Flawless, smooth skin seems desirable today. For many women, a well-groomed appearance includes the removal of unwanted hairs, especially in the armpit, leg and bikini areas.
However, many women also find individual hairs on the face extremely annoying and unattractive.
For this reason, (temporary) hair removal by means of epilation or depilation is a matter of course for many people and, due to time constraints, permanent hair removal is also a great desire.
Some men, on the other hand, also want permanent beard hair removal to save themselves a lot of work shaving their face. The removal of armpit, shoulder and back hair is also a concern for some men.
Today, modern aesthetic medicine offers ways to fulfill this wish, at least for a while.
The effectiveness of a treatment is defined by the fact that there is an improvement in the quality and quantity of hair growth after multiple treatments.
After multiple treatments with laser or flash lamp, the effectiveness is usually good according to the above definition, i.e. the hair that grows back after the treatment is finer than before the treatment and the number of hairs per square centimeter after the treatment is lower than before the treatment - the quality and quantity of hair growth changes.
The more treatments are carried out, the clearer this qualitative and quantitative improvement becomes.
Thanks to the various treatment options, the doctor can - individually tailored to the patient - meet the patient's desire for a well-groomed appearance without annoying hairs with little effort.
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Hair removal is defined as permanent if the treated area remains hair-free for longer than three months. The methods listed below aim to destroy the hair follicle.
The permanent success of depilation depends on the destruction of the entire hair system, i.e. both the hair matrix and the hair papilla, as new hair can still grow if one of these two parts is destroyed in isolation.
Permanent depilation methods can only be effective during the hair growth phase. However, as not all hairs are in this growth cycle at the same time, multiple treatments (on average approx. 5 to 7 sessions at intervals of approx. 6 weeks) are always essential.
- Electroepilation: The practitioner inserts a very fine steel probe into each hair follicle. The electrical energy emitted via the probe damages the hair growth cells.
- Lasering: Long-pulsed diode, NdYag, ruby and alexandrite lasers are used. The area to be treated is "scanned" with the laser head, depending on the system used, after prior local anaesthesia with an anaesthetic cream. The laser works with exactly one wavelength and is therefore aimed very precisely at its target structure. Modern devices have integrated surface cooling to protect the upper skin layer.
- IPL treatment: The so-called flash lamps are high-energy pulsed light systems (IPL / intense pulsed light). The technical specifications include a broad wavelength spectrum of 680-980 nm and a light energy of 10-45 J/cm2. A gel is applied to the skin and the area to be depilated is "scanned" with the treatment head. The physical parameters such as pulse duration and pulse sequence are set individually depending on the skin type and hair color, as with lasers.
After treatment with laser or IPL technology, there may be local redness, swelling and/or a circumscribed scab that heals within several days. Exposure to the sun must be strictly avoided in all cases.
As permanent hair removal procedures are more expensive, some people opt for less expensive beauty salons. However, the flash lamps used there contain significantly less energy.
The result can be: The hair follicles are only damaged and not permanently destroyed. The hair can grow back in a thinner form. Disadvantage: The damaged hair follicles can no longer be captured by a medical laser due to the weakened hair pigment. Permanent hair removal is then impossible.
