As more Filipinos long for smooth, hair-free skin, hair removal is quickly gaining ground here in the Philippines, veering away from traditional methods of shaving, waxing and threading.
With more and more beauty centers offering hair removal procedures for both men and women, dermatology and medical aesthetics pioneer Dermclinic compiles a list of things Filipinos need to know about hair removal:
1. NO. 1 IN THE WORLD
Hair removal is the number 1 requested beauty procedure in the world.
Hair removal using lasers and lights is 100% approved by the FDA. This proves that the procedure is 100% safe.
3. INTENSE PULSED LIGHT
A non-invasive hair removal treatment that has the capacity to remove hair permanently and lighten the target area, too.
4. ASIAN HAIR IS THICKER AND TAKES LONGER TO REMOVE
Asians have straighter, thicker and more pigmented hair compared to Westerners, hence Asian hair takes longer to remove.
5. CONSIDER THE STRANDS
The thickness of your hair may determine how fast you see results: thicker hair has greater surface area and contains more pigment (color) that will absorb more laser energy compared to finer hair. If you are treating fine hair, you may need to be more patient and go through more sessions to see results.
6. HAIR COLOR MATTERS
If your hair color falls between light brown to black, it is likely that laser treatment will be effective. If your hair color is red or blonde, laser treatment might still work, but it will definitely be less effective and takes a much longer time to see results.
7. NOT ALL HAIR-REMOVAL MACHINES ARE MADE EQUAL
Some machines have been studied with Western skin while some have been studied with Asian skin. The safest option is still IPL Hair Removal for it has been proven effective for both Westerners and Asians with very little case of side reactions.
8. HOW IT WORKS
Lasers send beams of light though the skin to target the hair follicles. The pigment in the hair shaft absorbs the energy. The light destroys the hair and eventually the follicle itself.
9. WATER POWER
Water makes the skin absorb more laser, light and heat.
10. TIME EXPOSURE
With shorter exposure, collateral tissue has more time to cool between pulses, translating to reduced thermal damage. When thermal damage is reduced, hair removal is less effective. Intense Pulsed Light machines, however, are the only machine that can give longer exposure with less cooling time and with the right amount of heat that makes the collateral tissues more exposed to thermal damage, thus making hair removal more effective.
11. HAIR STEM CELL IS THE TARGET
Most hair removal machines only target the hair itself. In most cases, after few weeks, new hair will grow again. The reason behind this is that the lasers used for hair removal don’t target the main source of hair which is the “stem cell”. This is located at the sides of the hair shaft. These stem cells need to be destroyed so it won’t produce new hair after the old hair has been removed or damaged. The only way to destroy this is through enough amount of heat.
12. WHAT ABOUT OTHER MACHINES?
Some machines offer trillionth time exposure per second. Although it works fast, it may not be so effective in hair removal. The faster the exposure is, the lesser chance for tissues to be exposed to heat, thus, does not target the hair stem cells, making hair grow back after few weeks. IPL, so far has the ability to give enough exposure.
13. ARE YOU SURE ABOUT YOUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL?
The beauty industry in the Philippines is growing fast with the existence of beauty centres operated by therapists/aestheticians with little to NO medical background. This often results in unwanted skin damage or burning.
Hair Removal using a machine is a tedious task that can only be performed perfectly by highly trained medical professionals with full understanding of the skin, tissues, physics and mechanism of action of the machine.
14. ARE YOU SURE ABOUT YOUR CLINIC?
When choosing the best clinic for your hair removal procedure, it’s best to check the background of the clinic and its expertise.
Make sure you are going into a clinic that performs the procedure backed up by scientific studies to ensure safety and efficacy, like Dermclinic. It has been in the industry for almost 45 years and has performed thousands of successful hair-removal procedures.
Get smooth and hair-free skin at Dermclinic, which offers up to 80% OFF on Hair-removal services until July 31, 2015. For more info you can call 817-FACE (3223) or visit www.dermclinic.com.ph.