Can I get laser hair removal in summer?
The weather warms up with the beginning of summer months. You start planning your holiday destinations, choose new summer looks and even reconsider your diet. You want to look fitter and plan on getting a smooth skin.
You do not want to face the pain of the wax depilation this summer nor to deal with the stress of a time-consuming shaving routine. Then you decide to have laser hair removal and start googling it on the Internet.
With every next page, you get confused. And one of the biggest obstacles is your friend telling you that you cannot have laser hair removal during summer.
In order to find a detailed answer to this question, we consulted Dr. Meltem Şentürk, a dermatologist from DK Klinik.
Is summer a good time to have laser hair removal?
Hello Dr. Meltem. There is a general opinion that laser hair removal definitely shouldn't be done in the summer.
How accurate is that?
This is not a correct statement. Laser hair removal can be done in any season as long as necessary precautions are taken. Though those precautions should be taken in winter too. You just need to be even more careful in summer.
As we all know, Antalya has more sun than many other cities during summers and even springs. If we can't do laser hair removal during summer, we shouldn't do it during spring either.
You have just mentioned some precautions. What are they?
You should avoid the sun as much as possible 5 to 7 days after laser hair removal. Let me explain why:
Skin gets sensitive after laser hair removal, so UV light-induced scarring becomes more probable. Therefore, if the procedure is done on the areas that can be exposed to suns, such as arms, legs, or shoulders, high factor sunscreen should be used and regularly refreshed on these areas. And sunbathing should be avoided for a few days after the procedure.
These rules apply to other seasons too. We advise everyone who follows us or comes to our clinic that they should avoid sun exposure and tanning in summer and wear sunscreen no matter what the season is.
Can you get laser hair removal if you have a tan?
This is an important decision. There is no single correct answer. If you have gone on a holiday, got exposed to the sun for hours, and have tanned skin then you should delay the treatment for a while. 7 to 10 days after you turn back from a holiday the color of your skin will lighten a bit and it will be more suitable for laser hair removal. On the other hand, if you are living your regular life in a sunny city and are casually exposed to the sun then you can have laser hair removal after a general evaluation. It should be done in a clinic or by a dermatologist that you trust. Many clinics like DK Klinik provide the preliminary interview for free. You can find out if your skin condition is suitable for laser hair removal by going to a center with good recommendations.
What kind of side effects can occur if laser hair removal is applied to tanned skin?
I would like to emphasize again that it’s better to avoid applying laser hair removal to tanned skin and wait until the skin gets lighter. However, it can be done even on bronze skin if desired. The critical point in laser hair removal is the dose of the laser beam. The darker the skin, the lower the dose should be. As long as a low dose of the light beam used, the procedure can be applied to bronze skin. But the effects of the epilation will be limited by a certain dose of the light beam. So, the procedure should be planned by an expert. We prefer doing laser hair removal only when an effective dose of laser can be applied. The critical point is to avoid the application of low doses of the light beam to avoid side effects on the tanned skin. Skin spots can occur if normal doses of the light beam are used on bronze skin. The treatment of this side-effect is possible but it is more important to ensure that it doesn't happen at all.
In conclusion, what do you recommend to people who are thinking about laser hair removal in summer?
Let’s summarize it in bullet points.
- You can have your laser hair removal in the summer
- No sunbathing before the procedure
- Use sunscreen after the procedure
- No sunbathing during 7 days after the procedure
- Do not have laser epilation on tanned skin, wait for a while till your tan fades off.
