Laser and Intense-pulsed-light are the gold standard for hair removal

(10/12/2009)

Unwanted hair’s a problem for thousands of men and women in the UK. It can undermine confidence, affects relationships and impacts on just about every other area of life. It could be hair on a woman’s face or a man’s back, it could be something genetic, or be down to hormonal changes. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have a permanent solution to these problems and say goodbye to shaving, creams and waxing?

Sandy Hamber owner of The Beauty Studio Medi Spa in Shenfield clears up some of the myths surrounding laser hair removal.

“Is it permanent”?
True and False: I’ve clients who were treated 10 years ago and still haven’t had any re growth. Whereas others may need to come back once a year for a one off treatment. We aim to achieve about 80% reduction with the CUTERA system but often achieve better results. We also have 2 types of technology Laser Hair Removal (LHR) and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). This enables us to really tailor treatments to your individual needs.

“Laser is more effective than Intense Pulsed Light”
True and False: You need to look for a clinic that offers both types of technology. LHR works better on deeper follicles so we often start off with LHR to treat the thicker and deeper hairs swapping over to IPL as the hairs become finer and shallower over a course of treatments.

“You can treat any colour hair”
False! Neither LHR nor IPL can work on hair that doesn’t contain any pigment so white, blonde and some grey hair will not respond to treatment.

“It can Burn your skin”
False: LHR and IPL should heat the hair follicle not the skin. Problems occur when inexperienced operators use the wrong Lasers or IPL on the wrong type of skin. Generally IPL is not safe on darker skin types and could cause damage to the surrounding skin. Therefore laser should be the preferred method.
The Medi Spa assesses people’s skin types according to the level of pigment in the skin. One to four is light skin and five to six ethnic skins. Accurately assessing the skin type enables us to choose the most effective and safest technology.

Any clinic offering laser hair removal must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

“Winter is the best time to have a course of laser treatments”
True: You can’t treat suntanned skin with IPL. If the client has an ‘active’ tan (achieved in last 4 weeks) then the IPL can pick up pigment in the tan rather than the hair risking burning the skin. So winter is an ideal time to complete a course of 5 sessions at 6 weekly intervals.

“It’s too expensive”
True and false: As technology becomes quicker treatment is becoming less expensive. Although it is initially expensive once you’ve had a course the price is reduced so you never have to spend a lot on hair removal again!

Treatment procedure:

Step 1: Consultation - free-of-charge
Step 2: Patch test £25.00 (usually carried out during the consultation)
Step 3: The treatment is booked from 3 days onwards after the consultation.
Price: From £60.00 per session
Frequency: Interval between treatments 4-6 weeks
Dec: Special Offer: Receive 50% off your first session
And if you need more than 5 treatments the price is permanently reduced to 1/2 price.

Related categories:  Hair removal   Men grooming