Every year, more than a million women and men ditch their razors and molten jars of wax for a safer, saner, more permanent method of getting rid of unwanted hair — laser hair removal.
In Bakersfield, California, they trust Dr. Nirav Naik and the team at New Life Aesthetics to perform the treatment safely. Although lasers offer many effective applications in the aesthetics industry, they’re powerful tools that require the expertise, education, and experience of a physician like Dr. Naik.
Here’s a look at the science behind laser hair removal to give you a better understanding of how important it is to choose a highly qualified doctor to administer your treatment.
Understanding your hair’s characteristics and behaviors helps you understand the removal process. Hair growth is a complex process. All human hair goes through four phases — anagen, catagen, telogen, and exogen — on its journey from start to finish.
Anagen is your hair’s active growth phase in which cells rapidly divide at the follicle's base. This can last up to a few years; at any given time, about 90% of your hair is in the anagen phase.
Cell division stops during catagen, an extremely short transition stage when the follicle shrinks back and loosens its grip on your hair’s roots.
The telogen phase accounts for the largest portion of your hair’s life cycle. Most of your strands are resting during this time, and many eventually detach completely from their follicles when it’s time for a new anagen cycle to begin.
Exogen is like a mini-shedding season during which more strands fall out than average.
“Laser” is a familiar word, but many people don’t realize it’s an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. This simply means it’s a beam of light set to a specific wavelength. But there’s power in that beam of light, and sophisticated lasers can cut through steel or perform delicate surgery.
They can also get rid of unwanted hair. Here’s how.
Laser hair removal targets the pigment in your hair follicles with a concentrated beam of light. Dr. Naik uses the state-of-art Icon® aesthetic laser system and sets the wavelength to zero in on your hair follicles, where the pigment absorbs the light energy, destroying the follicle so it can no longer produce hair.
The good news is that your surrounding skin reflects the laser energy rather than absorbing it, so those tissues remain healthy and undamaged. Also, laser hair removal treatments don’t hurt; most people report a mild snapping sensation during their laser session.
You may notice fewer hairs in the treatment area following your first session, but it typically takes a couple of weeks for the follicle to die and release the hair. And you’ll need to come back for additional treatments every month or so for about six months to treat all of your hairs as they pass through the growth stages. Lasers are most effective during the anagen hair growth stage.
To learn more about laser hair removal and our other aesthetic services, call New Life Aesthetics at 661-230-7344 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Naik.
