Does laser hair removal cause any pain? Here’s what an expert says

Taking to Instagram last week, Rashmika shared a picture of her hand on her Instagram story and wrote, “Any of you want to become an actor for just the good part of it.. don’t! There’s a lot that goes into it.. For example: the n number of times you have to get lazer done.. damn.. it hurts so bad! (sic)” The actor made a reference to the pressures that celebrities face to maintain the ‘perfect image’ and the consequences of it.

(Photo: Instagram/@rashmika_mandanna)

But, while waxing and thread are understood to be a tad painful, what causes laser treatment pain? We reached out to an expert for answers.

Dr Manjul Agarwal, senior consultant, dermatology, at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh, told indianexpress.com that laser hair removal can cause pain, but it depends on many factors. “Practically, there is no pain nowadays. It depends on what power or energy we are giving to the skin. It depends on the skin colour of the patient and the texture of the hair. The parameters we use to remove hair are important. Cooling is also very important to avoid pain,” she explained.

Dr Agarwal continued by saying that cooling is required before, during and after the treatment. “Most of the lasers have a cool tip. There are also vacuum assisted high speed lasers that do not cause any pain, with the patient only feeling their skin getting pulled. In other words, it is fast and painless. If someone is sensitive, topical anesthesia can be given to them in the form of numbing creams. But, these can only be applied on a small area and not over the entire leg or arm.”

A person should have a sitting every 4-6 weeks initially. After a few such sittings, if the hair does not grow back, there is no requirement for more sittings. (Representational image/Getty)

But, what causes redness of the skin that the actor talked about?

According to the doctor, laser treatment focuses on the hair root. “When the light energy from the laser reaches the hair root, it gets heated. And because of this heat, the root gets damaged. This is called photo-thermal energy. Similarly, we have photo-mechanical and chemical also — the three different types of energies that cause damage to the hair. When the parameters are not correct, it can cause injury to the surrounding area [of the skin] which we don’t want.

“We only want the hair follicle to get damaged. For someone with a dark-skin colour — in the absence of cooling — the entire upper layer will take this energy. And it can cause burns, scars, pigmentation, etc.,” she explained.

Post-treatment precaution

Dr Agarwal said it is advisable to give cooling for 10-15 minutes after hair removal. “It can be done with ice packs, cool packs and also cryo-cooling. The patient should also avoid the sun and apply sunscreen regularly. They should not do waxing or plucking prior to their treatment, as it is the dark-coloured hair root that absorbs the light energy, and in its absence, the side-effect possibilities are much more. Light-coloured skin and dark-coloured hair is ideal for laser hair removal treatment.”

She concluded by saying that a person should have a sitting every 4-6 weeks initially. After a few such sittings, if the hair does not grow back, there is no requirement for more sittings.

📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!