From the businessman who is ready to kiss the 5’o clock shadow goodbye to the college student who’s planning an epic spring break beach trip, worrying if your stubble is noticeable should be a thing of the past. Is it time for you too to break up with your razor? Within AYA^™ Medical Spa’s skincare treatments we provide one of the most effective ways to help you go hairless – laser hair removal. In 2014 alone there were over 1.1 million procedures recorded in the United States, making it one of the top five most popular minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures according to statistics by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Each person’s experience with laser hair removal may be unique but the basics remain the same so we wanted to share a beginner’s guide to laser hair removal in case you’re ready to join the 1.1 million people who never have to worry about skipping a shave again.

As active members of The American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS), we have seen just how successful state-of-the-art laser hair removal technology can be to safely care for patients of a variety of skin tones. This type of technology has really come a long way because once upon a time laser hair removal was only recommended for patients who had dark hair and light skin and restricted to certain parts of the body. Luckily those days are long gone and now modern laser hair removal is more versatile than ever, treating just about any area where you have unwanted hair (face, legs, arms, back, underarms, chest, bikini area, etc.).

Generally, patients can expect to see long-lasting hair removal in 4-8 treatments but we determine appropriate treatment packages when we meet initially meet first-time patients during a complimentary skin analysis. We take into account each patient’s skin and hair color, hair thickness, area treatment size, and laser system options to figure out what will get you the hairless results desired. Multiple treatments are needed since laser hair removal works best at targeting unwanted hair during specific growth stages so we recommend spacing each treatment 4-6 weeks apart. Here are a few tips to help guide you through your treatment:

• Limit your exposure to the sun. Lasers target darker pigments and we want it to target the hair and not your skin, so skip prolonged tanning until you’re completely done with your treatments.
• Avoid plucking or waxing your hair as this can disrupt the natural growth stages we are trying to catch the hair in.
• Always wear sunscreen to protect any exposed treatment areas.
• For smokers, we suggest you take a break several weeks before starting treatment to promote better healing.
• Stay well hydrated (this helps keep the skin thriving in general and should be incorporated into your daily skincare routine).
• Invest in numbing cream if you’d like to add extra comfort to your treatment time (not required and is a personal preference for our patients).

Treatment times depend on the area we are treating, think less time needed for upper lips and more time needed for entire legs, but typically expect a laser hair removal session to last 15-30 minutes. One of the benefits of laser treatments is the minimal downtime needed to recover. For laser hair removal patients may experience slight redness or irritation but it will subside quickly and allow you to carry on with your routine immediately after treatment. In case you haven’t figured out your New Year’s resolution, how about saving yourself time and money by kissing 2015 and your razors goodbye, for good! So what are you waiting on; summer is only six months away – contact AYA^™ Medical Spa to set up the start of your laser hair removal experience today.