Tried & Tested: Diode Laser Hair Removal

Here’s a sickening fact: “The average woman shaves 7,718 times in her lifetime”, and it’s no picnic for men either—though if we’re all being honest we probably wouldn’t gasp at the sight of a man’s hairy leg, armpit or worse…chin! Whether your female or male, we all tend to have certain parts of our body that we’d prefer to be hair-less.

You’ve probably already gone through the tried and tested methods of shaving, plucking, waxing, or perhaps the ghastly fumigation otherwise known as Nair; but no matter how hard you try that hair just seems to grow back, and with a vengeance! You’ve probably also heard of (or even tried) the miracle hair removal known as ‘IPL’ or ‘laser hair removal’, and depending on when you had that done, that experience might have either been great, or little short of a horror story. The initial wave of laser hair removal got a bit of a reputation for being painful but a lot has changed since then. In fact, the technology is so advanced that many people feel little to no pain at all. With this in mind, Vicky (my beauty co-pilot) and I decided to explore the latest treatment, Diode Laser Hair Removal.

So, if you’re currently looking for a lasting hair removal treatment that doesn’t cause you horrific pain, or break the bank balance, then read on.

My 1st Session

If you caught our last edition you’ll know that we were pleasantly surprised at the patch test, to discover that the advertised “pain-free treatment”, really was pain free. Albeit that was just a taster session, and who knew if the full treatment would be the same, but never the less we pursued.

Side note: In preparation for the treatment we were told to shave the night before, so that the laser could more easily reach the hair root. A process you continue in-between treatments too.

True to form the entire process really was PAIN FREE. I cannot stress this enough to any who might currently be holding off having this treatment for fear it might hurt. At most, it felt cold; like an ice cube being slid over my skin—minus the freeze burn.

Lisa explained that we would be starting at a lower-level of intensity in order to get the skin used to the process, and that on our next visit we could up the level to increase the results. She ran the custom-built Diode laser tool over the fronts and backs of my legs until she was confident every inch had been covered. And now to await the results…

Results

In the three weeks between our first and second treatment I genuinely did notice a difference. Yes the hair did grow back—as we were told it would at this stage—but it grew back more sparsely, which clearly meant that some of the hair cells had been affected and were, if only slowly, making their way to the exit.

The Science: Diode Laser vs. IPL

Lisa thoroughly explained the process, most of which I understood, and will try to relay as best as I possibly can in layman’s terms…the hairs in our skin have their own unique lifecycles; growing and dying as we go about our daily lives. In order to reduce the likelihood of the hair growing back you must kill the root—kind of like a weed.

Past methods such as IPL would actually use light beams, not laser, to penetrate the hair follicle, which is why it was found painful as it also affected the surrounding tissue. The new and improved Diode treatment actually uses a precise laser, the likes of which can penetrate the hair deeper and more accurately, without trauma to the surrounding tissue.

Depending on various factors (skin pigment, type etc.) will effect how many treatments you’ll need, but on average they say between 6-8 sessions for lasting results. Essentially, each time you are treating the hair with the Diode laser, you are shortening and shortening the internal hair root, until there’s nothing left to grow.

One thing that really stood out when chatting away with Lisa is her honest and dedicated approach to the beauty industry, which was particularly evident when she was explaining that not everyone is actually eligible for the treatment; “…naturally light, red or grey hair will hardly benefit from this treatment as the laser doesn’t work well with light hair pigments. Sadly some practices say it will, which is really unfair to the client”. This isn’t the first time I’ve met Lisa and every time I do I have to really commend her for her honesty. I’ve seen clients walk into the clinic before, seeking treatments that won’t really benefit them, and Lisa is the first person to say, or recommend something more appropriate—a rare quality in an aesthetician—and I expect this is spurred on by her extensive training as a lead board advisory member of the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses.

Stay tuned for our next edition where we will be talking about the next steps of our journey to silk-smoothdom.