laser hair removal for men – London Premier Laser

Why winter is the best time to start your laser hair removal treatment

Are you fed up with the wax pain every month? Or are you complaining about shaving because it after 2 days your hair starts to grow and leave you with a prickly feeling on your skin? Then laser hair removal is the right thing for you!
Laser hair removal is an amazing long term hair reduction method that helps you to get rid of your unwanted hair. Thank s to the latest technology cooling system, it is not painful like waxing. And because it actually gets rid of the hair follicles, it leaves your skin silky smooth; unlike shaving.
And we are sure that you will be happy to hear that winter is the best time to start your laser hair removal journey. Why? Here are the main reasons why you should start your laser hair removal treatments now.

There is less sun exposure

Laser hair removal 101. The laser cannot be performed on tanned skin.
You will love the sun once your laser treatment finishes and you will be able to go to the beach without any preparation. But until then, you need to stay away from the sun!
Before starting your laser hair removal treatments, you need to make sure that the area is not been exposed to sun and there is no tanning. Also after your laser treatment, you need to wait 2-4 weeks before you can suntan. Otherwise, your skin can get damaged and some pigmentation can occur. Also, we recommend having your laser sessions every 4-6 weeks. If you get suntan after your laser session, you won’t be able to get your skin ready before your next laser appointment.
You can probably see why starting your laser sessions in winter is beneficial. Your skin has already been away from the sun and ready for permanent hair reduction. And you can make sure you won’t get any tan between your sessions as especially London in the winter doesn’t really match with beach requirements.

No excessive sweating during the winter

Laser by its nature heats the hair follicles and gets rid of them. We do use the latest technology cooling to make sure you are as comfortable as possible during your treatment. But the laser beams still heat the hair follicle. This may cause the skin around the hair follicles to get more heat-sensitive for 24-48 hours.
We recommend you to prevent excessive sweating and getting exposed to heat right after your laser session. However, during the summer time, it is not as easy to do so.
Wintertime, on the other hand, is perfect for you to stay cool after your laser hair removal treatment with our experts. As long as you don’t take very hot showers or use the sauna or steam room, nature’s cooling will help you to be more comfortable after your session.

You don’t need to shave or wax during winter as you will be more covered up

Laser hair removal works on hair follicles. If it’s applied on your actual hair, it will burn the hair and can cause pigmentation.
To prevent this, we kindly ask you to shave the treatment area 24 hours before your laser treatment. But until then, you need to let your hair be free!
It takes 4-6 weeks for a hair follicle to complete its cycles and come to the correct stage for the laser to be effective on. If you wax during this time, you will change the whole cycle period and on your next laser session, the laser may not be able to as effective as usual.
Winter times come with their layers. The long sleeves, tights under skirts, and not being the bikini weather outside helps to cover your excess hair as well. This way you can let your hair be on the perfect stage during your sessions.

You will be beach ready by the summer

We recommend 6-8 hair removal session for the optimum results. And each session would need to be 4-6 weeks apart.
If you were to start your laser hair removal treatments now, you can easily be ready to enjoy stress-free summer!
Easier to arrange your treatment times. You have more time. Don’t need to pause your treatment for holidays

Easier to arrange your diary

We all love the summer holiday. The dark winter days are over and can spend more time with the kids too. And we do deserve those lovely sunshine holidays. Doesn’t matter if it means that we will need to rearrange many set plans.
During the winter times, you can arrange your appointments easier. As you don’t need to pause your treatment for holidays, you can continue your them on the set schedule. Which will bring you better results in the long run too.

Are you thinking about starting your laser hair removal journey? Why not book a consultation with our laser experts? We offer free patch test too!
Get beach-ready before summer this year!

Most frequently asked questions about laser hair removal

If you are considering or getting ready to start your laser hair removal treatments, we’ve prepared you a handy guide with our most frequently asked questions about laser hair removal.

How do I get ready for my laser hair removal appointment?

Before your laser hair removal appointment, we kindly ask you to shave the area 24 hours before your treatment.
Avoid any chemical peels or laser resurfacing in the treatment area.
Exfoliate to remove any dead skin build-up.
Ensure no fake tan is present on the skin.
Avoid excessive sun exposure on the area being treated two weeks prior (including solariums and spray tan)
Do not wax or pluck hairs four weeks before laser treatment.

Does laser hair removal hurt?

One of the benefits of laser hair removal is that the treatment is virtually painless, especially compared to waxing. Each pulse lasts less than a second, producing a slight tingling feeling. In particularly sensitive areas, such as the upper lip, it may feel like a rubber band snap on the skin.

Our advanced cooling machines used in all laser treatments cools your skin before, during and post-treatment to minimise discomfort.

How long should I wait in between laser hair removal sessions?

Depending on your hair and skin type and the area being treated, you will usually require treatments at 4-6 week intervals.
Each part of your body has a different hair growth cycle, so the hair loss will vary depending on what phase your follicles are in at the time of the treatment.

Can you do laser if you have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)?

One of the most common effects of PCOS on women is excessive hair growth due to hormones in the body.
If you are suffering from PCOS, you can choose laser hair removal. It can give you longer results than waxing or shaving. However as we usually recommend 6-8 sessions for laser hair removal, you might need to have more sessions depending on your hair and skin type as well as the degree of the effect of PCOS.

Can I have laser hair removal when I’m pregnant?

We don’t recommend to have laser hair removal while you are pregnant. Even though there are no studies show that the laser is dangerous for you or for the baby, you can still experience high discomfort and your skin can react negatively to the laser while you are pregnant or during breastfeeding.

You can start your laser hair removal treatment as soon as you stop breastfeeding.

Is laser hair removal safe on dark skin?

With the old technology laser hair removal machines, there was always the danger of pigmentation on darker skin tones when the laser is performed.
With the latest technology candela machines, you can now have a safe and effective laser treatment on darker skin tones as well.
During your free consultation, your clinician will examine your skin and inform you about how suitable laser hair removal for your skin.

Does laser hair removal help with the marks that are left with shaving? Like the green tint.

When you shave, you also exfoliate the top layer of your skin which can cause some skin irritations. And the green tint you are experiencing is a side effect of shaving on dry skin.
With laser hair removal, you don’t experience these marks on the skin after the treatment. However unfortunately laser cannot get rid of the previous marks on your skin. It will only get rid of the hair follicles on the treatment area. If you are looking for a solution to get rid of your skin marks and imperfections, our skin experts offer a free consultation to help you to reach your skin goals.

Can I wax or shave between my laser hair removal sessions?

Hair grows in different stages. And unfortunately, we don’t know which hair follicle is on which stage at what point. Laser hair removal burns the hair root and destroys it. And in order to do this, your hair follicle should be on the right stage. This is also the reason that we recommend 6-8 sessions in 4-6 weeks apart. As if your hair root was not on the right cycle on your first session, it is highly likely to be on the right cycle on the coming sessions.
Waxing or plucking will be effecting the roots of the hair follicles. It pulls off the root and messes up with the natural cycle of your hair. And when you come to your next laser session, your hair follicle may not be on the necessary phase.
But of course, you may not want to have any excess hair while waiting for your next laser hair removal appointment. Then you can shave between your session. This way you won’t disturb the hair growth cycle and you can temporarily get rid of the unwanted hair until you remove them permanently.

Do you have more questions about laser hair removal? Our laser experts offer free consultation and patch test. Why not book yours today?

The Difference Between IPL and Laser Hair Removal

Laser hair removal and intense pulse light or IPL has been the ‘go to’ method for long term hair removal for many years. With advanced technology, it is much easier to achieve long-lasting results with laser and IPL than any other treatments. According to the new studies the average woman spends around £23,000 during their … Continue reading “The Difference Between IPL and Laser Hair Removal”

Laser hair removal and intense pulse light or IPL has been the ‘go to’ method for long term hair removal for many years. With advanced technology, it is much easier to achieve long-lasting results with laser and IPL than any other treatments. According to the new studies the average woman spends around £23,000 during their lifetime for hair removal. While unwanted excess hair is such a problem, many of us are looking for long term.

When it comes to choosing the right treatment the most common questions are:

Should I choose IPL or Laser?
What is he difference between IPL and laser?
What gives the best results and best value for money?
Which one is faster?
What is safer for my skin type?

Is IPL and laser hair removal the same?

Many people confuse laser hair removal and IPL. IPL is not a laser. They both use light but that is where the similarities end. Not many people know there is any difference between IPL and laser hair removal technologies. Often thought of as similar. However, the difference between laser hair removal and IPL are many. If you are trying to make a decision between or IPL treatments, we’ve prepared you a comparison guide for you to help you make your decision.

Understanding Laser Hair Removal

Laser hair removal is selective photothermolysis (SPTL). The crucial element in laser hair removal is matching specific wavelengths of light and pulse duration to the hair target. The hair target is the melanin found in the hair follicle. Melanin is a naturally occurring pigment in our skin and hair is associated with determining colour. Importantly for safety and comfort, the laser energy is focused and absorbed only into the follicle, thus avoiding the surrounding skin tissue area.

The process works by destroying the hair root. This prevents blood flow to the follicle, disabling the hair growth long-term.

Understanding IPL hair removal

IPL technology, also known as intense pulsed light technology is actually not a laser treatment. Compared to laser hair removal, it uses a broad spectrum of light with multiple wavelengths. This means it has more unfocused energy around the hair and skin area. The light is like the flash from a camera which spreads over a large area against a focused beam of light from a laser.

That’s why at Premier Laser in London we do not use IPL technology for hair removal treatments, as it is not as efficient or effective.

What’s the difference between Laser Hair Removal and IPL?

Both laser and IPL use light to destroy the hair follicle and prevent further growth. However, the kind of light and the technology used to deliver the light is quite different. Hence the treatments, process, and results are not the same. Let’s see the laser and IPL comparison under most asked segments.

IPL wavelength does not penetrate as deeply as laser

The technology

As mentioned the main difference between laser and IPL is the type of light.

Laser machines provide a very specific type of light wavelength which is targeted and concentrated. The wavelength of light going to one direction creates a strong and highly effective light.
IPL machines provide a broad range of wavelengths to create a single flash of light, like a flash on a camera which covers a larger area. This decreases the power of the treatment and causes less effective results.

Winner:

IPL: Not as powerful

LASER : More powerful and effective

Area of target

When the light enters the skin, it is absorbed by the melanin pigment in the hair follicle. The absorption of the light heats the hair follicle and interrupts the hair growth cycle. Concentrated light in laser finds the target and shoots the hair follicle. With the effective direct light, only the hair follicle gets struck by the laser. On the other hand, while IPL shoots with a broader and scattered light, the critical temperature for the hair follicle cannot be reached as easily. The majority of the energy is absorbed by the smaller more superficial targets.

Winner:

IPL: Unfocused wide area targeted

LASER : Pinpoint focus on hair follicle

Safety on skin

IPL using scattered light also causes the surrounding tissue to absorb the light. While the light is not as focused as a laser, in order to heat deeper targets, IPL requires to use higher energy levels. This energy is also absorbed by the surrounding tissue. And it can lead to skin damage such as burning, hyperpigmentation, blistering and scarring.With laser as only one targeted wavelength is used, deeper penetration occurs. The energy directly targets the hair follicle and it is not absorbed by other chromophores in the path of the beam, so the surrounding skin is unaffected.

Winner:

IPL: Hair and surrounding skin damaged

LASER : Only hair damaged

Number of sessions needed

Hair grows in different cycles. And laser and IPL can only treat the hair follicles at a certain stage called the anagen phase.

As the laser cannot determine which hair is at which stage in the growing cycle, the laser can only destroy the 10% of the current hair follicles. Hence, it is advised to have 6-8 sessions of laser hair removal for the best results.

IPL works with weaker and scattered light. It doesn’t provide a precise target shooting as the laser.

Hence, less hair follicle can be destructed at each session, leaving you with need in more sessions.

Winner:

IPL: More sessions

LASER: Fewer sessions

Treatment time

As the light beam used in laser treatment is highly concentrated and targeted; one shot with a laser at the area is enough for the results. The IPL devices feature a larger pad for the treatment and it might seem like the session can be completed quicker as the machine’s head is bigger. But because the light is weaker, the practitioner often needs to treat the same area more than once. Which leads your session to take longer than laser.

Winner:

IPL: Quicker sessions – longer to notice results

LASER : Longer sessions – quicker to notice results

Cost

Laser requires more advanced technology and the machines are more expensive costing up to £100,000 at 2020 prices. However as we’ve mentioned, IPL usually requires more sessions for good results and you are more likely to end up spending more for IPL in the long run.

Winner:

IPL: Cheaper

LASER : More expensive

Safety

As laser uses a stronger beam of light, you might think the IPL is safer. However laser only targets the hair follicles and unlike IPL, it doesn’t affect the surrounding skin tissue. IPL is not as strong as laser so will need more sessions. This puts your skin under more stress and it will spend more time healing. One shot over the area might seem to make it safer than laser but as mentioned in order to get the same results you need to treat the same area more than once causing your skin to be exposed more light than laser. At Premier Laser & Skin we use FDA approved Candela lasers which are also being used in Hospitals. So you are definitely in safe hands.

Winner:

IPL: Skin more exposed

LASER : Skin less exposed

Pain level

On the technical level, the more concentrated the light, the stronger you can feel it. Hence IPL machines may seem to cause less pain. However modern laser machines are designed to be as comfortable as possible for the client. They are built-in with a cooling system where it blows constant cool air to the skin where the laser is being processed. So it significantly decreases the pain level. Most clinicians also use wet wipes to clean the area. When your skin is damper, the cooling air works much stronger.

Many of our clients report they don’t feel any pain during their laser treatment. If you have low pain tolerance, you can also always ask your clinician to use numbing cream.

Winner:

IPL: Less painful

LASER : more painful

Suitability for skin and hair types

Both laser and IPL machines are highly sensitive to skin colour and melanin. Which means that it is hard to treat dark skin. However our FDA approved medical-grade lasers are suitable for all skin types on the Fitzpatrick skin scale. And can be used on brown and dark skin as well.

Winner

IPL: Damage to surrounding skin and pigment on darker skin means avoid IPL

LASER : Nd-Yag lasers are specifically designed to work on darker skin type

IPL vs Laser hair – a clients personal experience of both

If you are thinking about IPL or laser hair removal Premier Laser Client Tihan shared her experience with us when she visited the Soho clinic for laser hair removal. She visited our clinic after experiencing unsatisfying results with IPL elsewhere.

“I came to this Clinic after my disappointing experience with IPL. I had over 10 sessions of IPL and I still have a lot of hair and have to shave. I also have patches and there were no real improvements in my last few sessions so i decided to look into laser hair removal.

From the start, my experience with the Clinic has been great

Alex provided me with all information as well as answered all of the questions I had. Transparency was crucial for me to decide whether to take a treatment with them or not, because of the lack of transparency that I had in another place where I started (but haven’t finished) my IPL package.

I am still doing laser at the Clinic, and I expected some results after one-two sessions, but that is an understatement.

The results are incredible.

I do not know where that is because of my skin type, but I am so happy with the results already, and cannot wait for the final result. So happy with my choice!”

Next steps if you live in London

If you live in London near one of our 9 clinics, why not speak to us today about your laser hair removal needs. We offer a free consultation where you can talk over your goals with us.

Manzilian, The Top 5 Benefits of Bikini Hair Removal for Men

The Manzilian, aka ‘boyzilian’, ‘guyzilian’ ‘mens bikini’ or ‘manscaping’, whatever you call it is rising in popularity. Trends suggest laser hair removal in 2019 is no longer a female dominated treatment. In contrast male hair removal is on the up, so step aside ladies laser hair removal for men is here to stay. increasing popularity … Continue reading “Manzilian, The Top 5 Benefits of Bikini Hair Removal for Men”

increasing popularity

We are seeing more men in our clinics every week as they discover the secret of laser hair removal. Something women have known for years. It’s not only backs and chest that are being lasered but sacks and cracks too with the brazilian or manzilian reaching new levels of popularity.

What is a Manzilian?

First things first, just what is a manzilian? The phrase is a combination of ‘man’ and ‘brazilian’. The brazilian refers to a style of hair removal that leaves a small strip of pubic hair above the female genital or bikini area. Thus, manzilian was termed to describe the similar style but with reference to male anatomy.

‘Bikini’ Laser Hair Removal For Men

Historically laser hair removal has long been a beauty treatment linked with women. However in recent years more men booking appointments to get their own ‘Manzilian’ is rivalling traditional conceptions of the male grooming industry.

First noticed in 2018 (see our male laser hair previous article here about facial hair laser) the trend hasn’t stopped.

Permanent intimate Laser hair removal

Similar to Brazilian laser hair removal for women, the Manzilian effectively and permanently removes hair around the pubic region. The reasoning varies from :

aesthetic
hygiene
prevent side-effects from other hair removal techniques such as ingrown hairs.

Hair removal procedures using a laser has a long-lasting effect in comparison to other methods including shaving, waxing or trimming. It’s quickly becoming the best option if you want effective results, long-term.

Here are our top 5 benefits of laser hair removal for men.

Top 5 Benefits of a Manzilian

1. It removes ingrown hairs and prevents razor burn

Say goodbye to unsightly, red ingrown hairs or embarrassing ‘razor rash itch’. Just 6-8 sessions of laser provides long-term, hair free results. At most people tend to have an annual 30 minute top-up session to keep those hairs away.

2. It saves time and money

Its thought traditional methods can cost us over £70,000 in a lifetime. That is 8-10 full weeks of hair removal labour. Long-term laser hair reduction takes 6-8, 30 minute sessions and results will render over 90% hair reduction. A single session costs £50, with packages from just £400 here at London Premier Laser.

3. It is 24/7 hair-free confidence

Planning hair removal prep for holidays is easy to plan, but for those unpredictable life moments, the impromptu skinny dip, strip-poker game or the night you end up without intending to go out-out, whatever life throws your way you have 24/7 hair-free confidence.

4. Its less painful than alternative methods such as waxing

We all agree waxing can be painful. The hot wax ripped at speed away from our sensitive skin areas, ouch! While laser hair may be uncomfortable (people describe this as having an elastic band pinged against the skin) it certainly is over quicker, in most areas people describe the hair removal process with lasers as pain-free.

5. Its kinder to your skin

The benefits also include being kind to the skin. The laser works by targeting the melanin, or pigment in the hair follicle. In this manner, the light energy pulses safely destroy the hair follicle at the root, without damaging the surrounding tissue or skin.

Manzilian prices

Our prices at Premier Laser for mens manzilian is listed below

Brazilian / Manzilian

£100 – PAYG

£60 – 6 x (per session)

£50 – 8 x (per session)

26.66 – Finance

Is it painful?

It is much less painful then waxing or epilation. The sensation has been described as having a rubber band flicked against your skin

Next steps if you live in london

For any question regarding the cost of male bikini laser hair removal packages or sessions please visit our laser hair removal pricing page. Or to book your free consultation or patch test click here.