If you relocate to Dubai in the hot summer months you may ask yourself ‘will this heat ever stop?‘ but come mid October the fog sets in signalling a change to the weather and before you know it Dubai is bathed in months of glorious weather.  BBQ’s are dusted off and weekends are spent with friends by the pool, at the beach or camping under the desert night sky.

However, you maybe confused about which beauty regime to use that suits this outdoor lifestyle.

Laser hair removal is a “hot topic” at this moment and around every corner there is a promotion or discount of some sort for this treatment. We have asked Dr. Radmila Lukian from the Dubai London Clinic and Speciality Hospital to give us more insight on the procedure by answering a few question.

Is laser a 100 percent guaranteed permanent hair removal method?
Here’s the fact: There is no 100% guaranteed permanent hair removal method yet. Laser hair removal has the best overall results over any other method for ridding hair for long periods of time, or even permanently. But studies have shown it doesn’t give everyone these permanent results.

What are the areas that are treated using laser hair removal method?
Laser hair removal is used to remove unwanted hair. Common treatment locations include legs, arms, upper lip, chin and bikini line. However, it’s possible to treat unwanted hair in nearly any area — except the eyelids or surrounding areas.

How does the machine work?
Laser hair removal is a medical procedure that uses a laser — an intense, pulsating beam of light — to remove unwanted hair. During laser hair removal, a laser beam passes through the skin to an individual hair follicle. The intense heat of the laser damages the hair follicle, which inhibits future hair growth. Lasers can target pigmented hair while leaving the skin around the laser-treated area unaffected. With each pulse of the laser, you can treat more than one hair. Each pulse only takes a fraction of a second.

Is hair permanently removed in one session or does one have to go for several sessions? How many?
The hair must be in a certain stage of its growth cycle for the treatment to be effective. This cycle is known as the ‘active growing phase’, or anagen, and this is when the hair is connected to the base of the hair follicle. This connection provides a direct pathway for the laser energy to disperse where the hair is produced at the base of the follicle. Laser hair removal is an ongoing process that requires multiple sessions because it only affects actively growing hair, and not all hair follicles are active at the same time. Usually 20% of the all hair is in anagen phase, so because of that you will need several session (6-8 session).

What are the benefits of laser hair removal?
Benefits of laser hair removal include:
Precision: Lasers can selectively target dark, coarse hairs while leaving the surrounding skin undamaged.
Speed: Each pulse of the laser takes a fraction of a second and can treat more than a few hairs at the same time. Small areas such as the upper lip can be treated in less than a minute, and large areas, such as the back or legs, may take up to an hour.
Predictability: Ninety percent of patients have permanent hair loss after an average of three to five sessions.

What are the complications that may arise from laser hair removal treatment?
When undertaking laser therapy for hair removal or reduction, some temporary adverse effects might occur. These side effects are however temporary and will disappear after some time after the therapy but time taken might differ from person to person.

Blisters following treatment are one of the most common of side effects that are seen after the procedure. However, the use of cooling devices or other cooling agents have greatly reduced the occurrence of these side effects. The Laser hair removal machine used by Dubai London Clinic forces cold air with the laser beam reducing this tremendously and hardly any patients suffers from blisters.

Pain is another common side effect and can occur when the procedure is being done and afterwards too. However, the use of topical anaesthetics is helpful in reducing the pain from the procedure. Again this depends greatly on the quality of the machine being used.

Very uncommon side effects include skin changes like Hyperpigmentation (skin darkening) is also seen in some persons treated with lasers for hair removal. Hypopigmentation (skin lightening) is a problem that is seen in dark skinned persons and this side effect is often permanent.

How can one prepare for a laser hair removal session? Is there anything that a patient should do or should avoid before a session?
Before laser hair removal, schedule a consultation with the doctor to review your medical history, including medication use, discuss risks, benefits and expectations, as well as what laser hair removal can and can’t do for you.
Stay out of the sun. A tan increases the risk of side effects, such as skin lightening. If you have a tan — either from sun exposure or sunless tanning products — wait until the tan fades completely before undergoing laser hair removal. Stay out of the sun for up to six weeks before laser hair removal.
Avoid plucking, waxing and electrolysis. These hair removal methods can disturb the hair follicle and interfere with laser hair removal.

How do you care for your skin after a laser hair removal session?
After laser hair removal, avoid sun exposure — both natural sunlight and tanning beds. When your skin has healed, use sunscreen whenever you’re in the sun.

Which products should you use after laser hair removal?
Immediately after the laser treatment if you have folliculitis and erythema (redness) you can apply antibiotic with corticosteroid. If the treated area is intensively red or painful, you should apply CICABO cream. Be sure to use sunscreen with minimum SPF30 whenever you are in the sun.

What are the most common misconceptions about laser hair removal?
The most common misconceptions about laser hair removal are:
Laser Hair Removal Will Damage Internal Organs. The fear of having laser technology so close to some very important major organs has been cause for concern for some, who have mistakenly assumed that the affect would be damaging. In reality, the depth of the laser treatment only reached 1-4 millimetres, after which it dissipates and is completely harmless.
Laser Hair Removal will remove hair for the rest of your life the first time.
Laser hair removal causes scars and marks on the skin.
Laser hair removal is not affordable. Treatments from experienced and skilled laser experts are relatively priced, however if you look the long term it proves to be a big saving in time and money.
It is painful. In general laser hair removal only causes gentle discomfort and is less painful compared to waxing and electrolysis.

For any other question or a consultation with Dr. Radmilla Lukian, please contact Dubai London Clinic and Specialty Hospital at 800-DLC (800-352) to make your appointment or email jumeirah@dubailondonclinic.ae