If you have not done it yet, surely you have thought about it. Does laser hair removal really work? You have seen the advertisements. You have noticed the new medical spa in your local mall. Maybe you saw that your own doctor is now offering cosmetic medical procedures. For all the hype, it can be hard to understand how a laser could cause your unwanted hair to never grow again.

It would certainly be nice for most women to never have to think about shaving underarms, legs or bikini lines again. What about the facial hair that has always bothered you? Guys no longer have to live with the ridicule that often comes with that hairy back. For many men this holds true for their chest, arms, and legs as well. Some men would like to never shave their faces again. If you can state without hesitation that you will not ever grow a beard of any kind, then why put up with the daily ritual of shaving. Ten more minutes of sleep each day sure would be nice.

There have always been solutions to resolving unwanted hair problems, but they are predominantly all temporary practices that require ongoing maintenance. This would include shaving, waxing, or electrolysis. Theses remedies often are synonymous with discomfort and can be time consuming. Again, would it not be ideal to have a long term means of never having to think about a razor again?

The answer, of course, is laser technology. There is a common perception out there that lasers do not always work. There are a couple of reasons for this. Number one, earlier technologies just flat out did not work better than newer methods. We understand these machines better, and have a better grasp on what we need to accomplish when approaching hair removal than we did even two years ago.

Also, some people are, frankly, better candidates for treatment than others. Fair skin and dark hair will nearly always be more receptive to laser hair removal treatments. This does not mean that individuals will not be a good candidate if their physical make-up is the opposite or anywhere in between. Darker skin or lighter hair may require more treatments to achieve an optimal result.

Lasers now give skin care professionals the opportunity to offer a series of treatments that are predicated by the hair growth cycles of the body that allow for a very precise method of removing hair on a permanent basis. Lasers produce a very specific form of energy, which is represented as photons or light energy. This light specifically targets the individual hair follicles in an effort to heat them. This heat, which is a bi-product of the light, then acts to disable the follicle and impair its ability to grow. The net result is, of course, long-term hair removal.

There are a wide variety of laser technologies out there, and they are not all created equal. There are Alexandrite lasers, Ruby lasers, nd:YAG lasers, Diode Lasers, and Intense Pulse Light systems, which are not lasers at all but approach the problem in a similar manner. Some systems are better or worse for different skin types or hair colors, so be sure to ask your laser skin care professional in the equipment they use is well suited to give you the result you are looking for.