Removing your body hair with laser treatment is becoming quite popular these days. This method gives you a fine skin without any hint of hair and spares you the regular struggle of shaving or waxing before every occasion. Although it may sound like a straightforward treatment, we don’t always know every single detail of this procedure until we get it.
Among such details, there is one question that enthusiasts have been asking around very recently: do you shave before laser hair removal? The short answer to this question is, YES! But there are a few more factors you should consider before getting deceived by this simple answer.
To offer you sufficient knowledge on the matter, we’ve explored the way laser hair removal works and why it is necessary for you to shave beforehand. We are also going to tell you how early you need to shave the hair for best results and which methods you should avoid, adding some care guides into the mix.
So keep scrolling till the end to equip yourself in the best possible way for your laser treatment!
Contents
How Does Laser Hair Removal Work?
Knowing the scientific method of laser hair removal should help you understand particularly how to trim down your hair before the treatment. Basically, laser treatment takes around 3-5 sessions depending on the area you are covering and the amount of hair follicles you have in that particular area. It takes around a month to get to the roots of all the hair strands efficiently.
What the laser ray does is, it diminishes the ability of hair growth at the root level so that no more hair can grow out of there anymore. Even though hair removal is claimed as a permanent solution, you still need to shave or wax every once in a while for a seamlessly hair-free skin because some of the follicles aren’t affected by the laser.
Should I Shave Before Laser Hair Removal?
Now we come to the question in hand, to which we already know the short answer. Laser is a highly powerful element that actually burns your hair follicles from the roots. That’s why starting the treatment with long hair leaves you vulnerable to burning your residue hair as well as your skin to some extent.
Also, not shaving means some amount of laser ray is being wasted burning through your excess hair rather than reaching the necessary area. This leads to uneven hair removal and a larger amount of hair growth in the following days that demands manual treatments like shaving or waxing to be completely removed.
So, to prepare yourself better for the laser hair removal treatment, you definitely should shave off the excess hair. It’s ideal to remove the hair the night before your treatment’s appointment date. This time is the most optimum because shaving right before might not lead to desired removal result.
Also, it is to be noted that you MUST NOT wax or apply depilatory cream instead of shaving before the laser removal process. You see, laser works at the hair root so you have to prepare yourself in such a way that the machine can detect your hair follicles. It means, there needs to be some degree of hair growing out of the follicles to be identified effortlessly.
What waxing or hair removal creams do is that they give you a really fine skin but the laser treatment might miss out a portion of the strands due to that factor. It’ll result in uneven hair removal and in due time you’ll find a lot of hair growing on your body that was ignored by the treatment.
So you can even opt for trimmers to remove your body hair for the laser treatment if you feel shaving is generating the same result as waxing. That’s the reason it’s suggested that you shave a day before so that the slightest level of hair follicles unearth themselves to be picked up by the laser treatment machine!
Laser Hair Removal: Pre & Post Care
Well, to guarantee that your laser hair removal goes smoothly, the first thing you need to do is pick out a doctor or a clinic who are professional, have a great reputation and hold certificates necessary for this procedure. Only other major preparation you need for this is to shave your hair in that particular area like we’ve mentioned in our previous section.
For post care however, there are a few things that you should consider. First and foremost, you might feel some degree of discomfort because, come on, the laser treatment does burn through your hair follicles and it needs time to completely heal those. You can apply ice patches or hold your area under running water to give you relief from such soreness.
Secondly, you can apply some creams or ointments that are made for this specific purpose. It’ll help you heal up faster and equip you for the following removal session. Make sure not to use chemical products for this duration of time as it’s wise to opt for creams made out of natural ingredients.
Before the next session, you have to shave off your excess hair again. Don’t shave right after the previous laser procedure, rather wait till you feel your pores have healed back. During the healing phase, avoid direct exposure to sunlight, swimming or any other activity that requires involvement of your skin, especially the area that has undergone the treatment.
Also, ones who work out frequently should avoid exercise for a couple of days. This is because all your sweats come out through your glands that can moisten up the healing follicles which isn’t ideal. Same goes for ones who are prone to sweating at different locations under heat – the goal is to not sweat at any cost for a couple of days!
FAQ
In this section, we’ve answered some frequently asked questions regarding our focal question of the article to offer you further insight into the matter.
Q: Can I shave right before laser hair removal?
A: No, you can’t shave right before laser hair removal as it beats the purpose and will result in uneven hair removal.
Q: Is stubble OK for laser hair removal?
A: Stubble isn’t okay as it’ll only cause the laser rays to burn them and cause you some unnecessary pain in the process.
Q: Is laser hair removal cancerous?
A: No, laser hair removal is definitely not cancerous and it’s only a myth proven by professionals
Q: Does laser hair removal last forever?
A: If the laser succeeds in destroying your hair follicles, then yes, it’ll last forever. Only damaging them though will heal over time and your hair will grow back.
Verdict
So the verdict on the question ‘do you shave before laser hair removal?’ is – yes, you do! You should do it 24 hours before your treatment procedure with the specialist to receive the best outcome and prevent any sort of burning induced pain.
Added to that, it’s better to shave rather than waxing or using hair removal cream as the latter two won’t serve the purpose. However, if you choose wax or cream to use as your hair removal method before laser treatment, you must plan ahead considering how many days you have before the procedure and how fast your body hair grows.
Overall, we recommend you do have to shave before laser hair removal and the ideal duration is 24 hours before the procedure!