There are many ways to remove unwanted hairs from the face and body. Among these are shaving, using depilatory creams, waxing, threading, tweezing, plucking and electrolysis. All these methods of hair removal are painful, temporary and time consuming. Some, like shaving and waxing may cause red bumps or ingrown hairs and open wounds resulting in infections.
Laser hair removal provides long term results, which offer periods of up to 6 weeks between visible hair growth and a permanent reduction in the amount of hair re-growth. Eventually with enough treatments, more than 80-90% of hairs will be permanently removed. The remaining hairs are finer and shorter, lighter in colour and almost not visible.
Types of laser used for hair removal
- The long pulse 695nm Ruby laser
- The long pulse Alexandrite 755nm laser
- The 800nm diode laser
- The long pulse 1064nm Nd-YAG laser
- The combined Alexandrite and Nd-YAG laser (Lumenis Splendour X Laser)
The combined Alexandrite and Nd-YAG laser (Lumenis Splendour X Laser)
The 1064nm Nd-YAG laser is the safest laser to remove hairs on dark skin like the Asian skin. It is less likely to cause skin burns and post laser skin pigmentation. The 755nm Alexandrite laser is more efficient and requires less session compared to the Nd-YAG laser. In our clinic we use the Lumenis Splendour X laser which has two lasers (the 755nm Alexandrite laser and the 1064nm Nd-YAG laser) within the laser system for hair removal. It has a proprietary BLEND X technology which provides synchronised delivery of both laser wavelengths for efficacy and at the same time reduces the side-effects of each laser, making it safe and effective for all skin types and hair types.
Advantage of the Lumenis Splendor X Laser over other hair removal laser
- Blend of 2 laser wavelength to increase efficacy, safety and depth
- No pain and does not require topical anaesthesia
- Comfortable as there is Zimmer cooling during treatment
- Fast treatment: It takes less than 5 minutes to treat both underarms, 15 minutes to treat a man’s back and 20 minutes to treat 2 full legs of an adult man
- It can remove hairs from all parts of the body
- It can remove both fine and coarse hairs
- It is safe to treat sensitive areas like the nipples and bikini line.
- It is safe and effective to remove hairs from light skin of Caucasian and the dark skin of Asians.
The Lumenis Splendor X hair removal laser procedure
- The area to be treated is cleaned and shaved. Shaving can be done the day before
- The area to be treated is marked with squares with invisible ink that shows up under special lighting
- The laser handpiece is glided over the area to be treated
- There is no pain. At most the patient may experience a mild warmness
- After the procedure patient can resume normal activities
Number of sessions for the Lumenis Splendor X hair removal laser depend on
- Hair growth cycle. The hairs go through three distinct growth phases – the growing phase (anagen), the regression phase (catagen) and the resting phase (telogen) – which comprise the hair growth cycle. Therefore the hairs are not in the same phase at the same time. The hair removal laser works best when hairs are in the active growth phase (anagen). The other hairs (the catagen and telogen hairs) are not affected by the laser light and they will enter the active growth phase at different times (the hair growth cycle). Therefore multiple treatments are required in a given area to treat all the hairs in their various phases of growth
- Hair thickness and colour
- The areas treated
- Most areas will require 6-8 treatment sessions
Treatment interval for the Lumenis Splendour X Laser hair removal
Depends on the hair growth cycle – which differs in different areas of the face and body
- Generally, it is 4-6 weeks on the face and 8 -16 weeks elsewhere
- Hence the time interval between laser treatments are on average 4-8 weeks.
Areas commonly treated using the Lumenis Splendor X Laser hair removal
- Face and beard area
- Underarm
- Bikini areas (Brazilian hair removal)
- Back
- Limbs
What to expect after the Lumenis Splendor X Laser hair removal treatments
- Immediately after treatments, minimal redness at the hair follicles or skin may be seen. These may last a few hours or less.
- Most of the time there is no redness or downtime and normal activities can be resumed immediately after.
- A few days later, usually 3-7 days, hairs may be seen on the skin. These are hairs being shed as a result of the treatment and are not hair regrowth.
Side-effects of laser hair removal treatments
- Side-effects are uncommon
- The most common side-effects are redness and local swelling of the skin, similar to a sun burn
- In very rare instances, blisters may occur.
In between the Lumenis Splendor X Laser hair removal treatments
- It is permissible to shave the hairs or use depilatory creams.
- Other methods of epilation like waxing or plucking or electrolysis are not allowed 4-6 weeks before the next laser treatment.
