Laser Hair Reduction
- Time in clinic
- 30 to 45 minutes for a small area
- Sessions
- Six to eight, four to eight weeks apart
- Downtime
- Minimal
- Results from
- One to three weeks, as hairs shed
Key takeaway
You shave and wax less, with fewer ingrown hairs on your face or body, and the change is long-term.
It takes a course of laser sessions.
Before your visit
It suits
- Have dark hair you want less of
- Shave or wax more than you like
- Get ingrown hairs that keep coming back
- Can keep to a course of sessions
Not during pregnancy, or while your skin is recently tanned, irritated or infected. With a severe skin condition, ask your doctor first.
To prepare
- No tanning or fake tan beforehand, or the appointment is postponed.
- Tell your doctor about medication and anything that makes your skin sensitive to light.
- Arrive with clean skin and nothing on the area, not even lotion.
- For about four weeks before and between sessions, no waxing, tweezing, threading or epilating.
- Shave the area 12 to 24 hours before, and skip depilatory cream.
- A test patch may come first on a larger or more sensitive area.
It works at the root
Time in clinic30 to 45 minutes for a small area
An 808 nm diode laser sends light into the pigment of each hair, where it turns to heat. A pulse can last up to 1.5 seconds, long enough to damage the root, so less grows back. Dark, coarse hair responds best.
Only growing hairs respond, and the follicles take turns, so one session is not enough. The laser is set for your skin tone, your hair colour and thickness, the area and how much sun you have had.
On the day
In Legian, the laser room has white leather chairs under a medical lamp. With protective eyewear on, you feel warmth or a brief snap as the handpiece pulses over shaved skin. A small area, such as the underarms or bikini line, takes 30 to 45 minutes.
Where it can be used
- Upper lip
- Chin and jawline
- Face and neck
- Underarms
- Arms and hands
- Chest
Our clinics
The laser room at Cocoon Legian. 
The consultation comes first, with your doctor, before anything is booked. 
Reception at Cocoon Canggu. 
Refreshments are waiting when you arrive. 
The corridor to the treatment rooms at Legian. 
The Ubud lounge, and the rice field beyond it.
After each session
DowntimeMinimal
Until it settles
- For 24 to 48 hours, no hot baths, saunas, steam rooms or hard exercise.
- Use lukewarm water and gentle products until the skin settles.
- Do not pick at any crusting or dry skin.
- Keep out of direct sun and wear sunscreen every day.
- Contact us if anything unexpected develops afterwards.
Day by day
- Afterwards
Wash the area with warm water only, and keep it clean and dry.
- Over the following weeks
Hairs that look as if they have grown back fall out in time. Do not tweeze or thread them.
- Every day
Keep the area out of the sun, with SPF 30 or higher.
Results
Results fromOne to three weeks, as hairs shed
Treated hairs shed over one to three weeks, and until they fall they can look as if they are still growing. Each session, the regrowth usually comes back finer, lighter and sparser.
Any redness or small bumps around the follicles settle within hours. Not every hair goes for good, and new ones can become active and need a top-up. Results vary with your hair and the area.
Questions people ask
Most people need six to eight, though facial or hormonal hair can take more. Mention hormonal changes or sudden, unusual growth to your doctor.
Most people do not. Cooling can be used, and on sensitive areas your doctor may suggest a numbing cream.
Yes, once the skin feels comfortable. Shaving leaves the root in place, which the laser needs.
Blonde, red, grey and white hair has less pigment for the laser to find, so it tends to respond poorly.
Treated hairs can stay in the skin for a while and look as if they have grown back, but they fall out in time. Leave them to shed, without tweezing.
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