore Maiman operated the first laser on May 16, 1960 by shining a high-power flash lamp on a ruby rod coated with silver, and the “Ruby” laser was born. This laser used a pulsed light source that lasted just a few seconds, giving it a short wavelength, but it was extremely powerful. Once this technology was discovered, it didn’t take long for science to catch on, inventing new types of lasers and finding ways to use them.

Laser Hair Removal Beginnings

Laser hair removal was likely discovered as a byproduct of an experiment. Tracking the exact origins of laser hair removal is difficult, but in the 1980’s the medical world found success removing birthmarks with lasers. These pioneers also found that hair from the sites didn’t grow back. The first lasers used were dangerous, as they targeted melanin and were extremely strong. If you had tanned or darker skin, these lasers couldn’t tell the difference between your hair and your skin cells; burns and scarring would result.

Technology Today

Time has given researchers the opportunity to perfect upon the first laser hair removal models. If you live in Coronado, you may have seen Laseraway’s boutiques. In Medical Spas like Laseraway and at experienced doctor’s offices you will find a few types of lasers. Some of these lasers have longer wavelengths, allowing them to pass through pigmented skin to target hair, making them better to use on darker skin tones. A licensed practitioner in Coronado with experience will know how to adjust laser wavelengths and use a variety of lasers to achieve the best hair removal results. Be sure to research doctors and facilities before choosing your hair removal studio.

When you go to a laser hair removal clinic a technician or nurse will first evaluate your hair and skin type to determine the results you can realistically expect. Each clinic has unique machines and different machine have different types of lasers that can provide better results for different skin and hair types. It is important to know that not all lasers work equally well. Some machines that use pulsed light lasers can target multiple follicles and can treat larger areas of skin faster. If a clinic you visit says you are not a good candidate, you may want to visit another clinic that may have different lasers and be able to provide different results for your hair and skin type.

How Effective Is Laser Hair Removal?

Laser hair removal has about a 90% success rate. A full series of treatments will treat most hair and usually causes the remaining hair to become finer and sparser. The hair does not immediately fall out after treatments but will generally be gone in 1-2 weeks. In an average of 5-6 sessions spaced over the span of several months, patients can see more than a 75% reduction in hair growth. Specific results will depend on each person’s skin and hair type. Some patients achieve results that last for several months or years, while other patients never have to shave again.

Does It Hurt?

Patients time and again compare the sensation of the laser to the snap of a rubber band and different machines afford different levels of sensation. Treated areas may appear red or swollen after treatments but this usually subsides in the matter of a few hours to a few days.

Cost

A lot of people worry about the cost of laser hair removal treatments. The cost of laser treatments is proportional to the size of the area you wish to treat. Treating an area like the upper lip or the under arm will cost far less than the treatment of the back or legs. Laser hair removal treatments are not covered by any health insurance plans but many clinics offer attractive financing plans.

Patients interested in laser hair removal should contact a licensed laser hair removal center or clinic and schedule a consultation. The Internet is a good place to do research but an actual meeting with an expert will provide you with realistic expectations and a better understanding of what can be done for you.

One of the main factors in determining the price of laser hair removal services is the location of the clinic. Laser hair removal prices in Beverly Hills are obviously going to be higher than laser hair removal prices in Carlsbad. The price at any given location is determined in part by the average rates across the country but can be more influenced by the relative prices in the area. If a provider offers the same services for to low of a price, people will worry that the services are less effective and may not go, however if the costs are too high, people will definitely not go. So it is in providers’ best interest to match the prices of competitions in their area.

Another factor is the type of facility offering the treatments. Prices will be different when services are offered at clinics, medspas, dermatologist’s offices and cosmetic surgical providers. Cosmetic surgeons generally charge the highest rates, along with dermatologists, but the treatments will not necessarily be any better and these providers often use the same equipment as is used at clinics and medspas.

Another major factor in cost is the patient’s own physiology. The area the patient wants treated will play a significant role in determining the price. The larger the area, the more the laser will be fired and the more the cost will increase. Small areas like the upper lip will cost much less than the bikini line or the legs. The patient’s hair and skin type will also affect the efficacy of treatments. Darker hair and lighter skin respond better to the wavelengths of hair removal lasers and those with dark hair and light skin often show the best and longest lasting results. Patients with darker hair and light skin will require fewer treatments because each treatment will accomplish better results.

A final factor that may play a role in determining the final cost is the time each session takes. Just as with surface area, the time each treatment takes is directly proportional to the number of times the laser fires and can be a good indicator of how much the treatment will cost. Some providers charge by the time it takes to perform the procedure while others may charge based on the area, based on the density of the hair or based on the number of times the laser is fired.

Regardless of how the provider charges, it is a good idea to know ahead of time what to expect in case you feel you can get a better deal if you are charged in another way. Some providers will give the patients the option while others simply offer package deals based on one of these options. A personal consultation is the best way to determine how much treatments will cost for your skin and hair type and to get an estimate that is as specific as possible based on the doctor’s review of your body and the area you are concerned with.