How Many Laser Hair Removal Treatments?

One of the most common questions asked is how many laser hair removal treatments will it take? The answer to this question requires some knowledge about laser hair removal practices.

What you don’t know could cost you thousands

In the unregulated and highly profitable business of looking good, many dishonest practices occur just to make more money. One such practice happens in the very popular treatment of laser hair removal.

Here is the scenario. You want to remove some embarrassing hair. You get on your computer and find a local business that performs laser hair removal. You book an appointment and are excited to get started. At your first appointment you ask how many treatments it will take to remove this hair for good. The technician says, “It should take between 6-8 treatments.” You’re thrilled, and agree to buy a package of laser hair removal treatments.

After your third treatment you become slightly concerned because you are not noticing any significant reduction in your hair growth. At your next session you bring this up with your technician and she calmly explains it away by telling you that some people take more treatments than others. This seems reasonable and your anxiety is lowered. Another three treatments pass and you can’t believe how little hair removal has occurred. You bring it up again and get the same answer from your technician. Your faith is weakened but you want the hair gone and so you buy another package of treatments.

Well I think you can clearly see what is going on by now. The client is being slowly milked of their money. How does this happen? It’s simple, the technician turns down the settings of the laser; this stretches out the number of treatments a client needs and forces them to spend more money.

How to Protect Yourself

First, do a lot of research online. Make sure the laser hair removal clinic specializes in the hair removal treatment; as many clinics have laser hair removal as just one of a long list of cosmetic treatments. A personal referral is always best; if it’s not possible, call clinics that have favourable reviews. You need to ask the clinic for several clients that you could call to verify their reviews.

You also need to ask a lot of questions (read: “The top 4 questions to ask before buying a laser hair removal package.”). Only go to clinics that guarantee their treatments. You need to remember that a series of treatments can cost from as little as $300 to as high as $3000, for just a single area. So don’t feel nervous about doing your due diligence.

When it comes to the treatment, allow the first session to be used to further fine tune the laser settings. This is because the technician will get a much better sense of how the hair follicle is reacting and will be able to fine-tune the laser settings as the treatment progresses. But all gloves are off after the second treatment. If you are not noticing hair reduction after each treatment, you need to start asking questions. Sometimes you will notice your hair growing back in patches. That’s a good sign – it means the treatment is working. You will need to wait up to two weeks after a treatment to see the full results. If you don’t see any hair reduction, you need to phone your technician and ask why. Don’t wait for several sessions to pass before you sound the alarm.