FAQs
Laser Hair Removal
What causes unwanted hair?
How is unwanted hair treated?
Why use the LightSheer Diode Laser over other hair removal systems?
How does the LightSheer system remove hair?
Is it safe?
What does the treatment feel like?
Are there any possible side effects?
What kind of results should I expect? Does this technology really remove hair long-term?
Are the results permanent?
Are these treatments FDA-cleared? Are they safe?
Who is a good candidate for the LightSheer laser?
Are these procedures covered by insurance?
What happens before and after treatment?
Q. What causes unwanted hair?
A. Excess and unwanted hair is a common problem. Women frequently experience this condition on the face, especially the upper lip or eyebrow area, at the bikini line, under their arms or on their legs. Men often have unwanted hair on their back or chest, between their eyebrows or on other parts of their face. In many cases excessive hair growth runs in families. Race can also be a factor — whites are more prone to having excess facial hair than are Asians and blacks. White women of Mediterranean descent are more likely to have unwanted hair than women who have a Scandinavian background. Hormones also play a role. Some people experience unwanted or excess hair from the time they reach puberty; others find it to be a condition that gets worse with age. Some women experience additional hair growth during pregnancy or menopause.
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Q. How is unwanted hair treated?
A. Conventional treatments include shaving, plucking, waxing and depilatory creams. These methods provide temporary fixes that are often inconvenient, messy and irritating for the skin. Electrolysis can have good results, but is time-consuming, sometimes painful and is useful only in removing hair in small areas. The LightSheer™ and photofacial™ light sources are rapidly changing hair removal treatment, providing gentle, non-invasive, long-lasting solutions to unwanted hair on any body are
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Q. Why use the LightSheer Diode Laser over other hair removal systems?
A. The LightSheer laser is specifically designed for hair removal. We have chosen this laser because of the extensive clinical research which demonstrated its effectiveness for permanent hair reduction. Other laser hair removal systems that we have investigated cannot make this claim.
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Q. How does the LightSheer system remove hair?
A. This laser targets the pigment located in the hair follicle and shaft. The light is absorbed by the pigment in the hair follicle and this energy is converted to heat which results in damage to the hair follicle. This damage causes delayed re-growth of the hair, and in most cases permanent destruction of many of the hair follicles. Unlike electrolysis, which kills one hair follicle at a time, the laser reaches and treats hundreds of follicles at a time.
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Q. Is it safe?
A. The LightSheer system was developed from years of research at the Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine, one of the world's leading medical laser research institutions. The laser is pulsed, or "turned on," for only a fraction of a second and the duration of each pulse is just long enough to disable the hair follicles. A unique component of the LightSheer system, the actively cooled sapphire handpiece, was designed to protect the skin by actively cooling it before, during and after the laser light is transmitted. It also actively draws off heat from the skin surface, which further protects the skin from injury.
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Q. What does the treatment feel like?
A. Most people tolerate the treatments very well. Discomfort is often described as a slight tingling or a pinch similar to the snap of a rubber band. Topical anesthesia can be used when treating particularly sensitive areas of the body.
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Q. Are there any possible side effects?
A. The appearance of the treated area immediately following treatment will vary from patient to patient depending on the extent of the procedure and skin type. Side effects, if any, are usually minor. There may be some redness and swelling around the treated hair follicles; this is a desired clinical result indicating that the follicle has responded to treatment. This reaction typically disappears within hours. Most people return to normal activity right away. On rare occasions, some blistering may occur, but this typically resolves quickly. The skin can become darker or lighter following treatment, but will generally return to normal within a few weeks. Limiting sun exposure before and after each treatment will minimize the risk of complications.
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Q. What kind of results should I expect? Does this technology really remove hair long-term?
A. Yes. Scientific studies show that the use of targeted, light-based energy actually damages or destroys hair follicles at the cellular level. A permanent reduction in the number of regrowing hairs is usually achieved following each treatment. The Laser Center of Marin also uses a process called the TLC Concept. The TLC Concept will ensure we are targeting active hairs at the right time of the hair growth cycle. This proprietary method coupled with the effective LightSheer laser is what leads to success levels exceeding 95%.
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Q. Are the results permanent?
A. The LightSheer causes permanent hair reduction and delayed re-growth of the treated hair follicles. A long-term clinical study was done to evaluate the LightSheer Diode Laser for hair removal. Of 92 patients, all had temporary hair loss and 89% had long-term hair loss. Also, re-growing hairs were shown to be thinner and lighter than previously. Because the laser tends to treat hair follicles that are in an active growth phase, more than one treatment will be required to disable hair follicles that subsequently enter this growth phase. However, one treatment may result in a significant enough improvement that it may be all you desire or require.
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Q. Are these treatments FDA-cleared? Are they safe?
A. Yes, both the LightSheer Laser System and the photofacial [Intense Pulsed Light] System are FDA-cleared for the treatment of unwanted hair. The procedures have unparalleled safety records. Side effects are rare and generally well-tolerated.
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Q. Who is a good candidate for the LightSheer laser?
A. The ideal candidate for most hair removal lasers has dark hair and light skin. Darker hairs absorb more of the laser light, and lighter skin allows more transmission of the laser light into the hair follicle. Although dark or tanned skin may run a higher risk of pigmentation changes following the procedure, the LightSheer's unique longer wavelength at 810nm allows treatment of all but the darkest-skinned patients. No other hair removal lasers have this property.
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Q. Are these procedures covered by insurance?
No.
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Q. What happens before and after treatment?
A. The Laser Center treatment process is as smooth as the results we achieve. Treatment sessions are quick and require minimal personal care for the duration of the treatment process.
Before Treatment
No waxing, tweezing, bleaching, depilatories or electrolysis prior to treatment. Shaving is fine and does not effect treatment. The area to be treated should be shaved before treatment.
Day of Treatment
Prior to treatment, the nurse will have you remove any deodorant, powder and makeup on the areas to be treated.
If it's your first treatment, you will fill out a form that helps us to understand your skin and build an appropriate treatment program.
If you haven't previously received a consultation, you will have an opportunity at this time to ask questions and to understand how to reduce the overall cost of your treatment program.
The laser treats many hairs at a time, enabling short treatment sessions. Depending on the size of the treatment area, a session may last between five minutes (lip, chin, etc.) and 40 minutes (back, legs, etc.)
When the laser pulses over your skin, you will feel a momentary, slight stinging or tingling sensation. The sensation disappears the moment the laser stops pulsing. For those with more sensitive skin, a topical anesthetic, can be applied prior to treatment.
Immediately following laser treatment, you may experience redness, similar to a mild sunburn. These normal tissue responses are temporary and will usually disappear over the next several hours.
After Treatment
Within several minutes, the treated area may become slightly red and puffy. This reaction usually subsides quickly and returns to normal within a day or so. As soon as the mild redness from the day's treatment subsides, clients may resume normal daily activities.
Following treatment (12-24 hours) treat the area gently. Avoid rubbing, scratching or picking at the treated areAvoid very hot showers, baths, soaking in a hot tub or swimming in a chlorinated pool. Pat the skin dry after bathing or showering.
Around day 3-7 after treatment you may experience what seems to be re-growth of hair. Actually, most of these hairs are being shed as a result of your treatment and are not re-growing. In-between treatments you should not wax or pluck your hairs but it is permissible to shave.
It can take up to three weeks for all the treated hair to fall away. This process can be helped along by gentle use of a washcloth or loofa sponge four to five days after treatment.
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