Can I shave between laser hair removal treatments?

Yes! Unlike waxing, tweezing, threading, bleaching and epilating, it is absolutely fine to shave your hair in between your sessions, making laser a much more manageable ‘self-maintenance’ method of hair removal.

It may come across as though laser is going against the Holy grail of the traditional methods in preparation of hair removal, but there is a very good reason why it is recommended that you shave and do not need to allow the hair to grow long enough for adequate treatment.

As you progress with a laser hair removal course, you will notice that some hairs will still grow back in the area. These will reduce and become finer with each treatment.

When having laser hair removal, as a method to reduce your hair growth, it is only recommended to shave in between treatments rather than bleach, wax, thread, tweeze or epilate the re-growth.

This is because, using other methods of hair removal will deter the efficacy of the laser. By bleaching, you will strip away the melanin in the hair and the laser will not be able to target the melanin in the hairs and by waxing, tweezing, threading and epilating, you are pulling the hair out of the follicle and the laser will not be able to target the follicle adequately to destruct it.

Patients are advised to shave a minimum of 24 hours before the day of the subsequent treatment to avoid irritation on the skin from shaving and inducing heat to the area in a short space of time. When you shave the treatment area, you also superficially exfoliating the skin and this may cause some sensitivity.

After your laser session, you may shave the area after 48 hours as usual, if need be.

Shaving in between the treatment sessions will not have any negative impact on the outcome of the treatment as the hairs will diminish with your ongoing sessions.

Always ensure you adhere to the guidelines given by your practitioner for shaving, to maximise the results of the treatment.

Related FAQs: