Hair growth cycle plays a major role in developing a successful laser hair removal treatment plan.
Knowing the cycles of hair growth helps you to understand why there may be re-growth in a couple of days after a hair removal session.
Laser hair removal schedules
Laser hair removal Melbourne clinic schedules your laser hair removal treatment weeks apart based on your hair growth cycle. If your hair removal treatment sessions are too close to each other it will be a waste of time and money, since not all of the hair to be treated may have grown back.
Once the hair has pushed up completely, you will have a hair free period. It is so important to track your hair free period so that you can answer this question on your next laser hair removal treatment. Your laser hair removal technician will want to know how long your hair free period was because it determines how effective the treatment was on your body.
As your treatments progress, your hair free period will get longer and longer. When you reach your fifth or six treatment, nearing the end of your treatment plan, you can expect to have a hair free period of up to three or four months
Now let’s explain how your unique hair growth cycle determines the number of laser hair removal sessions required to completely remove unwanted hair.
The Hair Growth Cycle
Cell division is responsible for the hair growth cycle. The new cells push the hair forward to make it longer, so the new hair is added at the root.
Hair follicles grow in repeated cycles. One cycle can be broken down into three phases.
- 1. Anagen - Growth Phase
- 2. Catagen - Transitional phase
- 3. Telogen - Resting Phase
Note that every hair passes through the phases independent of the adjacent hairs.
Anagen Phase - around 85% of all hairs are in the growing phase at any one time. This period for facial and body hair may be as long as two to three weeks.
The anagen cycle can be subdivided into three sub-cycles - that being:
- Proanagen
- Mesanagen
- Metanagen
The proanagen stage marks the initiation of hair growth but then rapidly progresses through to the mesanagen and then to the metanagen stage.
Catagen Phase lasts about one to two weeks, during the Catagen phase the hair follicle shrinks to about 1/6 of the normal length. The lower part is destroyed and the dermal papilla breaks away to rest below.
Telogen Phase follows the catagen phase and normally lasts about 5 to 6 weeks. During this time the hair does not grow but stays attached to the follicle while the dermal papilla stays in a resting phase below. Approximately 15% of all hairs are in this phase at any one time.
At the end of the Telogen phase the hair follicle re-enters the Anagen phase. The dermal papilla and the base of the follicle join together again and a new hair begins to form. If the old hair has not already been shed the new hair pushes the old one out and the growth cycle starts all over again.
Hair growth cycle summary
- The difference in cycle times varies dramatically from one area to anyother. It can take 6 to 12 weeks for a hair to grow in different areas of the face and body *
- Anagen is the stage in the cycle when hair is visible above the skin and can be treated with laser. As the hair shaft is attached to the papilla, the laser gets absorbed by the melanin pigment in the hair root, it heats up and destroys the hair follicle
- The Anagen stage for facial and body hair lasts between two and three weeks *
- Laser treatments should be scheduled between 4 to 8 weeks apart to coincide with the Anagen cycle *
Hair growth cycle variables
Hair growth differs for every person. Some personal characteristics that can effect your own hair growth cycles are:
- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Hair colour
- Existing health conditions
There are a number studies conducted which proved that
- Hair colour and ethnicity factors largely in a person's hair growth
- A correlation has also been found that ties hair colour and ethnicity to hair density and texture
- Standard length of the hair growth cycle differs among various ethnic groups i.e. Asian individuals have longer growth cycles than Caucasians or African Americans
- Older people develop faster hair growth rates than children and teens but … in undesirable body areas
- Men tend to have shorter hair growth cycles than women
Other factors that can affect your individual hair growth cycle include health-related problems, such as stress, thyroid or autoimmune diseases. Specific skin medications or regulatory hormone drugs can also have an effect.
Some researchers also attribute a poor diet to certain issues with hair growth cycles and growth rates. For women puberty, pregnancy and menopause play important parts in determining hair growth.
Understanding all these variables affecting hair growth makes it easier to appreciate the difficulty in predicting hair removal.
Laser hair removal sessions
We hope that this short explanation on hair growth cycles gives you a better understanding of why repeated hair removal has to be undertaken to achieve a smooth, hairless body.
Make sure to stick to the timelines provided to you by the Melbourne laser clinic. Initially, your treatments will be close together and then after 6 sessions the hair removal treatments will start to be farther apart.
Sticking to the laser hair removal Melbourne guides will help optimise your results and your skin.
Write to us we can help you to to achieve your goal.
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