How To Remove Armpit Hair Permanently

Summer is around the corner. Just a few weeks away. The sun shines and it is getting hot. The time for long sleeves is gone and the time for summer dresses has come. Do you want to remove underarm hair?

You may have tried everything already. Maybe you stopped shaving and tried waxing. Or some other hair removal method. Are any of those permanent? No. Results are short-lived. And you have to do it all over again every week or so.

Worry not, you can remove armpit hair permanently. It is indeed possible. You just need to try the right hair removal method. And this is not even that difficult! Read along and follow our tips for hairless armpits all year round!

What do classic hair removal methods do?

Removing unwanted body hair is no small feat. When comes the time to do it, you have plenty of options. However, the most popular hair removal methods are: waxing, using creams and shaving.

Waxing

How does waxing work? With melted wax applied on the skin. The wax cools for a few seconds, trapping the hair. Then, the esthetician tears the stripe off.

Both the hair and the root are removed from the follicle. Dead skin cells are also removed. This explains why you feel like your skin is lighter after a session.

As the hair follicle is empty, it starts to produce a new hair. This process can take a few weeks. After the hair is produced, it grows and pierces through the skin. Waxing will let you have smooth skin for up to six weeks.

However, this hair removal method interferes with the hair growth cycle. Thus you may experience dual growth, where one half of body hair grows together, and the other half later. This makes removing hair more difficult.

Furthermore, waxing is quite a painful option. Especially if you wish to remove body hair on your bikini area. If you are prone to ingrown hair, waxing may worsen your condition.

Chemical creams

Chemical creams are a non-natural way to remove unwanted body hair. They are made of chemicals that will dissolve the hair at the surface of the skin. Using them is easy.

You spread the cream all over the area and wait for three minutes. Then you remove the cream under the shower. The hair will go as well.

However, chemical creams do not affect hair growth or the follicle. It does not penetrates the skin. Thus, hair will start to grow back immediately. Your skin will be smooth for up to a week before you say hair growth.

Furthermore, such method can be very harmful for your skin. All those chemicals are quite aggressive to the skin and may lead to irritations, allergic reactions and redness.

It is not advised to use such creams if you have sensitive skin or if you wish to remove hair in sensitive areas.

Shaving

Shaving is probably the most popular hair removal option there is. It is in appearance very convenient and fast. You just need a razor and a shower. The blades will cut the hair at the surface of the skin, leaving it smooth for a few days.

One obvious drawback of shaving is the fact that results do not last. You will see your underarm hair coming back in no time. Regrowth may also be unpleasant and itchy. Some hair may stay stuck under the skin.

While waxing contributes to hair growth reduction in the long term, shaving does not. On the contrary, it stimulates hair growth. You have to shave again and again to keep your armpits hair free.

Shaving is not sustainable and can also have side-effects. Those includes cuts, bumps, ingrown hair, bleeding and infections. Plus, the cost ends up adding up and the bill in the long term is always much higher than expected.

Why choose laser hair removal

A hair removal option that fixes all the issues listed above is laser hair removal. It is FDA approved and can reduce hair growth by up to 95% permanently. Underarms hair removal will never be the same.

A laser treatment relies on selective photothermolysis. The laser will pick a target, the pigment in the hair, and send energy all the way down to the hair follicle. Once the energy reaches its destination, it damages the follicle beyond repair.

No further hair growth is possible. This is how patients can achieve permanent armpit hair removal. Laser hair removal works on all skin colors, including darker skin, and hair colors. It removes unwanted hair in a comfortable and safe way.

One thing to keep in mind is that it only works on hair that is in the anagen phase of growth. That is when the hair and follicle connect. As only 20% of all hair is in this phase at any point in time, one session can only treat 20% of hair.

This explains why patients need several sessions as part of their underarm laser treatment. Based on your hair growth cycle, hormone levels, genetics, etc., you may need additional sessions.

What does underarms laser hair removal entail?

Underarms laser hair removal is a very fast and convenient treatment. It won't take more than ten minutes to treat both armpits. The certified technician will apply some gel before the beginning of the treatment.

Then, they will set the intensity of the laser based on your skin tones and hair color. The laser gun will slide up and down, treating the whole area. Patients should not feel pain. Instead, the sensation is akin to pinching.

Should the laser be too strong, it is important that the patient notifies the technician. That way, the treatment will be more efficient and safer. Laser hair removal is not meant to hurt or burn. If it does, it is done wrong.

To maximize your results, preparation is key. Do not expose your underarms to the sun in the 10 days prior to your session. Make sure you shave the night before your treatment. Avoid applying deodorant.

Laser hair removal aftercare is quite straightforward and the procedure has no downtime. You must be careful with sun exposure and avoid sweat inducing activity for at least 24 hours. Avoid tight clothes as well.

Can anyone undergo the procedure?

Laser hair removal has very few contraindications. Most of them are temporary. For example, pregnant women cannot undergo the procedure. If you have a severe skin condition or are taking photosensitive medicine, you wont be able to do laser either.

The ideal candidate for laser hair removal is a patient with fair skin and dark hair. Indeed, it is easier for the laser to pick up the hair when there is a sharp hair to skin contrast. However, that does not mean the treatment does not work if that contrast is not sharp.

As a matter of fact, technology improvements now allow to treat patients with dark hair on dark skin as well as fair hair on fair skin. What matters is that the hair holds some color pigments and that the right laser machine is used.

For example, people with dark skin should not use just any laser machine. ND: YAG and diode lasers with a 1064nm wavelength are the safest and most efficient. Indeed, those lasers do not rely on melanin too much to penetrate the skin and get to the hair follicle.

if you have fair hair on fair skin, the laser machine must be set on the 755nm wavelength. That wavelength specifically targets hair with less pigments and is mostly found in diode lasers. Laser hair removal does not work on white, grey or very light blonde or red hair.

However, as long as your light hair holds a bit of pigments, the laser will be able to pick it up. Furthermore, there may be areas of your body where the hair is very light and other areas where it is darker.

When will I start seeing results?

Laser hair removal is a treatment that needs at least six sessions to see significant hair growth reduction. This is because the hair growth cycle make treating every hair at once impossible. Indeed, as explained earlier, one session can only treat up to 20% of hair on the chosen area.

The more sessions you get, the better. It is the cumulative effects of sessions that will produce the results you want. However, you will still get to see results early on in the treatment. For example, even after two sessions, you will notice the difference.

Even after one session you should be able to notice some difference. Indeed, the treated follicle will no longer be able to hold the hair. The latter will shed and fall. This process can take from ten days to fifteen days.