Laser Hair Reduction

What is diode laser?
Diode laser hair removal is a laser treatment that gently removes hair while protecting the skin. The treatment is suitable for all skin types. However, you must take it up only after the recommendation of a qualified and experienced dermatologist. It is an effective treatment. In many patients, it removes hair in the long term. The treatment can be performed with minimal discomfort to the patient.

Hoe does diode laser work?
Laser hair removal works on the principle called ‘selective photothermolysis’.
This means that dermatologists match the specific wavelengths of light and pulse duration to that of the treatment tissue to obtain the maximal effect.
Melanin is the colour pigment present in skin and hair that absorbs this radiation, acting as the target matter.
The melanin in the hair follicles absorbs the intense heat of the laser.
This damages the hair follicle, hence inhibiting future hair growth.

What is quaruple diode laser?
Amongst the different lasers available, the diode laser has stood the test of time. There are many reasons for this, such as:
.Diode laser projects light within the visible to the infrared range (~810 nm) in order to target specific pigment cells.
.It works on both light and dark skin. However, it is more effective for darker, terminal hair than lighter, finer hair.
Compared to other lasers, its quadruple wavelength offers the deepest penetration and superior melanin absorption.
These unique characteristics make the quadruple diode laser the most suitable technology for laser hair reduction, allowing safe and effective treatment of all skin and hair types, for all body areas.

Treatment time and efficacy of LHR with diode laser?
Diode laser hair removal is so popular because of its speed and efficacy.
A single session rarely takes as long as an hour anymore. In fact, it is an office-hour procedure, which means that is quick & ensures a speedy recovery.
This procedure has been proven to achieve ‘permanent hair reduction in 90% of the cases.
It ensures a stable reduction, in hair regrowth after a treatment regime.

What are the Pre-Procedure skin care?
.A detailed medical history is taken, the risks and benefits of treatment are explained.
.Don’t shave, wax or use other hair removal methods like plucking or electrolysis anytime before a laser hair removal treatment session.
.Stay away from the sun and chlorine water for at least a month before the treatment.
.You can’t receive the treatment if you are facing a sunburn or even a sun tan, in order to avoid side effects like hyperpigmentation.
.Don’t use scrubs, glycolic acid, and retinol creams for 2 days before treatment, and chemical peels since 2 weeks prior.
.Start using face mists and additional moisturizers if you find your skin getting more dry.
.On the day of the procedure, your doctor will explain the procedure to you step-by-step and address all your concerns.
Thereafter, he will take your consent for the procedure, and only then will it begin.

How is the procedure done?
.Eye protection: Your physician will always provide you with eye protection to avoid the effects of radiation around the eyes.
Settings: The settings of the diode laser are adjusted to both your skin and hair colour, so that the wavelength of the light emitted from the laser beam matches that of the pigment in you hair.
Skin is cleansed and shaved. Then each area is individually treated with laser.
Pain: While the treatment isn’t exactly relaxing, the pain feels like someone is snapping you with a rubber band every time the laser fires. Quadruple diode laser at our clinic lasers has a good cooling mechanism to help with the pain.

What is the post-procedure care?
1. Some redness and rarely swelling can happen. Therefore, you can use an ice pack to help relieve it. It usually subsides within 2-3 days.
2. Use sunscreen (SPF 30 or more) religiously post-treatment to prevent hyperpigmentation.
3. Do not wax or pluck your hair even after the treatment, because pulling out hair follicles after laser hair removal hinders the process. However, you can shave the area if you want.
4. Avoid perfumes and deodorants for 24-48 hours after treatment.
5. The heat from the laser stays in your skin for a day, so don’t go to the gym or saunas in order to avoid creating a warm environment for the bacteria to breed in and give you spots.
6. .Opt for lukewarm showers instead of hot showers in the first week after treatment.
7. Don’t use scrubs, glycolic acid, and retinol creams even after treatment for 2 days, and chemical peels for 2 weeks.
Lastly, your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory medication to relieve pain and swelling, and antibiotics to prevent infection.

When will I see results?
While you will discover that the density and thickness of hair starts reducinf from the first treatment itself, you shall need multiple such treatments for further results.
Moreover, while some the hair may grow back as before after the first session, you will begin to notice a dramatic drop in the growth of your unwanted hair follicles after the three-month mark and notice even more differences after that.
Similarly, you will see fewer and fewer hair returns after progressive treatments, so finishing the entire series of treatment sessions is crucial to attaining the highest degree of permanent hair reduction.

Why does one require multiple sessions?
A series of treatment sessions are necessary to ensure permanent hair reduction.
This is because hair grows in 3 stages: anagen (growing stage), telogen (transitional), and catagen (resting stage).
Like all lasers, a diode laser can act only on the hair that is in the anagen stage because this is when the hair contains abundant melanin, which is essential to absorb the radiation from the laser that can disable the follicle.
So a series of treatments is crucial to attack each of the hair follicles present in the treatment area during their growing stage.

Treatment Duration
The exact duration of each session varies in every case, depending on factors such as:
1. Site and size of the treatment area
2. How many areas are being treated during the same session
3. The density of hair
4. The thickness/coarseness of hair
On average, larger areas of the body such as the back, chest, shoulders, or legs can take half an hour or longer, while smaller areas such as the bikini line, upper lip, chin, or underarms can take as little as five to ten minutes.
The number of treatment sessions and the gap between them also depends on multiple factors like:
skin type
hair colour
hair coarseness
the depth of hair follicle
overall hair growth density
treatment area
hormone levels
In general, the majority of the individuals will need at least 6-8 sessions with a diode laser. The duration between the 2 sessions will be around 4-8 weeks apart. This will help achieve 70-90% hair reduction.
With subsequent sessions, you will witness fewer and fewer hair cropping back until you start experiencing smooth, hairless skin all year round. Even in cases where few hairs keep growing back, they are barely noticeable.