LASER HAIR REMOVAL PASSION
    FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO SAN MATEO

How Laser Hair Removal stacks up against Electrolysis, Waxing and Shaving.

Tatiana Zhornist, R.N., Aesthetic Director

I have to confess that I’m a little nutty about laser hair removal (LHR). It’s an unbelievable process that has steadily improved in effectiveness over the years.

I was born a hairy monkey. But, having done my whole body years ago with LHR, I’m still loving the effects of it every day; smooth, clean, soft and no hassle of maintenance.

When new clients come in for a consultation they are full of questions. In this newsletter I want to explain a bit about why I find LHR so effective and why I’m so passionate about it.

Electrolysis vs. Laser Hair Removal

Electrolysis has been around for over 125 years, believed to have come from experiments with electricity in the Civil War. In this method, a small electrode (miniscule) is inserted into the hair follicle and zaps the hair. The process is repeated over and over again as each hair is zapped individually. On the other hand, LHR uses a cool-tip laser that only emits heat to eliminate the hair follicle en masse, making the treatment far less time-consuming and, therefore, less painful.

Consider that all body hair is on a growing cycle and not all follicles grow at the same time. Three follicles right next to each other can each have a different cycle. If they didn’t you’d be really hairy on some days and bare skinned on others. Great when you don’t want it but not so hot for your head. As a result, you’ll require additional treatments to reach dormant follicles and some treated follicles may grow back. But, re-grown hair will often be thinner and lighter.

Earlier versions of LHR favored dark hair on pale skin. At LuminaSkin, the machine we currently use is the “Ferrari” of LHR machines. FDA-approved, Lumenis’ LightSheer Diode Laser System offers safe and effective treatments on all skin types including tanned skin and the broadest range of hair colors, diameters and depths, and able to take on less high contrast skin and hair colors. As a result, it’s broadened the ethnicities that can take advantage of this treatment.

Certainly electrolysis has been popular and effective for long-term hair removal. Patients experience as much as a 90% satisfaction rate. But, I know that electrolysis is a protracted process better suited to removing small areas of hair because of the prolonged pain.

While LHR procedures are on par with electrolysis in satisfaction and the sheer number of visits, the total time elapsed for LHR is significantly less. For example, upper lip electrolysis requires 5 to 7 treatments at 45 minutes each. LHR takes 3 to 5 minutes per treatment.

Perhaps you’d like to work on your legs? Think about how many follicles are on your legs. With LHR, it’s 1.0 - 1.5 hours for one full treatment. In 3 to 5 months (4 to 7 treatments) and just in time for summer, you’ll be switching to maintenance. Electrolysis? Forget about it! One treatment, all those follicles? Months. Four to seven treatments would effectively take years just to complete your legs.

What about the pain? Let’s be honest. In both procedures, the sensation of pain depends on each person’s threshold. It’s similar in feeling to a pinprick and, of course, some areas of the body are more sensitive than others. Current LHR treatments can be practically be pain-free by applying ice and/or numbing cream. Because it’s so rapid, your comfort level is far greater. And, with the each evolution of LHR treatments, manufacturers constantly seek significant reductions in pain.

Contrasted to LHR, electrolysis technology has barely evolved in the last 40 years and numbing treatments are ineffective.

When, you were a kid, did your mother rip the bandage off slow or fast? That’s what LHR versus electrolysis is about. It’s a little uncomfortable but if it goes fast, you hardly remember, it’s over quickly and you’re glad you did it.

Laser Hair Removal vs. Shaving and Waxing

We all know what shaving and waxing does. Many of us have experienced the charm of both. Shaving is a practically daily event. ‘Nuff said about that commitment.

Of course, waxing offers a longer-term solution than shaving albeit it has to be lifelong practice because there’s no numbing cream and you’re pulling your skin, waxing induces pain, sensitive skin or not. In between waxings, you cannot shave and have to walk like a hairy monkey for half the time.

While, you’re ripping the hair from the follicle, you’re merely slowing it down but not killing it. And, that’s a lifelong commitment, too.

A Last Note

One of the most significant differences between LHR and the other methods is who is performing the treatments. In the state of California, LHR is only allowed to be practiced by licensed medical professionals who have college educations complete with anatomy, chemistry and biology. Their education and extensive medical training make them uniquely qualified to safely administer these procedures. They also have exclusive access to extremely effective topical anesthetics. Electrolysis and waxing are also practiced by licensed professionals but with far less training and education and lacking access to medical-grade topical anesthesia.

I hope you understand why I believe that LHR is such a fantastic treatment, how it can be cost-effective and how the latest in technology can produce amazing and long-lasting results for you.

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