What happens before anything touches your skin?
An assessment, and it is not a formality. Skin tone, hair colour and hair pattern decide the settings, the spacing between sessions and sometimes whether laser is the right tool at all. We also review medications, because some common ones increase light sensitivity. Where there is any doubt about how your skin will respond, a small test patch comes first and the area is checked before a full session is booked.
How should I prepare in the weeks before?
Two rules carry most of the weight. First, keep the area out of strong sun for four to six weeks before a session. Tanned skin changes how much light the skin itself absorbs, and a session may need to be postponed. Second, do not wax, pluck or epilate for about four weeks. The laser targets the pigment in the root, and those methods remove the root. Shaving is different: it leaves the root in place, and we will usually ask you to shave the area the day before.
What does the session itself feel like?
Brief snaps of warmth, one small area at a time, with cooling alongside. Most people describe it as noticeable rather than painful, and it is over quickly: a small area such as the upper lip takes minutes, while larger areas such as full legs take longer. Your eyes are covered throughout.
What is normal afterwards, and what is not?
Redness and small bumps around the follicles for a few hours to a couple of days are the expected response. For the first 48 hours, skip hot showers, saunas, hot yoga and hard workouts. Heat on freshly treated skin prolongs the irritation. Daily sunscreen on exposed treated areas is not optional. Over the following one to three weeks, treated hairs shed; this can look like regrowth before it lets go. Blistering or persistent pain is not part of the normal picture. If it happens, contact us rather than waiting it out.
Why is it a course of sessions rather than one visit?
Because hair grows in cycles, and the laser only affects follicles that are actively growing on the day. That is a minority of them at any one time, which is why sessions are spaced weeks apart and repeated. Across a course, regrowth typically becomes finer and slower. We do not sell a fixed number of sessions up front. The honest unit is the course, reviewed as your hair responds. Sessions are priced by area, from $100 to $350, listed on our pricing page.
The part this article cannot answer.
Whether laser hair removal is appropriate for you. Skin tone, hair colour, recent sun exposure, medications and previous reactions are all part of the in-person assessment. The consultation is $75, credited to any treatment you complete within 30 days.