Long-term hair reduction, any skin tone

Plan on 6, up to 8 for hormone-driven areas like a woman’s chin or jaw, spaced 4 to 8 weeks apart. The American Academy of Dermatology gives 2 to 6 sessions every 4 to 6 weeks, and Candela, the maker of the GentleMax Pro, suggests six to eight weeks between visits. Face hair cycles fastest, so it’s treated about every 4 weeks. Legs, back, and bikini run 6 to 8 weeks. Each session only catches hair in its growth phase, which is why one visit can’t do the job.

Not quite. It’s long-term hair reduction. The FDA defines permanent hair reduction as a stable drop in the number of hairs regrowing, measured 6, 9, and 12 months after the course, which is reduction, not removal. After a full series, most people see little or no hair for months to years, and what comes back is finer and sparser. Most keep a maintenance session or two a year, and hormone-driven hair needs more.

It does sting. Each pulse comes with a cold spray first, then a snap like an elastic band against the skin, per Candela. The bikini line, a man’s neck, and the upper lip sting more than legs or arms. Most people call it uncomfortable rather than painful, no numbing cream is needed for most areas, and it gets easier as the hair thins over the series.

Yes, in trained hands with the right wavelength for your skin. The common side effects are redness, swelling, and discomfort for 1 to 3 days, per the American Academy of Dermatology. Rare ones include blistering, cold sore outbreaks, infection, scarring, and skin lightening or darkening, and burns are the risk of the wrong settings for a skin tone. Eye shields are worn every time. For your safety, we don’t treat tanned skin, pregnant clients, or active infections.

Please shave the area within 24 hours before your session, ideally the night before. Avoid waxing, tweezing, or threading for 4 to 6 weeks beforehand, because the laser needs the hair in the follicle. Keep the area out of the sun, off tanning beds, and free of self-tanner for 2 to 4 weeks. On the day, come in with clean skin and no lotion or deodorant on the area, and bring a list of your medications.

Yes. The Candela GentleMax Pro is FDA-cleared for all skin types, I to VI, because it carries a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser alongside the 755 nm alexandrite. On darker skin we use the 1064 nm, which passes through the skin’s own pigment and heats the follicle deeper down. Dermatologists call it the best laser system for pigmented skin, per Gan and Graber’s 2013 review. We start with conservative settings and a test spot first.

No. Hair removal lasers are not ultraviolet light. They use red and infrared light, at 755 and 1064 nanometers, which heats the pigment in a hair follicle a few millimeters down and doesn’t damage DNA the way UV does. The Skin Cancer Foundation’s position on cosmetic lasers is that none of them increase the chance of developing skin cancer, per its president, Dr. Deborah Sarnoff. What a laser can do is burn tanned skin, which is why we won’t treat a tan.

It depends on the area, the number of sessions, and whether you combine areas. An upper lip takes minutes, while full legs or a man’s back takes up to an hour. A single session removes only 10 to 25 percent of the hair, per the American Academy of Dermatology, so packages of six are the normal way to buy it. Every course starts with a consultation and a written plan, and your deposit comes off your treatment.

No. If you arrive with a tan, we’ll reschedule your session. A tan means extra pigment in the skin, which absorbs laser energy meant for the hair and raises the risk of a burn or a dark or light patch. Self-tanner counts too. It’s best to stay out of the sun, off tanning beds, and off self-tanner for 2 to 4 weeks before each session, and keep the area covered for two weeks after.

September is the ideal time to start. Six sessions spaced 4 to 8 weeks apart, started in September, put the last one in late April or May, before summer sun exposure increases. Legs and bikini run on the longer spacing and can finish in late May or early June. If you start in November, the last sessions land in summer, when the area has to stay untanned. Summer itself is best for one maintenance session rather than starting fresh.

The results can’t be undone, since permanent hair reduction is the goal of treatment. If there’s any chance you’ll want the hair later, it’s best not to treat the area, and that includes a beard line or hairline you may feel differently about in the future.