You’ve booked your appointment and you are ready to get rid of that unwanted hair in time for summer! But what should you do to ensure you get the best possible outcome from your treatment? If you follow these simple guidelines you will be fully prepared for your laser treatment.
The most important thing to do before your laser hair removal treatment is to shave the hair on the area you want treated. If you have not shaved when you attend we will need to dry shave the hair in the clinic, this can leave the skin red and some razor burn can often occur. Attending freshly shaved will save you time, and it makes the treatment more comfortable. Don’t worry if you miss a few though!
If you are having laser hair removal treatment on your face, attend the clinic with your face bare of make-up, we will trim the hairs on your face for you with a hair trimmer. It is best to avoid shaving hairs on your face, as your skin here is much more sensitive.
If you are attending for your bikini treatment it is good to have an idea of how much hair you would like removed from the area. If you just want the area visible in your swimsuit treated, this is the panty line and is a fast treatment. If you wish to have panty line and that area extending to the buttocks this is known as an extensive bikini. If you would like to remove all the hair from your bikini area and from your bikini line to the buttocks, this is known as a full bikini. And of course if you wish to have the buttocks treated that is full bikini and buttocks. If you know exactly what you want we can allocate the correct amount of time for your appointment.
It is also a good idea for women attending to avoid booking their appointments right before their menstrual period as many women find laser treatment more uncomfortable then. Of course if this is unavoidable you can take a simple over-the-counter pain medicine before your treatment. Paracetemol would be the most suitable.
Probably the most important things to remember before laser hair removal is TAN. You must not apply false tan for 7-10 days before your treatment, or any natural tan for 6 weeks prior to your treatment. When you have false or natural tan you have more risk of burning, as the laser light will be attracted to the melanin that is now in your skin from the tan. This is of vital importance. If you have a tan or are planning a holiday, let us know so we can determine if it is safe to proceed with your treatment.
Some medicines can affect how the laser reacts to your skin. It is a good idea to become familiar with any type of medicine you are taking, either prescribed by your doctor, or by a pharmacist, or even any herbal or over-the-counter vitamin supplement. If you change any medicines during your treatment do let us know as soon as possible, so that we can ensure that it is safe to have your treatment.
It is also important before you embark on laser hair removal with any clinic, that the clinic appears clean. It is also good to ensure that the staff are adequately trained, if there is ever any doubt you should ask. The staff at the Slievemore clinic have completed training and are highly competent in the use of lasers.
It is a good idea to find out a little bit about the machines they use in your clinic. For instance- is the laser an Alexandrite laser? Is it ND-YAG laser or is it IPL? IPL is not the most effective treatment for removing unwanted hair. It is recommended to have treatment in a clinic that uses a laser device rather than IPL machine. The Apogee Elite laser treatment machine uses both alexandrite lasers and ND-YAG wavelengths, what does this mean? These are basically lasers of varying wavelengths. Your practitioner can adjust the wavelength depending on your skin type. Wavelengths determine how deep the laser penetrates into your skin. ‘The cynosure Apogee Elite laser system’ is known amongst laser professionals as the ‘gold standard’ of lasers.
And finally to prepare for your laser treatments ensure you have had a patch test with your clinic to ensure any adverse effects do not occur. If you are happy after your patch test you can book in for your treatment safely.
Now that you are all prepped for your treatment all that is left to do is enjoy the freedom of no shaving or unwanted hair! Call 01 -2000500 to book your laser hair patch test today!