How to obtain the most permanent hair reduction from LHR?

 

///////////// The efficacy of LHR also significantly depends on: /////////////////////

-- The colours of hair underneath the skin

Current diode, IPL & laser are ineffective for blond, red, grey and white hair, but they are effective for natural brown & black hairs.

-- Density & diameter of DARK hair underneath the skin

The treatments are more effective on dense, thick, coarse & dark hair because they have more dark pigment that can absorb more light. The higher density of dark hair the better result. Either sparse or fine hairs cannot absorb enough light to destroy the follicles. Thus, LHR lose efficacy on either scattered hair or very thin, vellus hair.

 

 

 -- The colour of the skin vs. the colours of hair underneath the skin

If the surrounding skin is lighter than the colour of the hair, the energy of the laser is concentrated mainly in the hair shaft, effectively destroying it without much affecting the skin.

If the skin contains dark melanin, melanin in both skin & hair will absorb laser light, thus less heat concentration in the hair.

The less pigment in the skin and the more darker pigment in the hair, the better result.

The darker the skin colour the higher risk of skin damage or burning, thus the lower energy setting and the less efficiency and less results.

-- Hairs of different areas & hormones

Results also vary among different areas and among different individuals.

Areas that aren't controlled by hormones, such as underarms, groin area, lower arms & lower legs, usually respond well to LHR.

For some individuals, hair of certain areas that are controlled by hormones, such as face, upper arms, chest, abdomen, back & inner thighs can become patchy after diode, IPL or LHR.

Additionally, there have been cases LHR/diode/IPL can stimulate hair of those areas that are controlled by hormones by turning fine, vellus hairs into coarse, terminal ones. Some individuals can end up looking harrier in some areas after LHR/diode/IPL.

However, results vary among different individuals & different areas can have different results.

-- Phase of the hair growth cycle

The most effective result is when hairs are in the anagen phase. Why?

Any dark-colour objects (in this case, dark skin & hairs of all growth cycle including anagen) absorb light from laser and turn the light into heat and give off such heat to surroundings that have no dark pigments. Any colourless, red, blond, grey & white objects don't absorb light produced by the current laser/diode/IPL devices.

Only hairs in anagen phase are still in contact with the parts of colourless hair follicles containing colourless stem cells. Even though hairs in other growth phases absorb light from laser and give off heat to surrounding but they have lost contact with stem cells. If the stem cells aren't destructed, hairs will eventually grow back.

At any given time, not all hairs are in anagen phase. Therefore, multiple treatments are required to achieve the optimal appearance.

///////////// Types & Quantity of melanins (colours) found in human skins & hairs significantly affect efficacy of LHR: /////////////

Types of melanin found in human skins & hairs:

Eumelanin is found in the hair, skin, eyes and dark areas around the nipples. It is particularly abundant among black populations.

There are two types of eumelanin—brown eumelanin and black eumelanin—which chemically differ from each other.

Black melanin produces black colours when it is present in large quantities. A small amount of black eumelanin in the absence of other pigments causes grey hair.

Brown eumelanin may produce brown hair colours when it is present in abundance. A small amount of brown eumelanin in the absence of other pigments, hair may be blonde/yellow.
Eumelanin is present in the Caucasian and Negroid races, therefore in subjects with dark skin and dark hair.

Pheomelanin is also found in the eyes, hair and skin. This type of melanin provides pink and red colors and is the main pigment found among red-haired individuals. Pheomelanins are particularly concentrated in the lips, nipples, glans of the penis, and vagina. When a small amount of brown eumelanin in hair, which would otherwise cause blond hair, is mixed with red pheomelanin, the result is red hair. Pheomelanins is typical in the Celtic race, with pale skin, numerous freckles and auburn or carrot coloured hair.

Trichochromes (formerly called trichosiderins) are pigments found in red hair.

Our hair colour is determined by varying amounts of melanin, the pigment type, the density and distribution of the pigment granules. Different types of melanin, and the ratio of these pigments produces different hair colours. The mixture varies not only from one person to another, but also across one person’s body.

Although people with dark hair may still produce the yellow-orange pheomelanin, it is largely masked by the dark eumelanin pigment and cannot easily be seen. However, the red-yellow pheomelanin is believed to cause the warm, golden, or auburn tones found in some types of brown hair. The range of colours produced by melanin is limited to shades of yellow, brown, red, and black. Grey hairs contain only a few melanin granules, spread out through the hair. White hairs contain no melanin at all.

The whiter the skin colour and the more dark pigment there is, so the darker the hair colour the higher efficacy of LHR treatment. The less pigment in the skin and the more darker pigment in the hair, the better result.

The darker the skin colour the higher risk of skin damage or burning, thus the energy settings must be lowered and the less efficiency of LHR treatment.

Much like the difference in the heating of a car in sunlight, the darker car is hotter at the end of the day than the white car. This principle also holds true for laser hair removal.

All of the following 6 conditions must STRICTLY be followed in order to obtain optimum results from LHR:

1. Marquee clinical End Points which determine that the device settings are effective
The settings must be high enough that your follicles become inflamed after being hit by the light. That is when you see treated hair follicles become red & swollen.

The more pronounced follicle inflammation, the better & the sign to indicate some damages to your hair follicles. But the setting shouldn't be too high that can blister or burn you, therefore patch test is very important. Some hairs purge out from follicles as soon as they get hit by the light. Generally, hair should fall out within a week or two after the treatment. If this isn't the case, it's not working.

The photos below show the signs of what effective treatments should look like:

The photos below show the signs of unwanted results from laser, diode & IPL hair removal:

2. Your hair must be at the anagen phase
Timing between each treatment is very crucial for ultimate results from LHR. Any light-based therapies are effective to remove hair only in anagen phase of growth.
Different body areas have different hair growth cycles. In order to catch the most hair in the anagen phase during your LHR sessions, as soon as a significant percentage of the hair starts emerging from your skin, resume for the next session. For optimal results, it is recommended that your initial 1st & 2nd sessions are done at 4-8 week intervals to catch each cycle of hair growth. Then the subsequent 3rd to 6th sessions are between 6 weeks - 6 months apart. For clients with dark skin or lighter hair, it would take 6-8 sessions. Some people may be satisfied with their results sooner. Some may require more sessions. Results vary among different individuals & different areas can have different results. Following these guidelines should result in the greatest reduction of hair.

Under the skillful & experienced therapists coupled with appropriate type of powerful devices & the proper settings, clients should definitely see significant difference of their hair after each session.

Even if laser (diode & IPL) tends to have unpredictable results among different individuals, initially up to around 6-8 treatments within 1 ½ – 2 yrs are typically required to achieve maximum hair reduction, and I believe that further treatments can induce hair growth.

Once desired results are achieved, many people still require maintenance sessions around few treatment sessions annually. While in the maintenance phase, the ideal time to get a touch-up session is when you notice there are times when hair growth seems to be more aggressive. This is, as hair in the anagen phase, most effectively targeted.

Unfortunately, not all the unwanted hairs will be permanently removed by LHR. After prolonged dormancy, some unwanted hair can regrow even many years after a successful initial LHR course. If u want to have every single unwanted hair gone forever, Electrolysis is the only solution.

Another recommended alternative would be to START WITH LASER. Multiple LHR sessions will be required initially. Once desired results are achieved by laser, then you may choose to FINISH WITH ELECTROLYSIS. This is the fastest way to achieve the optimal appearance (be it total removal or just thinning of the hair, permanently).

3. Avoid under-treatments of LHR

Under-treatment can:

3.1 stimulate hair growth

3.2 undermine ultimate/final results – You will get less ultimate results. Why?

Light properties, such as reflection and absorption, are SOLELY based on COLOR. This principle also applies to virtually all light technology & devices including laser, IPL, LED & diode.

LHR is most effective during your very first few sessions while your hair is still the most dense, thick, coarse & dark because they have more darker pigment that can absorb more light. Based on this principle, it is essential to apply the most effective energy settings, especially during very first few initial treatment sessions to obtain the most ultimate reduction result. (The higher density of darker hair the better result).

Every time you received treatment, dark pigments (AKA melanins) within your hairs are destroyed & weaken. Less reduction results in later sessions because less dark melanins absorb less light, thus less effective. Thus, initial patch tests are important to ensure your therapist can use high settings and avoid overtreating/burning you.

 

LHR, diode & IPL lose efficacy on lighter, sparse, fine or thin hairs because they cannot absorb much light, & not enough to kill hair stem cells. Cells that contain DARK melanin, such as hair & skin cells, are destroyed. But hair follicles & hair stem cells that lack colour may remain intact. Thus some hairs will eventually grow back after some time, but such hairs will be lighter and finer (of course cells containing dark melanin have been destroyed).

Your chances of ultimate good reduction increase when the moral therapists use proper & high settings. If lower settings are kept applying on you, then your chances are lower and you may also end up with more hair.

4. Avoid both LHR, diode and IPL treatments when majority of hairs are not in anagen
Thus as soon as a significant percentage of the hair starts emerging out of your skin, return for the next treatment. Do not resume the next treatment too early when hair isn't dense enough or do not wait until your hair is too long because these can ruin your final result.

5. Stop waxing, plucking, threading & other epilation methods that pull/tear/disturb hair underneath the skin and stop using any epilation creams that affect hair underneath the skin at least 4-6 weeks before your very first session, after and between each sessions.

Shaving with shaving cream that doesn't disturb hair under the skin (but not epilation/depilation cream) is ok. Clients can shave as often as they like when their skin is no longer inflamed/irritated while waiting to resume their next session.

6. Why age is important to your result?
It's recommended that the client should have completely gone through puberty before commencing laser/diode/IPL hair removal, so that it allows enough time for full pattern of hair growth to be completely developed. That is around mid 20's for female and mid 30's for male.

Why wait? Remember laser (diode or IPL) works efficaciously when hair is dark, dense, thick & coarse.

 

 For more info, nearly everything clients need to know about diode, IPL or LHR