How Far Apart Should My Treatments Be Scheduled?

There is a common misconception that when you go for laser hair removal, it happens all at once; you can go in, have one session, and be free of hair for the rest of your life. Well, it doesn’t work that easy. There are many variables that dictate just how successful laser hair removal will be and how long it is going to take. No matter what you do though, laser hair removal is going to take multiple sessions and you have to have enough distance in-between each session.

• First of all, laser hair removal works best when you have dark, coarse hair and light skin. This is because it is easier for the laser hair technician to target. If the technician has difficulty targeting the hair, then they will miss hair and that hair will have to be dealt with in later sessions.
• Second, depending on how quickly the area around the hair heals, the time between sessions will change. As a result, if it takes longer for the redness to go down, or longer for the hair to fall out, there will be a greater amount of time between the sessions.
• Third, hair grows in cycles, and depending on the cycle your hair grows in, you will have to wait longer, or shorter, in terms of the time between the sessions.

On average, each session is going to take about one hour or so depending on the area being treated. The underarms do not take long, while the face, chest and back take a greater amount of time to treat. Once treated, you will then have to schedule your next appointment. When you first start your laser hair treatments, the time between sessions will be about five to 12 weeks depending on the factors listed above. This means that if you start your first session January 1st, then you will have to wait until between the second week in February and sometime around the end of April before you can go for another session.

Thankfully, as your sessions continue, the amount of time you have to wait between sessions will begin to get shorter. By the time you get to your last few sessions, several months down the road, you will be waiting about two to three weeks between sessions. Since it takes about five to ten sessions to have your laser hair treatment completed, the entire process will end up taking between six months and one year to finish.

Once you are done, you will have to go for annual appointments in order to get any new hairs that have grown since your last appointment. Over time, these appointments will begin to get fewer and fewer as well. So, no you cannot go for one session, or even two or three, and get your treatment done. It will take multiple sessions spaced weeks or months apart. However, once done, you will be saving a lot of time and money because you won’t be shaving anymore.

Read more answers to your questions at our laser hair removal FAQ page.