Why does it take more than one treatment?

A question which is often asked and rightfully so. 

Understanding the hair growth cycle and the structure of hair follicles will enable you to understand when and how hairs are destroyed and why it takes more than one more treatment to obtain a near complete clearance of hair from the treated area.

All hairs in any given body area are not present at the same time. There is always a percentage (approximately 10%) of empty hair follicles on a body area that has not been recently waxed or pulled out by the root.

When hair is waxed out it is mostly removed including the roots. (Some snap off just under skin level and grow like shaving regrowth) After about 10 to 14 days the first signs of regrowth appear. This looks like fine tips of new hairs and it is certain they are ANAGEN hairs. Our earlier blog describes the hair growth phases in detail. 2-4 weeks after a wax is ideal and appropriate for medical laser hair removal at Hairaway Canada's hair removal clinic in Markham. It is important for you to know that HAIR FOLLICLES CAN ONLY BE DESTROYED WHILST IN ANAGEN PHASE. Between 10% to 30% of a full regrowth of hair (i.e: 3 to 4 months of undisturbed growth) are in the anagen phase. The remaining percentage will be in catagen or telegen phase and do not have the root structure that can be destroyed / eliminated.

If you study a diagram of an an anagen hair you will notice the root has a bulbous structure situated just above the dermis. There is a small capillary structure that connects the bulb to the dermis for blood supply to feed the hair. This is called the Dermal Papilla. Within the area of the bulb and the dermal papilla are the germ cells that produce the new hair. It is this very small but crucial area that Hairaway Canada aims to destroy with treatment using heat generated by the most advanced medical grade lasers at its hair removal clinic in Markham. By destroying the dermal papilla and germ cells we are permanently destroying the follicle so its does not produce another hair. 

Hair follicles in the catagen or telegen phase will not destroyed, although you will still be creating heat build up in the skin by heating the hair. This is why it is favorable to treat relatively new regrowth so you are treating most anagen hairs. This is why the terms of the guarantee Hairaway Canada provides to all its clients states that the client must return for treatment within 4 weeks of first seeing regrowth. In some circumstances it can be argued that it would be best to return for treatment within 2 or 3 weeks of seeing regrowth. This depends on the length to which the hair will grow.

So from the above you can see that at any given time anywhere from 10% to 30% of the hairs are in the crucial anagen phase and the results of the destruction of the hair producing follicles is restricted to these numbers. So if a reduction is all you seek, and in some cases, some clients only desire a reduction, then one treatment would be more than sufficient. However, if you are seeking to eliminate the hair producing follicles, then multiple treatments are necessary and this can range any where from 4 treatments up to 8 and some times more on certain anatomical regions. Physiological responses to treatment vary from individual to individual so there is no set number for any person.

Length of Hair growth:

Scalp hair can have an anagen stage of 6 years, so if Hairaway Canada were ever to offer hair removal at its hair removal clinic in Markham with the use of its advanced medical lasers, there would be plenty of time to destroy the live root after seeing it emerge from the skin. A man's beard would also have plenty of anagen time as it has the potential to grow quiet long if it is not shaved. Most body hair has an anagen phase of 2 to 4 weeks depending on the person and the body area. Hair's on a lady's upper lip would have less time in anagen phase because the hair is short.

Rate of hair growth:

This mostly depends on how coarse the hair is. Coarse hair has deeper root, larger dermal papilla, therefore a greater blood supply, so it will grow much faster than fine hair.

So we have the length of the hair and the coarseness of the hair to consider when estimating the timing of the persons next treatment.

With women who have "male pattern' hair growth due to hormone influence you may see faster regrowth even with hairs that not especially coarse.

Permanent vs Retarding:

To produce permanent results with its medical grade lasers at is hair removal clinic in Markham, the anagen follicle needs to be heated to a specific temperature ( around 70c) by Hairaway Canada. If sufficient heat is not produced the follicle will be partially destroyed and return as finer hair, or its growth cycle retarded so it takes much longer than usual to return. This can mislead people who have treatments done with devices that are not medical grade lasers, such as IPLs, commonly and mistakenly referred to as lasers, used at beauty salons and non-specialist clinics. They initially believe the hair has been permanently destroyed only to find that 3 to 6 months later a uniform regrowth has appeared. The treatments we offer at Hairaway Canada aim to prevent simply retarding the hair by treating during the correct stage of the hair cycle with the requisite sufficient amount of energy.

Call Hairaway Canada on 905 479 8880 for your hair removal needs.  You have nothing to lose but your unwanted hair.