Blog | Ditch the Razor & Get Laser!

So, we all know it’s the best thing since sliced bread, but what is laser? And does it really work?

A laser light is fired at the skin, which travels down the melanin (pigment in the hair) to the blood supply of the hair follicle, heating it up and destroying the blood supply. Thus, without a blood supply, it can’t feed the hair and that hair doesn’t grow back, woohoo!

8 sessions are usually reccomended, but you'll see a difference even after just one.

Does it work?

Yes! It works best on thicker and darker hairs, which are the ones we don’t want to keep anyway.

The only reason that it may not be as effective is if a patient was to ignore all our aftercare advice, and protocols and if their hairs aren’t dark enough for the laser to find.

It’s great for removing unwanted hair on your body, helping to prevent ingrown hairs and shaving rashes too!

You've probably heard of IPL too, so what's the difference between laser and IPL?

The main difference is the type of light that is being applied to the skin.

A lot of patients ask us what the difference is and what’s most effective at removing unwanted hair.

IPL stands for ‘intense pulse light’, and usually works by applying lots of different spectrums of light into the area, (known as scattered light) and different wavelengths, which kills off the blood supply in the hair follicle. Thicker and darker hairs will always respond best to both IPL and laser, however IPL can leave you with a lot of fine hairs still left!

Laser is more pinpoint, and is much safer for darker skin types, which contain more melanin (and also more effective for darker skin types than IPL would be!).

Having worked with lasers and IPL, I would get the quickest, safest and best results with lasers. Although not all bad, IPL is great for skin rejuvenation, anti ageing, pigmentation and to help minimise redness such as veins and rosacea.

But for hair removal? Sorry IPL, you lost the battle!

If you’re struggling with ingrown hairs, shaving rashes, irritation or you have any questions you’d like to ask, please let us know. 

| Allure Aesthetics