Question:
I’d like to get my first laser hair treatments in a few weeks, but I was told that I’d have to wait four weeks since I got my legs and brows waxed last week. I really wanted to get this hair removed for my vacation to the Caribbean. Why do I have to wait 5 weeks after waxing to get laser hair removal treatments?
Answer:
The difficulty with waxing prior to laser hair removal is that waxing removes the entire hair shaft from the follicle. The laser energy uses the hair shaft to absorb energy deep into the hair follicle. When the energy is absorbed by the hair shaft during laser hair removal, the hair follicle becomes heated and eventually destroyed. It takes several weeks for the hair shaft to be long enough to make a difference during laser hair removal.
Posted by Dr. Philip Schoenfeld