Women in Dubai and UAE are increasingly opting for radical hair removal methods. There is high demand for methods like laser hair removal – this is seen as a semi-permanent (if not permanent) method of hair removal.
Leading skin care clinics in Dubai are offering laser hair removal that is safe and effective. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has scuppered many an appointment – if you have had just one or two sessions for laser hair removal in Dubai, then this article is for you.
How laser hair removal works
Laser hair removal is done on areas of the skin where you wish to have the unwanted hair removed. It can be administered on the face, shoulders, back, arms, legs, bikini zone and also underarms.
An intense laser beam is concentrated on the area to be treated. The beam of light focusses on the hair roots – it is attracted to the pigment in the hair root – and is converted into heat energy. This heat effectively burns or destroys the hair root. The hair then falls out and may or may not regrow.
Only small areas of the skin are treated at a time, so as not to cause excessive post-treatment soreness. The doctor can ascertain how much of the skin is to be treated in one session, when to have the follow up session, what kind of post-operative care is required, etc.
How are the sessions timed?
- Though most laser hair removal treatments are touted to be permanent in effect – and some of them do offer near permanent effects in just a few sessions – it is an undeniable fact that you do require repeat sessions to ensure permanent hairlessness.
- Though results vary from person to person, almost every person shows some amount of hair regrowth in a few weeks after the laser hair removal is done. This is a normal hair regrowth process, though the regrowth may be finer and scantier than before. The hair follicles are able to regrow, albeit much slowly.
- Repeated sessions ensure that the hair regrowth process is retarded, and eventually, stopped altogether. Your dermatologist can judge how many sessions you are likely to need, and at what intervals.
- Generally, sessions are spaced depending on the rate of regrowth. Subsequent sessions are timed with longer durations, since regrowth is lower with each session.
What happens if you miss an appointment?
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, beauty salons, hospitals and skin and hair clinics, like most other places in Dubai and the rest of UAE, had to down their shutters. Even now, though businesses have reopened, social distancing and limited numbers of appointments have ensured that beauty salons and skin care clinics operate at low capacity.
- As a result, there is every likelihood that you might miss your scheduled laser hair removal session, or have already missed it. This might work out fine eventually if you already have had a few sessions and the hair regrowth phase is slowed down considerably.
- However, if you have just had one or two sessions, your doctor might be mildly concerned about you missing any further sessions. The efficacy of the sessions would be reduced to a large extent if there was a large gap between them. For example, if you have had one session three months ago and your doctor has pencilled you in for the next one two months later to clear their backlog, then the efficacy of the overall treatment will be reduced. In effect, it will seem as though you are starting on the treatment afresh.
- So the more closely you are able to follow the session regimen, the better for the overall efficiency of the treatment and the more long term the results.
The only positive to be taken away from a long gap between two consecutive laser hair removal sessions, is that your skin can heal better and without interruption. We hope you follow the doctor’s advice on post-treatment care: do not allow direct sunlight on your treated skin, apply a doctor-certified moisturiser or healing cream, drink a lot of water and avoid sweating, tanning, swimming in the ocean or in a public pool and even exfoliating the skin.
