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Laser treatment ensures permanent hair reduction and not removal. Nupur Oswal and Sakshi Kathuria tell us more.

If it’s your last visit to the parlour and not the season that decides what you wear, then it might be time to rethink your hair removal strategy. Laser treatment can be a boon for those who have excessive body hair and cringe in pain during waxing. The treatment promises to unveil clear skin by removing all marks caused by waxing on sensitive skin.

To bust myths about the treatment, we get dermatologists from renowned skin centres answering some frequently asked questions.

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What is the underlying process of laser treatment?
Majority of the clinics maintain that the Nd-Yag laser machine is best suited for the Indian skin type. Laser means an amplified light of a single wavelength made into a beam and pointed in one direction. This light is used to burn the follicles of hair, which in turn stunts hair growth. Before the treatment begins, the hair in the desired area is removed with a razor and a cooling gel is applied, says Dr Chiranjiv Chhabra, dermatologist and cosmetic laser surgeon, Skin Alive Clinic.

How painful is the process?
While Dr Chhabra stresses on the fact that the treatment doesn’t hurt at all, Dr Karuna Malhotra, a cosmetologist, feels the pain is tolerable and is mostly a “prickling sensation”. There’s no pain if the right intensity of laser light is used, explains Dr Seema Malik, MD and laser specialist, Eleganza skin clinic. Is laser treatment a permanent hair removal solution? “It’s a myth that the treatment provides permanent hair removal. It provides permanent hair reduction of approx 75 per cent for facial hair and 85 per cent for body hair, depending on factors like the hormonal balance of an individual,” says Dr Malik.

What is the average cost and duration of the process?
It takes 6-12 sittings on an average to achieve the required reduction. Each sitting initially is at an interval of 25-30 days and as the treatment progresses, one can come after 40-45 days of the previous sitting. After the treatment is over, one may come once in a year for a touch-up to continue reducing the finer hair, if required. Depending on the area, this treatment can cost anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 40,000 for the 6-8 session packages.