15 Sep Spring is here. It’s laser hair removal time.

Spring is here. You can feel it when you turn your face to the sun or at night when you kick the extra blanket to the bottom of the bed. Thoughts turn to the Spring Racing Carnival, to the perfect headpiece, to strapless dresses, to bare legs, to hair removal, too, so let’s talk about it.

Laser hair reduction, which is what we do at neoSKiN, is like anything – you can get it done – wham-bam, or in this case, zap-zap – or you can get it done well. It’s important to stop and think about who you are letting put thermal energy and heat against your skin. Sometimes in very sensitive areas!

We take laser hair reduction seriously. We take our staff training seriously and we take our equipment seriously.

 All neoSKiN therapists have laser training certificates neoSKiN founder Yasmin Najjar explains:

“All of our therapists undertake a laser safety certificate which involves a full day on understanding the science of laser and light. Then they undergo training with an educator from Candela, the laser machine company that we use. Usually it takes a good few months before any of our therapists start treating clients – in that time they’re shadowing, assisting, they’re treating friends and family. We have to make sure that the therapist is 100 per cent comfortable before we are comfortable. No one touches a client until they really feel like they know what they’re doing.

“When I’ve interviewed therapists over the years I’ve heard stories about salons where staff have, literally, three hours of training in the morning and in the afternoon they’re  told, ‘Off you go,’ and they walk into a room with a client. Can you imagine being that client? It gives me anxiety just thinking about it.”

neoSKiN is a Certified Candela Laser Practitioner. We use Candela machines because they are considered, globally, the best on the market for laser hair reduction. They have clinical white papers on the effectiveness of the treatment and are constantly educating, retraining, and reviewing the technology.

To get the best results from laser hair reduction there are a lot of factors that need to be taken into account; it’s not just zap-zap and out the door. All of our therapists ask a series of questions as part of the consultation before each session.

Do you have any hormonal issues that may affect hair growth?What medications are you taking?Strong antibiotics, heart medications, blood pressure medications and even some anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication cause sun sensitivity so you’re more prone to burning, even if you’re just out in the sun. Sometimes medications mean that treatment may have to be delayed or perhaps the machine settings will need to be modified, but it’s important information for us to know.

Do you sunbake, do you use fake tan? If you’re a regular fake tan user, for instance, we will need to time treatments around your fake tan use and you’ll need to know, too, when to tan pre and post treatment so that laser results aren’t compromised.

“People do talk about ‘horror stories’,” Yasmin says, “and you do hear about people being burnt or hurt when hair reduction is performed by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, but another kind of horror story is when people have paid thousands of dollars and had absolutely no result!”

At neoSKiN, on average a successful course of treatment entails 8 – 10 laser hair reduction sessions, one every six weeks. After each treatment you’ll see a change; the hair becomes thinner, finer and patchier.

Yasmin explains: “We don’t say the hair will be 100 per cent gone because laser is attracted to the colour of the hair, so if the hair is grey or blonde or slightly ginger the laser cannot ‘see’ it and cannot treat it. But for some people who have a few greys or a few blonde hairs in the mix, we say to them in the beginning, ‘It’s your decision, have a treatment, see what falls out. If you get a 90 per cent fall out, 80 per cent, 70 per cent, you decide where the line is that makes it worthwhile for you.’ We have some patients who might get a 50 – 60 per cent drop out because they’re so fair, but for them that’s worth it, and that’s their call.”

For more on laser hair reduction at neoSKiN click here or we look forward to welcoming you in-clinic for a complimentary consultation.