If permanent hair removal is your goal, then you should find out if laser hair removal will work for you. It usually takes three to six treatments over the course of several months to achieve permanent results with this procedure. This is due to the fact that a certain percentage of your hair is not in the growth stage, when it can be successfully targeted and removed with a laser. Your hair removal specialist will be able to suggest a treatment schedule for you at your initial consultation.

At this first meeting, your hair and skin type will be analyzed to determine whether or not laser hair removal treatments will work for you. People with dark hair and light skin will have the best results because the laser is looking for melanin to target. Since darker skin types will contain more melanin, the laser may also target the skin, resulting in irritation or blistering. This is also the reason why those preparing for laser treatments should refrain from tanning before the procedure.

Since laser hair removal is a relatively new procedure that is developing quickly, you should make sure you find an experienced professional to assure safe, effective treatments.

While some people consider laser treatments to be expensive, the permanent results can make this hair remover method more cost effective than repeating the temporary procedures such as waxing. And many people love the fact that they have solved their unwanted hair problem forever.

Let’s take a closer look to these new technologies.

Laser Hair Removal:
In use since 1997, laser hair removal relies on the principle that light is absorbed by dark hair. A laser beam is aplied with a handheld on the skin. The light is attracted by the melanin in the hair and coverted into heat. The follicle is damaged by heat, but due to the precision of the laser, the skin in the area is not. Laser hair removal has the disadvantage to work only with dark hair. The optimal combination is dark coarse hair and light skin, even if new machines claim to be able to treat dark hair on dark skins.

Electrolysis:
Electrolysis is known and is being used since more than a century. It is the only treatment defined “Permanent hair removal” by the FDA. Electrolysis works inserting a needle into each follicle of the area to treat and destroying with a electric discharge. It is very effective and can remove all types of hair on all types of skins but it is very slow, because it treats each hair separately and one at a time.

Intense Pulsed Light:
IPL hair removal works like laser hair removal but is more effective. IPL doesn’t use only one laser of one color but adapts the colour depending on the hair to treat for maximum effectiveness. Thanks to this, IPL is effective on light hair and thin hair also. The follicle is burnt with intense pulsed light, applied the same way as laser.

Always remember to undergo these treatments in certified centers and ensure in the first visit that the staff is well trained and experienced.

Source: IPL Hair Removal Guide

But if you decide to buy a home machine you need to be aware that it is easy to waste your money. And you will certainly be throwing your cash away if you choose the worst rather than the best laser hair removal machine on the market.

All of the systems available do the job, according to the information provided by the manufacturer, but, in truth, some machines work well and others do not. Make sure that you read everything that the manufacturer has to say and look for what they do not say as well as what they do. What exactly are they promising? If they have a guarantee, what are the terms and conditions? Actually examine the small print in detail and work out what it means and if it is trying to hide anything.

Once you understand what is being offered look for reviews of the product on independent sites. Some will give a balanced review and others will be part of the manufacturer’s marketing arsenal and will be nothing but propaganda. Once you have a read a few reviews however you will get a genuine feel for the ones you can believe and whether you want to buy the product.

If a review is genuine you will see what the reviewer did not like about the product as well as what they did. You will see some negative reviews too for every product and this is to be expected. Many buyers expect miracles from a home machine which is beyond the bounds of possibility. Even professional laser treatment is not capable of that.