Preparation for laser hair removal can start weeks or months before your procedure depending on your circumstances. There are two basic concepts to keep in mind. The first is that you want your skin to be as light as possible and your hair to be as dark as possible when you have the procedure, because the laser targets the dark colored cells. Second, you want to avoid anything that makes you more likely to sunburn. Keeping those basic principles in mind, here are some things to avoid and things you should do prior to laser hair removal.
Avoid:
- Sun exposure, tanning beds, and sunless tanning products for four to six weeks
- Waxing, plucking, and electrolysis for three weeksAlphahydroxy acids, Retin A, and any other skin treatments which make your skin more sensitive to sunlight for two weeks
- Bleaching the hair which is to be removed
- Oral and topical acne treatments which increase sun sensitivity (ask you doctor how long the specific medication you are taking will stay in your system, and always talk to your doctor before discontinuing medication)
Do:
- Shave two to three days before the procedure so that you have some stubble
- Consider a skin bleaching regime if you have dark skin
Thank you for this useful advice. In terms of shaving prior to laser hair removal, I believe this also helps the treatment to be more effective because more of the laser energy is absorbed by the hair root rather than being wasted burning up any hair that is above the skin. Is this correct in your experience?
Here are a few tips for laser hair removal:# Don’t bleach the hair you want to lose. The darker the hair, the better the procedure will work.# Try the laser treatment on a small part first. That way you can make sure you are no sensitive to the laser treatment and also that you won’t have any marks left after the procedure.# Don’t tan the area where you have the laser hair removal treatment. Especially 1 month before the treatment and 1 month after.# Before every laser treatment, make sure to wash the area with soap.# If you take Isotretinoin for acne, you can’t have the laser hair removal procedure because it might make scars and burns to the skin.