How Much Hair Should Reasonably be Missed and Left Behind by IPL Treatments?

Question

I have had my first IPL treatment and was left with a patchwork of hair remaining around rectangles in which the hair had fallen out. Despite the fact that the rectangles were the exact same size and shape as the head of the Starlux 500 used, the technician argued with me that the hair remaining was in the "wrong" growth faze and therefor had not fallen out, while I maintain she just simply did not aim the blasts close enough together.  Can any Doctors please tell me how close together the consecutive pulses should be fired?  As the technician so adamantly pointed out the head of the IPL  was larger than the rectangles, so obviously she is going by the outer diameter instead of the inner one.  I am SO frustrated.  Please don't lecture me, I will NEVER got to anyone for hair removal who is not an MD again, but at this stage I have already paid for another 5 treatments and need advice to get the most out of them! Thank you so much

Harold J. Kaplan, MD · Answer

Hi Tlowke.  We do not know of any physicians that actually perform laser hair removal procedures  so in our area, it's usually a nurse regardless of where you go. 

	As for the pattern after treatment, what we would let you know is that you are not supposed to overlap the areas treated.  One of the reasons is that it is much easier to get a blister or burn if you are overlapping and the reason 5 or 6 treatments are necessary is that not all areas are covered 100% each visit.  Your practitioner should try and get these areas as close together as possible while limiting the chance for overlapping. 

	In addition, there is a hair growth cycle that means that the hair grows at different times for different treatments.  This is another reason multiple treatments are required.

F. Victor Rueckl, MD (in memoriam) · Answer

I'm sorry you are unhappy with your treatment, but a few things:

	1. Proximity of the tip for stacked pulses depends on the type of laser being used, and the experience of the operator. In my office, we use Syneron equipment and my technicians have done over 100,000 hair removal procedures. So they know how close to put the treatment head and how to stack the pulses close enough for maximum effectiveness and safety. Some people simply can't do this.

	2. Some offices try to do treatments as quickly as possible, with as few shots as possible, but claim it's a full treatment. I don't know the office you went to, or what exactly what done, but hair removal procedures do take time. If you bought something like a Groupon, don't be expecting a lot, as those are minimally effective treatments done in mass production mode.

	3. All hair follicles on the body are not in the same growth phase at the same time. This is why multiple treatments are needed, regardless of the area done. The treatments need to be done in specific time intervals, though. For instance, facial hairs have a cycle of about 3-4 weeks, while the legs have cycles of a few months. Doing treatments without following proper intervals does nothing, but you should not have expectations that all hairs will be coming out or are treated at each treatment, simply because the phase of growth is different. Only active hair follicles in specific stages of the hair growth cycle respond to laser hair removal. So, only some hairs are treated each time.

	4. I won't lecture you, but let me say this. Doctors don't always make the best laser technicians either. My technicians have done hundreds of thousands of procedures in a decade. I have done about 75 total. Doctors do not always make the best technicians simply because the treatments don't need to be done by us. The treatments need to be overseen by us, absolutely, but experienced, trained, and helpful technicians are sometimes better than doctors at laser treatments.

How Much Hair Should Reasonably be Missed and Left Behind by IPL Treatments?

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How Much Hair Should Reasonably be Missed and Left Behind by IPL Treatments?

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Everything you need to know about Laser Hair Removal

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.