Preparing for Your First Laser Hair Removal Appointment
- By Ingrid Preube
- Published 10/22/2008
- Beauty
- Unrated
In the run up to your laser hair removal appointment, especially your first one, the stress and excitement can cause you to forget something. Here is a checklist:
Four weeks or more before
Lose the tan! The whiter your skin is when you have your hair laser removal treatment, the more impactful and long lasting the results from hair laser removal are likely to be.
It's important to stop epilating, waxing, tweezing, sugaring and using depilation creams at the very latest 2 weeks prior to treatment, and if possible a month or more before. These removal techniques interfere with the root that the hair laser removal treatment aims to blast.
Consider if you wish to take a photographic journal of the areas of the body you are having treated to document how impactful the treatment is. The clinic might do this but even so you might want to take some also.
Broach the subject of pain management with your laser hair removal clinic and choose whether to use topical or oral pain relief, or both.
There are topical anesthetics such as EMLA, which you apply to the skin. These products are very good if you are worried about pain during the treatment, however do be cautious if you are putting it on large areas of skin as the chemicals are absorbed into the bloodstream. Follow the instructions carefully.
The week of your appointment
For
the vast majority of hair laser removal appointments, you will be able to go immediately back to your job or whatever your usual activities are, immediately after the appointment. However, if you are getting laser hair removal on the face, then you might feel the need for some privacy after the appointment to wait for the red skin to fade. So - if you need to organize a day off your job, now is the time to organize that.
During the last 24 hours prior to your appointment
This is a ideal time to shave the areas of the body you are going to have laser hair removal performed on. If you shave within 24 hours of the procedure you will experience less pain and it can also be more impactful because less of the laser energy is used ineffectively on torching the hair above the skin, meaning more of it is directed where it is most useful, at the root, to kill it off.
Just a few hours to go
If you are having the hairs under your arms treated, don't apply any deodorant. Just wash the underarms with soap and rinse well. If it's a hot day and there's a danger you might get too sweaty prior to the appointment, you could use unperfumed baby wipes to ward off any smells.
For any areas of the body, don't put lotions or creams on before hair laser removal.
The last 20 minutes
Now is the time to take two pain killers - there's no need to feel more pain than you have to when experiencing laser hair removal.
Good luck with your hair laser removal treatment!
Four weeks or more before
Lose the tan! The whiter your skin is when you have your hair laser removal treatment, the more impactful and long lasting the results from hair laser removal are likely to be.
It's important to stop epilating, waxing, tweezing, sugaring and using depilation creams at the very latest 2 weeks prior to treatment, and if possible a month or more before. These removal techniques interfere with the root that the hair laser removal treatment aims to blast.
Consider if you wish to take a photographic journal of the areas of the body you are having treated to document how impactful the treatment is. The clinic might do this but even so you might want to take some also.
Broach the subject of pain management with your laser hair removal clinic and choose whether to use topical or oral pain relief, or both.
There are topical anesthetics such as EMLA, which you apply to the skin. These products are very good if you are worried about pain during the treatment, however do be cautious if you are putting it on large areas of skin as the chemicals are absorbed into the bloodstream. Follow the instructions carefully.
The week of your appointment
For
During the last 24 hours prior to your appointment
This is a ideal time to shave the areas of the body you are going to have laser hair removal performed on. If you shave within 24 hours of the procedure you will experience less pain and it can also be more impactful because less of the laser energy is used ineffectively on torching the hair above the skin, meaning more of it is directed where it is most useful, at the root, to kill it off.
Just a few hours to go
If you are having the hairs under your arms treated, don't apply any deodorant. Just wash the underarms with soap and rinse well. If it's a hot day and there's a danger you might get too sweaty prior to the appointment, you could use unperfumed baby wipes to ward off any smells.
For any areas of the body, don't put lotions or creams on before hair laser removal.
The last 20 minutes
Now is the time to take two pain killers - there's no need to feel more pain than you have to when experiencing laser hair removal.
Good luck with your hair laser removal treatment!
Ingrid Preube
Ingrid Preube
laser hair removal
facial hair removal
