An essential prerequisite: the “prelaser” visit

The laser treatment is a medical procedure based on a trust relationship. This is why the Dr. Broussalian in Geneva or the Dr. Goudard in Annecy will give you on your prelaser visit detailed information on the principles of the treatment, on contraindictions – notably those linked to sun exposure – and will establish a detailed estimate indicating which devices are used, the price as well as the number of sessions expected. This initial consultation is essential. It will determine if you can follow a laser hair removal program. We will evaluate during this 30-minute consultation your health state, the different treatments you are already following, your medical history, and skin response to the sun. We will examine all possible contraindications and determine which laser type to choose.

We will then perform a skin test on a small surface in the laser room. This test is very useful as it will give us the indications necessary to prepare the laser for the first session. The clinical responses will help us begin the treatment with maximum efficiency.

Finally, we will give you an informed consent form including an estimate. Our medical responsibility is thus engaged.

We recommend patients to book the first three sessions at least so as to avoid delays. Indeed, the centre is often full between November and June, and it might be difficult to book a session at the last moment.

This first visit, including a laser spot test is free of charge.

Therapeutic scheme:

A consensus has been reached after numerous clinical tests and discussions with colleagues all around the world: injuries made to the hair must not have enough time to heal in between sessions.

Attack sessions

There are typically 3 attack sessions, each spaced of a month, or even 3 weeks to 15 days in case of a strong hormonal stimulation. The 3 sessions are the starting point of the treatment.

Then, two or three consolidation sessions are carried out. The space between sessions will get bigger and bigger. These sessions will result in a 90 % hair removal. After this second series, hair in most patients do not regrow before one or two years. In case regrowth occurs, we can assert that the hair will not be as thick as it was before the treatment. It will be very thin, scattered, and light-coloured.

Dead or dormant?

It will be necessary to re-evaluate the amount of work left by carrying out new tests. The question is: are the bulbs that have stopped producing hair dead or “dormant”? To answer this question, a seemingly glabrous area will be shot, and we will measure the density and the volume of the resulting papules. If we find large adjacent areas with no hair, it will not be necessary to treat the whole area again, and the price of the session will be lower. But if hair are found, then the whole area will have to be treated again.

Shaving and anaesthesia before the treatment

Shave 24 hours before the treatment

It is generally recommended to stop waxing or tweezing 3 weeks before the laser session. Shaving or depilatory creams are allowed during this period.

You will shave the area to be treated 24 hours before the session to eliminate all the hair protruding through the skin. Thus, the risks of skin burns due to hair destruction will be avoided, and laser energy will concentrate on the minimal stem length.

In order to treat more sensitive areas or areas with high hair density, we will prescribe an anaesthetic cream that you will apply two hours before the session. But hair removal will then be a bit less efficient, and it is preferable not to use this anaesthetic cream on dark or slightly tanned skins, as pain is a clinical sign essential to detect superficial burns.

Shaving must be avoided on areas covered by downy hairsuch as the upper lip or any other face area, as well as some areas on the thigh. Shaving may induce a stimulation of such delicate hair, so that it will only be destroyed during the first session by an unfocused application of the laser beam. The laser light will not penetrate very deeply under the skin surface during this first application, but the vellus hair will be reduced to dust and smoke…The area is then cleaned up to remove all combustion residues, and the real treatment can begin.

EMLA application 2 hours before the session

An anaesthetic is systematically applied on the areas to treat, excepted on the face, where the hair are too thin to induce pain.

The area, shaved the day before so as to avoid the shaving rash, will be generously covered with the EMLA cream prescribed on the prelaser visit. The cream will be applied two hours before the session, avoiding skin penetration so as to obtain a shiny or whitish film on the skin surface.

Once applied, the cream must absolutely be kept moist: the area must thus be wrapped in cellophane similar to kitchen cellophane…Wrapping the legs – a cylindrical area – is quite easy. On the bikini area, we recommend you to begin with the lower back and to come back to the front, just like if it were pampers. The isolation of the area will be completed by X and Y wrapping schemes on each root of the upper extremity. Make sure the cellophane is applied as far as the middle of the thighs, so as to keep the entire area moist.

The plastic film will only be removed once in the laser room.

After the treatment

The skin will be rehydrated as soon as the end of the session by a product such as the Biafine® cream. We recommend you to continue applying the product at home during one or two days.

Prolonged sun exposure should be avoided - most of all on dark skins - as long as the skin presents with inflammatory reactions (redness, particular sensitivity). In case of sun exposure, consider your skin as more sensitive than it is usually and take more precautions.

However, may laser be involved or not, remember repeated sun exposures can be dangerous as you are then exposed to ultraviolet radiation, which can induce severe lesions and skin cancers. Always keep in mind to apply solar filters before sun exposure, as they significantly minimise such risks.

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