If smooth, hairless skin is the standard of beauty, you might wonder why we have it in the first place. The truth is — body hair serves several purposes, including regulating body temperature and protecting skin from minor abrasions. The hair on your arms even acts as an alarm system, telling your brain when a bug lands on you.
But we understand if that’s not enough to keep it around.
From bothersome bikini line stubble to maddening mustaches, Dr. Chinyere Orafu and our Ohio Laser & Wellness Center team have the advanced treatments necessary to eliminate your unwanted body hair for good.
If you want to get rid of your body hair, waxing, plucking, and shaving aren’t going to be enough. These traditional methods don’t get to the heart of the issue. All your tweezers and razors can do is remove the hair for a short amount of time.
You have to disrupt your hair’s growth process to see permanent results.
Below the surface of your skin, your hair grows inside a tiny sac-like structure called a follicle until it pushes its way out. Hair removal should begin in the follicle. Here, we review how our hair removal treatments go the extra mile to get rid of your hair.
We direct powerful laser energy through a handheld device into hair follicles during laser hair removal. The heat from the lasers effectively destroys the follicles and reduces hair growth.
Instead of laser energy, electrolysis harnesses the power of electric currents. We use a fine, sterile probe to deliver electric currents directly into the hair follicle to eliminate hair at the source and keep it from coming back. With the follicle destroyed, your body eventually discards unwanted hair through shedding.
Both methods can address hair anywhere on your body. The most popular treatment areas are the eyebrows, chin, upper lip, jawline, sideburns, breasts, underarms, abdomen, bikini line, fingers and toes, legs, and back.
Think your skin type disqualifies you for hair removal? Think again. Dr. Orafu has years of experience performing hair removal treatments on all skin types and colors.
When you’re ready to take the plunge and invest in our hair removal treatments, here’s a breakdown of what you can expect.
Getting rid of your hair the high-tech way may seem like a major procedure, but there’s not much you need to do to prepare for either treatment. We recommend you follow a few basic rules of thumb, depending on which treatment you are getting.
For laser hair removal, make sure you:
You can shave before laser hair removal.
To prepare for electrotherapy, we recommend that you:
Before electrotherapy, you shouldn’t wax, shave, or tweeze for four weeks. Hair must be present in the follicle and visible at least one-fourth of an inch above your skin for our treatments to be effective. This allows us to follow the hair shaft with the electrology probe. You can shave between your treatments.
Also, plan to wear loose-fitting clothing to be comfortable during and after treatment.
When you arrive for your appointment, we clean and prepare the treatment area. For laser hair removal appointments, you should come with clean, shaved skin. For electrotherapy, show up with clean skin but with visible hair.
Both laser hair removal and electrolysis are gentle, but you may experience a warm pinprick sensation. Some liken it to a rubber band snapping against the skin. If you select laser hair removal, we also give you a pair of protective glasses to wear.
Depending on the location and size of the treatment area, your appointment could take a few minutes to an hour.
You’re free to resume your routine after the hair removal treatments. You may encounter side effects, such as swelling, redness, and tenderness at the treatment site. These side effects are mild and easily managed with cold compresses.
The guidelines for hair removal preparation also apply to the days after your treatment. Keep your skin clean, dry, and protected from the sun and harsh chemicals as it heals over a few days.
You can expect results to last for months or even years. If hair does grow back, it’s typically finer and lighter in color.
Hair grows in three-stage cycles (growth, rest, and replacement), and individual hair can be in different stages at any given time. For that reason, we usually recommend multiple treatments. Most of our patients notice a 10-25% reduction in hair after their first treatment, with the best results developing after 6-12 sessions. Darker, coarser hair may require more treatments.
Take your first steps toward hair-free skin and learn which hair removal method is best for you. Call or click online to schedule an appointment today at our Canton or Dover, Ohio, office.
