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Does laser hair removal have any side effects?

    Are you tired of using traditional hair removal methods like shaving and trimming? Then going with the laser hair removal process might be the right thing for you. 

    First thing first, what exactly laser hair removal is? Well, it’s a medical procedure that is specially designed to remove unwanted hair from the human body with the help of a concentrated beam of light. 

    During this medical process, light is emitted through a laser that is absorbed by the pigment in the hair. The light is transformed into heat energy that tends to damage the tube-shaped sacs within the skin responsible for producing hair. This damage inhibits or delays the next cycle of hair growth! 

    Now what tends to be the real question here is that “Is the laser hair removal process safe?” “does it have any side effects?”. 

    As per the say of experts, this medical process happens to be super safe for most people out there. However, the discussion about the effects of laser removal hair abounds! 

    Although some temporary and minor effects might be seen just after the hair removal, any claims about any long-term side effects have not been found yet. 

    With that being said, this is what you need to know about the side effects of going with the laser hair removal process! 

    Just for your ease, the guide is broken into Minor side effects and Severe side effects! 

    Minor side effects

    As stated above, the process of laser hair removal undergoes by using small, high-heat lasers. 

    This laser might cause temporary side effects to the skin. The minor side effects that are common to be witnessed just after the procedure are Redness or Irritation and pigmentation changes.  

    You can read about these minor side effects below! 

    1. Redness and Irritation 

    After going through the laser hair removal process, the first thing that you might witness is “temporary irritation.” Not only this, but you might also notice some sort of redness and swelling in the treated area. 

    However, as said above, these are the minor effects. Similar side effects can also be witnessed when you choose to go with other hair removing methods such as waxing. 

    To minimize this minor effect, your dermatologist might apply a topical anesthetic prior to starting with the process. 

    As per experts say, the overall irritation you might witness may vanish within a couple of hours of the procedure. However, you can apply ice packs to the treated area to overcome swelling or any other pain. 

    However, on the odds that you experience any other symptoms than slight irritation or redness, then it’s preferred to check it out through your doctor as soon as possible. 

    1. Pigmentation changes 

     The other minor effect that you might witness after going through the process is pigmentation change. What is this exactly? It’s the change that you may observe in your skin color in the treated area. 

    Often, you may notice a darker or a lighter skin color after the process. If you are someone with fair skin, then you are more likely to observe dark spots being created on the treated area. Similarly, people with dark skin would witness lighter scars from the procedure. 

    Having said that, there isn’t anything to worry about. These pigmentation changes are a minor effect that may get back to normal after a while. 

    Severe Side effects

    While beginning with this section, our experts want to let you know that hardly any severe side effect is noticed while going through the laser hair removal procedure. Though the chances are zero, severe side effects are still on the table and, therefore, can’t be neglected. 

    According to the experts of laser hair removal in the woodlands, it’s said that the leading cause of witnessing severe side effects to this procedure is the usage of at-home laser kits or seeking services from someone who isn’t trained or a professional. 

    Following are the rare side effects that one can witness from laser hair removal: 

    • Witnessing excessive hair growth in the area that was treated with laser hair removal. Sometimes,  this process is often mistaken for hair shedding! 
    • Observing changes to the texture of the skin. The risk of catching this side effect is maximized even more for the people who have been recently tanned. 
    • One can observe scarring too. People who get scars easily are more at greater risk while being in the laser hair removal procedure. 
    • Having blisters and sun crusting. These severe side effects are usually caused when the treated area is exposed to sunlight too soon after the procedure. 

    Though these types of side effects are extremely uncommon to witness, still it’s a good idea to be aware of them beforehand to avoid any kind of inconvenience in the future. 

    While signing off to this process, it’s good to have a little skin check-up with your doctor. So that you can be super sure that your skin is fully prepared to go with the laser hair removal process.

    Can laser hair removal cause cancer?

    The question that people always have in mind while going for the laser hair removal process is “It won’t cause cancer, right” – this is one of the reasons that we have included this question as a separate section in our guide. 

    The answer to this question is “laser hair removal process won’t be the reason behind cancer.” According to the team of Skin Cancer Foundation, pre-cancerous elements of particles can also be treated by this procedure. 

    With that being said, the last thing that you need to worry about is getting cancer from the laser hair removal procedure. 

    Final Words 

    After writing the entire guide, we believe that if only you read out the entire guide thoroughly, you should have known by now that the laser hair removal process has zero skin effect. In fact, this process tends to be sure safe and highly effective for many people out there. 

    However, to keep you safe from any type of haphazard, we’ve got a couple of pieces of advice for you. 

    You should avoid getting laser hair removal to an area that is near to your eye. Secondly, you should avoid going through this process if you are pregnant. If you witness any rare symptoms after the laser hair removal process, always consult your doctor instead of googling the problem online. 

    Last but not least, you should know tha this procedure doesn’t guarantee you a hundred percent hair removal. You should be prepared for going to specific follow-up treatments in this regard.