Opting for laser hair removal is still under a grey area for men, but more men are considering this route for getting their unwanted hair removed due to deeper research and statistics about successful treatments. Waxing a patch of your hairy skin or trimming it for maintaining your body aesthetic can be a bit of a drag – especially when you have to repeat the ordeal every month or prior to an occasion or event.
Laser Hair Removal is a non-invasive and painless treatment that involves skin exposure to laser beams to remove hair follicles. When the laser beams are focused on a patch of your skin, they penetrate the epidermis to fry the hair follicle’s shaft and root. However, not all laser beams penetrate the root of the hair follicle in the first go, which is why repeated exposure to the treatment is necessary for complete hair removal.
Top 7 Hair Removal Facts Proven by Statistics
To shed some light on the situation before you do the same on your body parts, we have mentioned the top 7 statistics below that might help you decide right now.
- Estimated Growth Rate of the Laser Hair Removal Industry
Contrary to popular belief, the laser hair removal industry – mainly because it’s painless, rapid, and highly effective for longer intervals – is growing at a faster rate than your body hair. The Laser Hair Removal Industry is currently estimated at a global value of $587.56 million as of 2018, with an estimated growth rate of 15.9% per annum from 2019.
- Sessions Required for Laser Hair Removal
Gone will be the days when you’d have to wait for hours for the hair removal creams to work or for a waxing appointment that will eventually have you writhing in pain the moment the cloth patches start their work on your body. As per the growth cycle and texture of your hair, you might require a minimum of six sessions for complete hair reduction with the laser beams, which can expand to a maximum of 36 weeks accordingly.
At times, even four sessions are enough for removing your hair, which can be followed with follow-up treatments or touch-ups depending on regrowth.
- Cost-effectiveness of Laser Hair Removal
According to Good Housekeeping, the Laser Hair Removal Industry offers cost-effective procedures. Depending upon the texture of your hair and the amount of exposure to your body, each laser hair removal session might cost lower, which may exceed as well. The cost can exceed, depending on the sensitivity and texture of skin and hair.
However, since you’d require only 6 sessions to start with, spending your few thousand on hair body removal over a span of 6 weeks each might be considered as cost-effective and easy to manage.
- Candidates of Laser Hair Removal
According to Statista, around 2.8 million people in the UK prefer considering a hair removal procedure that gives them long-lasting results. Instead of opting for lengthy, arduous procedures of waxing their bodies 4 or more times a month, people prefer laser hair removal treatments to minimise the time lost or required.
Also, around 82% of candidates who opt for laser hair removal are women alone, with numbers slowly crunching towards men who are either into professional athletics or the beauty industry.
Similarly, as per The Hair Removal Journal, the age barrier for people opting for laser hair removal procedures falls clearly between 18-29 years, which slightly backs the demand by those who are more into aesthetics or the performative industries.
- Which type of Laser Hair Removal is more Popular?
In 2018 alone, Diode Laser Segments took the space for attracting more candidates, mainly because they have the capability to selectively target a body part or area without affecting the nearby regions.
Diode Lasers are also reported to be warrantless compared to their counterparts, Nd: YAG and Alexandrite, all of which have an increasing demand in the UK, where medical science and tourism are currently at their peak.
- Category of Pain
While pain depends on your personal threshold, around 59% of people who took laser hair removal treatments stated that they experienced mild to almost no pain at all.
However, 36% of people who, after going through their first session of laser hair removal treatments, stated that they experienced moderate pain, while there were roughly 6% candidates who admitted to experiencing a nominal discomfort throughout the procedures.
- Success Rates
According to The Hair Removal Journal, Laser Hair Removal has achieved a high success rate, particularly with men. With around 45% of men who raved about the complete eradication of hair with laser beam procedures, there were around 22% of whom were satisfied, even with 75% of successful laser hair removal rates.
Motivating yourself to go for a permanent hair removal procedure instead of plucking, shaving, or waxing hair as an arbitrary ritual might earn some disbelief – and with good reason.
You are about to have rays exposed to your skin – after repetitive sessions – so it’s completely understandable why you’d want facts proven by statistics and experiences.
What is recommended?
Before: Prior to getting a laser hair removal treatment, you should avoid going to a sauna and tanning salon for soaking heat and tanning sprays, respectively. The main goal here is to protect your body from external exposure to heat to avoid adverse reactions to the skin.
After: You better stay indoors or avoid relative exposure to sunlight for around 6 or more weeks following the procedure. Many certified dermatologists recommend showering with cold or lukewarm water to avoid skin reactions or irritation following the procedure.