Is Laser hair removal painful?

Is laser hair removal painful? Well the answer to that is, it depends on the type of laser being used. There are newer, more advanced lasers now that operate in a less painful mode, such as a Soprano Laser or Evolution Ice Laser. That said no treatment is completely painless.

How do less painful lasers work?

When a laser is flashed over the skin to destroy your hair, the light is absorbed by the hair which then heats up. The heating up of the hair and the follicle is what causes you to feel a hot pin prick sensation.

When people ask what it feels like – I tell them it’s like an elastic band twanging at the skin or hot pin pricks. However the newer generation of ‘reduced pain’ lasers feel much less painful overall. It’s more like a prickle.

A traditional laser delivers all of of the energy, and therefore all of the heat in one go… and that’s when you feel a really hot prick.

Whereas in the less painful method, the heat builds up gradually. The laser is passed over the area again and again and again, slowly building up heat. Your skin therefore becomes accustomed to the heating up sensation. This way it doesn’t feel like a big shock to the system.

An analogy to compare a traditional laser to a less painful laser.

Think of a traditional laser like a bath full of hot water. If you were to jump straight in to the bath, it would feel really hot, like it was burning you.

However, think of a less painful laser like an empty bath which you fill up slowly. If you got in and filled up the water with you in it, slowly increasing the temperature, you would get used to the heat. This way it wouldn’t feel like such a shock.

So that’s the difference between a traditional laser, and a less painful laser.

The area of the body makes a difference.

The other thing to mention is that the sensation can also depends on the area that’s being treated. In my opinion the underarms, legs, forearms and certain areas of the face are don’t feel as bad. The top lip and inner areas of the bikini can feel more prickly and hot.

But everyone is different and sometimes people sense things differently in different areas of their body.

The last thing to say is that nobody has ever told me to stop the treatment. And I’ve been doing this treatment for 15 years, with both types of laser.

Other ways to lessen the pain.

As well as using a less painful laser, there are other ways to minimise discomfort. For example a cooling system which blows out freezing cold air. This is an expensive bit of kit and not all clinics have them – but they are excellent.

It’s like an air conditioning unit – where the cold air is directed through a nozzle at your skin during the laser treatment. This helps to really cool and almost numb the area a little bit so it feels much easier.

Lastly you if you are finding it particularly uncomfortable (maybe if you’re having really large areas treated in one go) you can either split up the treatment or take a pain killer.

In conclusion

I hope I have answered the ‘Is laser hair removal painful?’ question well enough for you to get a good idea. The only way to know for you – is to feel it. So I recommend booking a consultation and a test patch, then you can feel it for yourself.

The less painful lasers do make a big difference. They aren’t totally pain free, you will still sense a prickle. And overall, I would say the discomfort is worth it. Here’s a great statistic… 99% of people who’ve had treatments with me say they wish they’d done it sooner!

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If you have any more questions about Laser Hair Removal, feel free to contact me at: rach@radiantliving.co.uk. OR visit our laser hair removal page here.