How to Prep Your Skin For A Laser Treatment
Take A Bath
It doesn’t matter what skin tone you have, darker skin or lighter, or what is your hair color, taking a bath to clean your body before a laser hair removal session is a must. This is an important step because showering would help you to remove all makeup, fragrance, lotions, and any other topical products that you have used completely and provide you with a fresh canvas for your hair removing procedure.
Try to use warm water first to open the hair follicles and clean any dirt, dust, and product buildup from within. Using a gentle cleanser [ we prefer this Cetaphil Ultra Gentle Body Wash At Amazon ], rub off your skin and cleanse it like never before. Finish off your bath with cold water to close the hair follicles so that no additional dirt or dust can enter deep inside your skin before the removal procedure.
Exfoliate
Regardless of the type of hair removal sessions, you are planning to use, waxing, laser, or even shaving, remember that exfoliation is important. Exfoliating your skin with a dry brush, mitt, or even a gentle scrub [you can try out the OGX Pink sea salt & rosewater gentle soothing body scrub At Amazon] before the laser hair removing session would help you to remove the dead skin cells around the hair follicles completely so that the light can enter easily for precise results.
In addition to clearing the hair follicles, gentle exfoliation also loosens the ingrown hairs so that they can be removed easily for improved results.
Do Not Pluck or Tweeze
Even when you see a bit of unwanted hair here and there on your skin surface, never make the mistake of plucking or tweezing them before a laser session. This is because, during an at-home laser hair removing procedure, the light from the tool needs to locate and target the hair follicles that need to be removed permanently. If you pluck out the hair with its follicle, the machine won’t find anything to seal permanently and therefore, won’t provide the outcomes you have been hoping for.
However, if you want an easier and more effective hair removing procedure, you can always shave the unwanted ones before using a laser machine. The blades from the razor would only cut off the surface hair and give a smooth, silky foundation for the laser session.
Stay Away From Makeup and Topical Creams
Tweezing and plucking your hair is not the only thing that you should avoid before an at-home laser session. Before putting the laser lights from the hair removal device on your precious skin, make sure that you haven’t applied any moisturizers, lotions, serums, makeup, or even perfumes for the best hair removing results.
When you apply these products on your skin, they cover the surface and create a barrier for the laser light to reach deep inside your epidermis layer to target hair follicles. Without these topical products, your hair removal sessions surely would be more precise and easy.
Avoid Sun Exposure
Even when you have dark skin with dark hair and the sunlight doesn’t harm you as dangerously, you still need to avoid direct sun exposure for at least 72 hours before trying an at-home laser hair removal treatment. Avoiding the sun is extremely crucial because the heat accumulated in your skin from sun exposure combined with the heat from the laser tool has the potential to burn and scar your skin and damage it beyond repair.
Pro-Tips
Even though these tips or suggestions, however you call them, are not direly related to the skin preparation procedure, they should still be followed religiously every time you are set to remove your unwanted hairs with a laser tool.
Let’ discuss them in detail to not only achieve the best removal results but also to ensure healthy and glowing skin.
- A home laser hair removal tool that has worked wonders for your friend might not produce the same results for you. The color of your skin matters. And therefore, get a tool according to your skin tone and hair color for the most perfect outcome.
- Do not go for tanning or tanning bed before the laser treatment. The ultraviolet light from the tanning sessions has the same effect on your skin as the sunlight during the laser procedures.
- Follow the instructions on the tool to a “T”. There is always useful information listed on the manual that comes with your hair removal device.
Wrapping Up
Laser hair removal tools are a great way to get rid of your unwanted hairs at home. And now that you know how to prepare your skin correctly before a laser treatment, we can hope that you would enjoy the best results and dazzle the world with your skin.
Question I Frequently Get From My Readers
Can I use a hair removal cream before the laser session?
To remove the unwanted hairs, the follicles must be present in your skin whenever you are using the light. If you use a depilatory cream or hair removal cream on your skin, would vanish the follicles and the light from the tool won’t find anything to remove permanently. Therefore, we suggest not trying any of these creams before the laser.Are the skin preparation steps same for lighter and darker skin tones?
The preparation steps that we have discussed above are very generic. This means that no matter what is your skin type, skin tone or hair color, you must follow these steps so that you have the best hair removal results at your home.
Why my skin burns after I use a hair removal device?
If you feel a burning sensation on your skin after a laser session, this is probably because you were exposed to the Sun or tried a tanning bed before using a laser tool.
