Should I Shave with a Razor or Trim It All the Way Down?

Hi Domith.  Shaving works best but we do have some African American patients that get so many ingrown hairs when they shave that clipping very closely to the skin works better for them.  In either case, we would need to have the hair not sticking up above the skin to offer the safest treatment.  

Using a razor or trimming the hair is based on the situation. If you shave regularly with a razor without complication, than that would be the best option. If you are a patient who develops irritated and in-grown hairs from close shaving, then trimming as close to the skin as possible may be your best option. Shaving the night before vs. the morning of a session also tends to reduce the amount of irritation to the follicles and skin afterwards. “Dr. D”

Prior to laser treatment, it is important to shave the area. Otherwise hair gets pressed to the surface of your skin. When the hair shaft is destroyed by the laser it can injure the surrounding skin. Shave a day prior to your appointment, so if you nick yourself, the area will not be bleeding during your procedure. Any method of hair removal such as waxing or tweezing will remove the deeper portions of the hair follicle which contain the "target pigmentation" and will render laser hair removal ineffective for at least two weeks. Either shaving or depilatory creams can be used up to the day of the laser treatment as they do not remove the entire hair shaft.