Body Hair and Laser Hair Removal

Almost every adult in the United States has had to deal with unwanted hair. We turn to shaving, depilatories, waxing, plucking, and other such things to rid us of our excess body hair. However, this can be expensive, time consuming, and irritating. That is why many people turn to laser hair removal to permanently rid them of their body hair woes.

To begin with, let's take a look at body hair. Our body produces hair to help regulate our temperature. We have three types of this keratin: lanugo, vellus, and terminal. Lanugo is the protein that is present over the body of fetuses while they are still in the room. Before birth, this lanugo turns into vellus hair. This is the soft, short, thin hair that is present on the body.

During puberty, the changes in our body's hormones leads to the production of terminal hair. This is the long, thick dark hair that covers our legs, pubic area, and the faces of men. Typically, this is the hair that most people spend their time trying to remove.

Besides normal-pattern hair growth, things like hirsutism can cause excessive hairiness in women. Growing hair in the same places as men can be embarrassing, and there is may be no medically-related cause of this problem. Thankfully, though, it can be reduced with laser hair removal. This process is a wonderful way to help you have smoother, softer, hairless skin.

Once you talk to your doctor or skincare technician about where you want your hair treated, you will go in for your first session. The laser works by emitting a light pulse that is near-infrared. After the laser is in position, it is turned on for less than a second. This flash of light goes into the pigment of your hair, where it damages the follicle. The follicle is the site of hair production, so after a laser flash, the follicle is no longer able to produce hair.

The complete hair removal process may take several sessions to completely rid you of your hair. Body hair grows in cycles, so you will probably have to undergo several treatments to get all hair active hair follicles during their different growth cycles. Things like skin color and hair color can affect the amount of sessions needed.

If you are tired of dealing with a never-ending growth of unwanted body hair, you should consider ridding yourself of the nuisance once and for all. For more information regarding laser hair removal and other skincare techniques, check out the cosmetic dermatologist skin-vein.com Dr. Zimmet of Zimmet Vein & Dermatology today.

Joseph Devine