How Laser Hair Removal Benefits Your Skin Health

Unsplash/Dan Gold

For many people, laser hair removal sounds seriously intimidating. The idea of a laser zapping away unwanted hair by killing the hair follicles sounds painful, kind of dangerous and certainly not healthy, right? Well, you’d be surprised by how many ways laser hair removal can actually benefit your skin health. Depending on your skin type and hair color, here’s why it’s worth considering ponying up and giving a laser treatment a try.

Say goodbye to ingrown hairs.

Waxing, shaving, tweezing and using epilators are notorious for causing ingrown hairs, which are far more than just unsightly — they’re downright painful and can lead to unwanted health complications. Ingrown hairs grow back into the skin rather than breaking the skin’s surface as they grow, causing inflammation and sometimes leading to cysts. Minor ingrown hairs can be handled carefully at home, but others need a dermatologist’s expertise.

Laser hair removal treatments can actually prevent ingrown hairs because of how the laser light safely destroys the hair follicle in the first place. Most users find that they only need an average of three to seven sessions to see successful permanent hair removal, too (depending on the treatment area).

Unsplash/Yoann Boyer

Razor bumps and razor burn become distant memories of the past.

Every woman knows the struggle that is razor burn, from her underarms to her bikini line. But with laser hair removal, as long as you can get past the very temporary sting that feels like a rubber band snapping on your skin when the laser pulse hits your skin, you’ll suffer from a lot less discomfort in the long term. Unless you have very sensitive skin (or had some serious sun exposure prior to your treatment like you’re advised not to do), your irritation won’t last long at all, especially if the treatment center you choose also uses skin cooling devices with their lasers. The side effects are minimal and the results are long-lasting, which means you’ll rarely have to pick up that razor and risk dealing with a bunch of itchy, painful red bumps on your skin.

You reduce your long-term risk of nicks, cuts and burns.

We’ve all cut ourselves shaving before, and you probably don’t need us to tell you that kind of repetitive trauma is less than ideal for your skin’s health. And ladies who have given waxing a try, especially the at-home versions, have probably also experienced an accidental burn or two. Whoops. Luckily, laser hair removal done right removes all of these things from your list of things to worry about. It’s especially helpful in small areas where you have lighter skin and darker hair because the laser can work most effectively in that scenario and those are also the places you are most likely to cut yourself when shaving.

At the end of the day, laser hair removal works wonders if you follow the directions of your dermatological specialist. It’s an investment up front, but over the decades of your life, your skin health is bound to benefit.

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