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- Hi, welcome to the Victorian
Cosmetic Institute, I'm Doctor Terri Labberton
and I'd like to talk to you, today,
about laser hair removal.
It's one of our most popular laser treatments
and it's a great way of achieving
longer-term hair reduction.
The basis of laser hair removal is
that we're firing laser energy,
which is attracted to pigment.
Now, hairs contain pigment.
That pigment is, also, particularly,
concentrated in the root of the hair
or the follicle of the hair.
So, when we use the laser, it is attracted
to that root and it will, actually,
create heat energy and kill that root
of the hair, or that follicle, so that
no hair will grow from that root, again.
The skin has less pigment, so the laser will
be attracted to the hair over the skin.
Now, this is an important point,
because we need to use particular lasers
and particular wavelengths of lasers
based on a person's skin type and hair type.
Some centers use different types of laser
machines or they don't use laser machines.
They might use IPL machines.
These are different kinds of machines
that are not so specific, in terms of their
wavelength and how much pigment
they are attracted to.
That can be fine, using machines that are
less specific, if you have very fair skin
and dark hair.
But, obviously, not everybody has
that situation, and if there's any degree
of pigmentation in the skin, it can be harder
for the laser to differentiate between
the hair and the skin, and we, potentially,
have the problem of burning the skin.
So, it's very important that laser hair removal
is tailored to the specific person,
to their skin type, and their hair type.
One of the questions that people always have is,
how many treatments will I need?
Now, that will vary from person to person.
But,
it really is also, very much, dependent
on hair cycles.
Now, every single hair on our body
goes through different phases at any
one point in time.
It can be in a growth phase or a rest phase
or it can, actually, be dying and falling out.
Or, in fact, the follicle may be
sitting there not doing anything for a while.
When it's in the growth phase, that's when
all the pigment, that is going to be used
to grow that hair, is all collected
in the base of the hair.
In the root or the follicle of the hair.
Now, this is the best time to, actually,
treat that particular hair with
laser hair removal.
Because we've got all the pigment concentrated
there and that's what the laser
is just gonna go for, and that's where it's
gonna cause damage to that follicle.
If you've got a hair that is at the end
of its growth phase, there's not much pigment
in that follicle, so really, the laser treatment
that you have at that time is not going
to do much for that hair follicle.
Now, at any one point in time, all of these
hairs will be in different phases,
so there may only be, perhaps, 10 percent
of the hairs, in that area that you're treating,
that are, actually, in that growth phase
where they are at their most vulnerable
to laser hair removal.
So, because of that, you, actually,
need to do several treatments,
several weeks apart, depending on the
area of the body, where we're trying to
catch each different follicle as it's
going through that growth phase where
it's at the vulnerable point and we can,
actually, kill that follicle then.
So, it does take several treatments.
We, usually, use approximately six or so.
But it, really, does vary on the part
of the body that we're treating,
what your genetics is depending
on your skin type, your hair type,
how rapidly your hair grows, your general
nutrition, all of those sorts of things.
So, there really are variable situations
for everybody.
So, when you come to The Victorian
Cosmetic Institute for your laser hair removal,
we recommend that you have an appointment,
first off, with one of the doctors.
The purpose of this is to asses your needs,
your skin type, and also just to make sure
that there's no underlying medical condition
that could be contributing to your hair problem.
It's also important, before you come
for laser hair removal, to not wax.
I, usually, recommend for at least
two weeks beforehand.
Because it's important to keep those follicles,
where the pigment is concentrated,
in the skin so that we can, actually,
treat them with the laser.
If you've had your hair waxed before you come,
then the base of the hair has been ripped out
and there's not going to be anything
for the laser to, actually, treat.
It's also important, before laser hair removal,
to, actually, shave the hairs.
The reason for this is if we have the hair
sitting out of the skin, the laser is also
attracted to the pigment in the actual hair.
So, what can happen is that hair will,
actually, burn, it can fall on the skin,
and then it can, actually, burn the skin.
And that's definitely not what we want.
So, we always recommend that you shave either
the day before or on the day of the procedure
for laser hair removal.
As we're going the laser hair removal,
we are passing the laser across the skin
on the area that we're wanting to treat.
At the same time we're using a cooling agent,
either in the form of cool air or cryogen.
The purpose of this is to
take out any potential discomfort
that you can, sometimes, feel.
And it is also to help cool the skin
so that we don't get any damage
or inflammation to the skin at the time
that we are treating the hairs.
So, at The Victorian Cosmetic Institute,
your laser hair removal treatment will be
tailored to your individual needs.
It will be performed by medical practitioners
that are qualified in the area,
using the best available lasers.
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