When is Laser Hair Removal not effective?
When does laser hair removal fail?
Laser hair removal is one of the most successful therapeutic measures, and wide-spread led to lowering its prices to a degree that made it accessible to many ladies, but in rare cases patients do not respond well to the laser treatment and therefore we need to understand these reasons to minimize the occurrence of failure
First, Is Laser Hair Removal permanent & complete?
No one can claim that we can eliminate hair permanently & completely. The reasonable expectation is the long-term elimination of most hair by 80% to 90% after 6 to 8 sessions. Hair growth is usually milder and less noticeable. Some patients may need maintenance sessions at intervals of 6 to 12 months.
When does the hair fall after the laser?
Devices with shorter wavelengths burn the visible part of the hair during the session, but modern laser hair removal machines, with longer wave-lenghts, directed to the root of hair follicle and its hairs feeding vessels, hair fall usually occur within 2 to 3 weeks because of the damage to their roots.
What might cause laser hair removal failure?
Reasons related to the patient
Higher than normal capacity for hair follicles to recover or resist laser
Hormonal imbalance – expect with dysfunction of the cycle
Reasons related to the laser machine
Patients differ in their response to a particular machine, if you do not respond satisfactorily (about 20%) for most sessions, you might need to change the device
Patients with darker skin tones need a laser with a longer wave-lenght (800) at least to avoid absorption of the laser beams by the pigment in the skin which could cause burns.
Reasons related to the doctor
The doctor might decide to use lower laser powers, for various technical or medical reasons, such as fear of burns with certain types of skin or laser machines.
