Hair Reduction

How comes we have hair where we don't want it, and it's thin where we want more???

For body hair, if you want to wear whatever you want without thinking about "have I shaved?", laser hair reduction is a Godsend. Not to mention less date-night stress. It can cut down shaving time, as well as visits to the barber to clean up the back of your neck. It can help avoid skin irritation from ingrown hairs or long runs outdoors (please wear your sunblock!). It just makes life easier.... We answer your questions - what areas and types of hair you can treat with laser hair reduction, what to do before and after, how many treatments it will take and why the price varies so much. We even start with hair reduction that doesn't involve a laser... 

Free yourself from unwanted hair in a safe, effective, and value-priced way by calling Pulsar Health in West Palm Beach, FL, to book an appointment.

We explore laser (and other!) hair reduction through a series of questions and answers for you:

What hair reduction can you do besides laser hair reduction?

On the face and neck, we can do dermaplaning of any hair type and color. Dermaplaning not only "shaves" the hair, but removes the top layer of dead skin cells to give you a smooth clean look, and allows other skin care products to penetrate better. 

We also shape brows (wax / tweezer) and color (tint) brows and lashes to help bring out those areas. Please see the section on Expressive Brows for more details.

Does the type of laser used make a difference?

The type of laser used does make a difference to how effective the results are. Many clinics use a pulsed dye laser which can work but is the least effective way to do laser hair reduction. We use IPL for its other benefits of treating brown spots and redness, but not for hair reduction. 

Those who have light skin and dark hair are the very best candidates for laser hair reduction. We can use the Alexandrite (755nm wavelength) laser for them, which is many times more powerful at hair reduction than the Nd-Yag laser that we have to use for darker skin tones. The Nd-Yag is effective, but it will take more treatments to get the final result. Darker skin tones, though, cannot tolerate the Alexandrite, and can be damaged by using it. We will guide you as to which laser we think will be the most helpful for you.

How comes laser hair reduction doesn't get rid of all the hair in one go?

Laser hair reduction only "hits" the hairs that are actively growing at that time. Hair growth has four phases:

1. Anagen - actively growing hair
2. Catagen - regression or slowing of growth
3. Telogen - resting hair, usually lasts about 3 months
4. Exogen - shedding

Most hair follicles have 10 to 30 cycles in their "lifetime". A hit during anagen can significantly reduce the growth of that hair follicle if not "kill" it completely. The hair will come back thinner / finer, if it returns. 

What type of hair is the target of laser hair reduction?

The thick "terminal" hairs are our main target, not the fine peach fuzz vellus hair (that can be addressed with dermaplaning if you want to be totally smooth). We can adjust the laser settings to keep going after the hair as it gets finer, but there comes a point where the hair will either not come back, or be too fine to treat effective with laser hair reduction. Terminal hair includes eyelashes and eyebrows. After puberty, terminal hair is seen in the armpits, pubic area, chest, belly and face. It can include hair on the back, legs and arms. It covers 30% of the body surface on average in females.

Laser hair reduction is not effective at targeting gray or lighter colored hairs. For these, manual methods of hair reduction and electrolysis, where one hair / time is treated, are the best options. We currently do not offer body waxing or electrolysis at Pulsar Health.

What areas can be treated with laser hair reduction?

Areas that we can treat with laser hair reduction include:

• Face (chin / sideburns / upper lip individually or the whole face)
• Neck (back of neck or front chin / neck area)
• Armpits
• Chest
• Abdomen (including "happy trail")
• Back
• Buttocks 
• Bikini area (about 2 cms breadth in from front groin creases)
• Brazilian pubic area (whole pubic area including around anus)
• Legs (whole leg, thighs only or knees down only)
• Arms
• Fingers / toes
• Around the nipple or other spot treatments

What should you do before and after laser hair reduction?

Also prior to coming in, it is best to shave the area that you are getting laser hair reduction on if possible. This will make the treatment a lot more comfortable as there will be less "heating up" of the hair follicle. We do use cold air but don't numb for laser hair reduction. Laser hair reduction is in general a LOT more comfortable than waxing. After the treatment, you can use a light gel to calm the follicles, and avoid any harsh products for a couple of days. You must also avoid active tanning whilst having hair reduction. Use sunblock and protect the area that you are getting laser hair reduction on from the sun as much as possible with physical means such as a hat or bandana.

How many treatments will it take to get rid of the hair?

How many treatments you will need depends a lot on your hair and your hormones. You should notice an improvement even after just one treatment. In general, we recommend a package of six treatments, with each treatment spread out about six to seven weeks apart, to allow time for new hair to enter the growth phase. However, you can see if you get an adequate improvement from just two sessions. More hormonally-sensitive areas (those that responded with hair growth at puberty) are more likely to get recurrent hair growth requiring more treatment sessions or "top-up" treatments later. For example, the pubic area is more likely to need a greater number of treatments than the legs.

Why does the price of laser hair reduction vary so much?

When shopping around for pricing, there is a lot of misinformation. We found that the "60% off pricing" came to the same amount of money or more as Pulsar Health's regular pricing when we were looking at the market. Nor do we offer the deep discount pricing of some places where we don't know what the laser is, or if they know how to accurately adjust the settings to give you the best value for your time invested. As in all laser treatments, there are risks of burning, scarring, and darkening of the skin. Just be careful as "it's a jungle out there".... I wonder how hairy Tarzan was lol?