Laser hair removal permanently gets rid of unwanted hair from any area of the body and works ideally on dark, coarse hair. Excessive hair growth affects healthy women, as well as those with hormonal disturbances, such as polycystic ovarian disease, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, hirsutism, and hypertrichosis.

Many people have either excessive hair growth or hair growth in undesired locations. For men, often it’s the back. For women they are the face, breasts, legs, and lower abdomen. In our society women and men are compelled to rid themselves of unwanted hair, as dictated by popular culture and appearance anxieties. Unwanted hair can result in feeling embarrassed or emotionally burdened, which may impede relationships or daily activities.

Some women even feel disfigured by facial hair. Laser hair removal works by hair follicles absorbing the light of the laser, which burns the hair in the follicle from which it grows. Only the hair that is it the growing phase will be permanently removed, while the others will grow back thinner each time.For this reason, 5-7 treatments, about 4-8 weeks apart are necessary, targeting the hair that is in its anagen growth phase each time.

There is a bit of discomfort during the treatment, as the heat in the hair can be felt. 

A numbing cream may to be applied prior to the treatment and takes away almost all of this discomfort. As treatments progress, there will be less need for this precaution, as there are fewer hairs growing each time. Results after the second treatment include thinner hair growth and patchiness.

A free consultation and skin patch-testing are always performed prior to the treatments, to see if this treatment is right for you.

Please check all your medications for this consultation, as many do not accommodate laser procedures.

What is Laser Hair Removal? The laser works by disabling hairs that are in their active growth cycle at the time of treatment. Since other hairs will enter their growth cycle at different times, several treatments are necessary to disable all of the follicles in a given area.

Am I a Candidate for Laser Hair Removal? Both men and women seek laser hair removal services to have unwanted hair removed. Hair removal is commonly done on the upper lip, chin, ear lobe, shoulders, back, underarm, abdomen, buttocks, pubic area, bikini lines, thighs, face, neck, breast, arms, legs, hands, and toes. Laser treatments work the best on pale skin and dark coarse hair. The closer you are to this combination (i.e. the lighter the skin and the more coarse and dark the hair), the better the results will generally be.

Is Laser Hair Removal Permanent? A set of at least 5-7 treatments at approximately 4-8 week intervals are generally necessary to achieve substantial hair removal with a laser.

Is Laser Hair Removal Painful? Everyone’s pain threshold is different, but generally laser hair removal is not much more painful than waxing, but the sensation is different. It resembles a rubber band snapping against the skin for a quick second with each pulse. Most people use an anesthetic cream like EMLA on areas such as the underarms, bikini and legs, and MAXILENE on the face. Ancaster Laser Medispa also offers hair removal treatments with the Fotona Dynamis Laser, which utilizes IN-Motion technology to provide a “virtually painless hair removal system”. This is a YAG laser that is safe on all skin types, including dark skin. Ancaster Laser Medispa offers laser hair removal treatments with three different lasers, in order to suite your individual needs.

Can I just reduce the density of hair on an area instead of removing it completely? Yes, this can be achieved with having only a few treatments instead of the complete set of 6-8 treatments.