Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.
For a number of people, a lot of their life can be spent shaving. In fact, the average woman will spend 72 days of her life shaving. Men will spend about 140 days shaving.
One solution is laser hair removal and Key West Surgical Group can help.
Sommer said, “The Elite IQ offers two wavelengths that are great for both light skin and dark skin. So the 755 Alexandrite is usually good for skin types one to three, they’re called Fitzpatrick skin types. What does that mean? It means that you’re pretty much fair skin. You could have dark hair. Those are the people that are good for the Alexandrite wave light. So what does that do? It targets melanin in the shaft. There’s a strong absorption by melanin, very effective. It destroys the hair follicles. Again, it is good for fair skinned individuals. It is fast and efficient, and it covers large areas quickly. Usually when you have lighter skin, and you can use the Alexandrite wavelength, you may need fewer treatments as compared to somebody with darker skin.”
Is it permanent?
Sommer said, “They don’t call it permanent. We say laser hair removal. They’re really moving more towards laser hair reduction and when we talk about the phases of the hair follicle and the growth cycle, it kind of gives insight as to why.”
The other wavelength with the laser is for darker skin types.
Sommer said, “When you’re known to be four to six, or you have tanned skin. So those are your darker populations, your Hispanic, African American population and then people down here tend to maybe, once upon a time, they looked like Snow White and now they’re a little bit darker, because they live in the sun down here all year round. So this is the safest wavelength to remove hair for these types of skin. So there’s lower melanin absorption. Why? Because darker skin has higher melanin, but it penetrates deeper into the dermis, targeting that hair follicle, but bypassing the melanin in the epidermis. So it makes it safer for dark skin, so this is effective for treating deep rooted hair, bikini, underarms.”
What is the hair growth cycle and how does it affect hair growth removal?
Sommer said, “A lot of times when people come in, they want quick results right away and it really depends. Women, sometimes they pluck their face, or even shave their face, but a lot of women that pluck their face, they’re like, I don’t want to shave. Well, if you pluck, you disrupt the hair growth cycle. There are three phases that your hair grows. The antigen phase, known as the active phase, is the phase when the hair, the synthesis of the hair, takes place. This is the active growth phase in which the hair bulb is intact, so the hair will grow up and down. During this antigen phase, the bulb is closest to the surface of the skin, and this allows the most effective treatment when you’re doing laser hair, because the laser can then detect the hair with both the Alexandrite, where it detects the hair and the shaft, and then also for the 1064, where it needs to go deeper into the dermis. It’s easy for it to detect during this phase. So that’s why it’s important to try and keep your hair growth cycle the same. It will never always be the same. Each hair follicle could be on its own growth cycle. So it’s just important to shave, not pluck.”
So don’t pluck before laser hair removal.
Sommer said, “You’re pulling the hair out of the follicle, which makes it harder for the laser to find the bulb or the shaft. The catagen phase, the hair growth slows, and the follicle begins to shrink. This phase usually lasts about two to three weeks. So if you’re in this phase, that’s why it’s harder for the laser to find that follicle. So you see that it’s two to three weeks, and that’s why the minimum we wait between each laser treatment is four weeks.”
The telogen resting phase is the third phase.
Sommer said it’s “where the bulb is no longer present. So this is when the hair will fall out. It’ll be pushed out, possibly by a new hair follicle growing into the antigen phase. So this usually can take place over weeks and months. They go by duration. So the best time you want to have laser hair removal is when your hair follicle is in the antigen phase.”
The consultation will cover all of this.
Sommer said, “Because not all hairs are in the antigen phase at the same time, you need multiple sessions, four to eight weeks apart. That way you’re giving time to catch your hair in all the different phases that it is in throughout the treatment.”
Treatment timing is very important.
Sommer said, “That’s why, when people come after the first treatment, they’ll see a slower hair growth pattern and that’s why we say it’s not permanent removal. Your hair is constantly growing. It’s in a different cycle throughout the body, throughout your life. The goal is to do, I always say, at least six to 12 treatments, four to eight weeks apart and then hopefully we get it where you need to only come in for touch ups every couple of months. Some people, their hair is just going to grow, and some people are hairier than others. The treatment really varies between individual and what the problems and their concerns are.”
For those looking to put hair back on, Key West Surgical Group can do that, too, with the LaseMD Ultra.
Sommer said, “This is exciting. We can take it away where you don’t want it and put it back where back where you do. The laser opens the micro channels in in the scalp, and then we use a solution called KeraFactor serum, which we put on immediately after. The serum contains growth factors and proteins to help nourish the hair follicle, promote new hair growth and strengthen the existing hair. Then I put you under a red light for about 20, 30 minutes to let that serum soak in. There are other treatments out there where they use needles and they inject PRP, into the scalp, which is also very effective. But this is a kind of, I don’t want to say painless, but minimally painful procedure where there are no needles of surgery required.”
What can a patient expect as far as a treatment schedule for hair restoration?
Sommer said, “Hair restoration, you’re going to need at least six sessions. That is the recommended amount of sessions you would need. They are spaced two to four weeks apart, and you usually start to observe the results within six to 12 weeks after initiating the treatment. We do recommend the at home maintenance kit. There’s a shampoo and a scalp stimulating serum you can use. I know a lot of people, take Minoxidil, it’s a pill, but even the topical, the serum or they have a foam, that works good too, as well as a vitamin for hair. So there are a couple of vitamins on the market that are good to help with hair growth and strengthen the hair follicle. You can just call the office and schedule your free consultation, and we can go over one or all of all the treatments that we offer at 305-294-1041.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keywestsurgicalgroup.com/