Laser hair removal: the complete guide

A laser gives light of a precise wavelength that is absorbed by melanin, the pigment in the hair. The hair heats up and passes the heat to the follicle it grows from. The follicle weakens, and the next hair comes out thinner, sparser or not at all. The surrounding skin absorbs the light less, so with the power set correctly it stays intact.

The laser only works on hair in the active growth phase, and at any moment only some of the hairs in an area are in that phase. Hence the course: each session catches a new batch of hairs, and between sessions you wait for the sleeping ones to wake up. You will find more about lasers and how they work in the article which hair removal laser is best.

Sources: StatPearls (NCBI), 2023, Cleveland Clinic

There is no best for everyone, each wavelength has its own profile. Alexandrite is strongest on fine hair on fair skin, a diode works more calmly on darker skin and thick hair, neodymium is the safest on the darkest skin, and a hybrid device works with the whole range from 755 to 1064 nm at once. On our device every pass is three pulses in a row with cooling between them: the same energy, less sensation.

Sources: StatPearls (NCBI), 2023, Skin of Color Society

There is one main condition: the hair must be darker than the skin so the light has something to grab.

• Dark hair on fair skin: the best case, a result in 6-8 sessions.
• Dark hair on darker skin: suitable, the long ranges work, diode and neodymium, at lower power. In detail: laser hair removal on dark and tanned skin.
• Light-brown hair darker than the skin: works, the course is longer, 8-10 sessions.
• Blonde, red: no result or a minimal one. Grey and white: the laser does not see it at all. In detail: laser hair removal for light and grey hair.
• A fresh tan: wait two weeks for it to fade, then have the session.

After the course most of the hair stops growing, and the rest becomes thinner, lighter and sparser. Smooth skin without a razor for months. A laser does not remove hair "forever": a destroyed follicle does not recover on its own, but a hormonal shift, pregnancy, stress or medication can start new growth. That is why almost everyone needs one or two maintenance sessions a year. What exactly happens to the hair and why some of it comes back, we explained in the article does laser remove hair permanently.

Sources: American Academy of Dermatology, Cleveland Clinic

On average 6-10 sessions. No one can name the exact number in advance: it depends on the area, the density and colour of the hair and your hormones.

• The first three sessions 4-5 weeks apart.
• Then the gap grows with the hair growth phases: the hair regrows more slowly and you wait longer.
• The whole course takes from 8 months to a year and a half.
• After the course, one or two maintenance sessions a year.
• Missing a session does not cancel the result, it only shifts it: the hair goes into the resting phase and you will need slightly more sessions.

Unpleasant but bearable: a warm rubber band snapping against the skin for a fraction of a second. It is felt most where the hair is coarse and the skin is thin: the upper lip, deep bikini, underarms. Lower legs and arms are easy. Contact cooling takes most of the sensation away: the tip chills the skin at the moment of the flash. The specialist sets the power for your skin and adjusts it to how it feels at every visit. With every session the hair is thinner and it hurts less. During your period sensitivity is higher and the same flash feels stronger, so a bikini visit is best placed mid-cycle. In detail: does laser hair removal hurt and laser hair removal on your period.

Sources: Cleveland Clinic, Pain, 1999 (PubMed)

• Plus: a result for months and years, not for two days as after a razor.
• Plus: ingrown hairs and razor irritation go away, because the cause goes away.
• Plus: an underarm session takes 15 minutes, legs up to an hour.
• Minus: it takes a course, not one visit, and discipline with the intervals.
• Minus: it does not work on light, red and grey hair.
• Minus: two weeks without sun before and after every session, which is inconvenient in summer.
• Minus: with hormonal changes some hair comes back, and maintenance sessions are needed.

A razor gives smoothness for a day or two and more irritation and ingrown hairs each time. Wax and sugaring last two or three weeks, but they pull the hair out with its root, and after them the skin ingrows the most. Electrolysis works on grey hair too, but the needle treats one hair at a time and a large area takes years. A home IPL device is many times weaker than a salon laser and needs flashes every week without end. A laser gives a result for months and years over a course of 6-10 sessions and removes the very cause of ingrowing.

There are few contraindications and most are temporary. Strict: pregnancy, cancer in the active phase, epilepsy with a reaction to light. Temporary: a fresh tan, inflammation or a cold sore in the area, photosensitising medication, a fresh tattoo, taking isotretinoin (the gap after the course of the drug is agreed with your doctor). Moles and tattoos are not a ban: they are covered and worked around. Your period is not a contraindication, the bikini area is done with a tampon or moved by a couple of days.

• Contraindications for laser hair removal: the full list and what oncologists say.
• Laser hair removal during pregnancy: why we do not do it and when to come back.
• Laser hair removal on your period: what changes and what to do about bikini.
• Laser hair removal with tattoos: how we work around the design.
• Laser hair removal and moles: why the laser is not done over a mole.

Sources: American Academy of Dermatology, American Pregnancy Association

• 3-4 weeks before: no wax, sugaring or plucking. The laser needs a hair with its root.
• Two weeks before: no strong sun, sunbeds or self-tanner.
• The day before or on the day: shave the area. Delicate areas (face, neck, shoulders, cleavage, areolas, hands, fingers) are not shaved, the specialist prepares them.
• On the day: clean skin with no creams, oils or deodorant, loose clothes.
• Tell the specialist about medication, chronic skin conditions and plans for pregnancy.

The first visit starts with a specialist consultation: the specialist examines your skin and hair, asks about your health, medication and tanning and sets the power for your skin type. Then step by step.

• The session takes place in a closed treatment room. Before the start and after every session the working materials and the couch are disinfected, and single-use materials are used during the session.
• Before the start the specialist and the client put on special protective goggles, the salon provides them.
• The treated area is disinfected with a chlorhexidine solution.
• The specialist goes over the area flash by flash, and the tip cools the skin with every one. The feeling: a warm rubber band snapping. Small areas, underarms or the upper lip, take 15 minutes, lower legs 30-45, full legs up to an hour.
• During the session the specialist watches the skin's reaction and how you feel and asks about the sensations. If you are nervous or sensitive to pain, the specialist distracts you with conversation: it reduces the pain and calms you down.
• After the session the skin is moisturised with a panthenol cream, the specialist disposes of the single-use materials and disinfects.
• After the session you are told about possible skin reactions, aftercare and the approximate date of the next visit.
• After the session the skin is warm and slightly pink, it passes within a few hours. You can go about your day straight away, just no sauna or sun.
• In one to three weeks the treated hairs fall out on their own. That is not new growth but the result: the hair comes out of the skin because the root is destroyed.

• The first two days: no sauna, pool, hot bath, heavy-sweat sport or tight clothes on the area.
• The first two weeks: no sun or sunbeds, SPF cream on exposed areas.
• No plucking or waxing until the end of the course. Shaving between sessions is fine.
• Dryness is handled by an ordinary moisturiser, panthenol for redness.
• See a doctor if redness lasts longer than a day or blisters or marks appear.

• Wax or sugaring between sessions: there is no root, the laser has nothing to destroy, the session is wasted.
• A tan a week before the visit: the power has to come down, the effect drops and the risk of marks grows.
• Skipping the interval by two or three months: the hair goes into the resting phase and the course stretches out.
• Plucking the upper lip and chin: the same mistake as wax, only on the most stubborn area.
• Quitting after the third session because "it is already good": the visible result is there, but the follicles are not yet destroyed, and in six months the hair comes back.

Summer is possible, with caveats. Bikini, underarms and other covered areas hardly see the sun, and they can be treated all year round. Lower legs, arms and the face need discipline in summer: two weeks without the beach before and after every session and SPF cream. If a seaside holiday is coming, it is better to start the course in autumn and leave summer for maintenance sessions on covered areas. In detail: laser hair removal on dark and tanned skin.

A home "laser" hair remover is almost always an IPL device: a lamp with a broad spectrum and a power many times lower than a salon machine. It works, but with very low efficiency: the hair gets sparser and finer with flashes once a week, and after a break the growth returns. A salon laser destroys the follicle over a course. A device makes sense for one or two small areas or for maintenance after a course. A comparison with numbers and a table: does at home laser hair removal work.

Prices for laser hair removal in Prague differ several times over, and that is no accident. The price depends on the equipment used, the qualification and experience of the specialist, the salon's reputation, the service, the permits needed for the work and real results. Below are our salon's prices: they are average for Prague, and at the same time we watch quality, hygiene and the result. The price is per session and depends on the area: underarms from 800 Kč per visit, bikini line from 850, lower legs from 1900. All areas and current prices are on the areas and prices page. A sample calculation: an underarm course of 6-8 sessions is 4800-6400 Kč for a result that lasts years, and the session itself takes 15 minutes. Deep bikini and the perianal area together are called Hollywood and cost less than separately. Full legs are better value than lower and upper legs separately if you need both.

A course starts from 18: before that the hormones are still changing and the result is unstable. Laser hair removal suits men just as well, their hair is thicker and darker, and the laser works best on such hair. The most common areas for men: back, shoulders, chest, abdomen, back of the neck. Because of the hair density the course is sometimes one or two sessions longer, and the power is set separately for each area. The beard is not treated if you plan to wear it: the result lasts and the hair cannot be brought back.

Ask which wavelengths the machine has and whether they suit your skin type, whether it has contact cooling, how the tip is disinfected and which materials are single-use. Ask for a realistic range of sessions. Notice whether the specialist examines the skin before every session and changes the power according to the reaction. And read reviews from the last few months, not from all the years. A detailed look at the four criteria, the formats and the signs to walk away: how to choose a laser hair removal clinic.

MEDULLA has worked in Prague since 2019, with more than 3500 treatments and 1000 clients in that time. The device is a hybrid with alexandrite, diode and neodymium ranges and contact cooling, no gel. The first visit starts with a specialist consultation: the specialist looks at your skin and hair and sets the power. We guide the course from the first session to the last and help you decide when the next visit should be so you get the maximum effect. The salon is at Ječná 32 by the I. P. Pavlova metro, and you can book via WhatsApp or Instagram. Choose your area on the areas and prices page and come for a consultation!