Laser hair removal for Wellington.

Hair grows in three phases, and only one of them is treatable. In anagen, the active growth phase, the follicle is fully pigmented and connected to the structures that generate new hair, so the laser can reach and disable it. In catagen and telogen, the transitional and resting phases, the follicle has retracted and there is little for the laser to act on. At any given moment, only a fraction of the follicles in a given area are in anagen.

That biology, not a sales structure, is why a series is required. Each session captures the follicles that happen to be in the growth phase that day, which is why sessions are spaced four to eight weeks apart depending on the area. Face and neck cycle faster and are treated at the shorter end; legs, back, and chest cycle more slowly and are spaced further apart.

It also explains why the schedule matters more than the total number of sessions. Six well-timed sessions outperform eight crowded into a short window, because the second group is repeatedly treating the same resting follicles. We schedule around your cycle and adjust as your series progresses.

A meaningful share of Wellington patients who come to us for facial or lower-abdominal hair are describing hirsutism rather than ordinary hair growth, and that is a clinical finding rather than a cosmetic one. Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common cause. Thyroid dysfunction, elevated prolactin, insulin resistance, adrenal conditions, and certain medications also produce it.

This is where a physician-led practice differs in practice rather than in marketing. Dr. Frisch is a board-certified endocrinologist, so when the pattern and history suggest an underlying driver, that gets evaluated instead of overlooked. Patients are frequently surprised to learn that the hair growth they had been managing cosmetically for years was the visible part of something treatable.

It changes the laser plan as well. Androgen-driven follicles are continually being stimulated, so patients with an untreated hormonal driver need more maintenance and can plateau if the driver is never addressed. Treating both sides together produces a more durable result. Our page on laser hair removal for PCOS covers this in more depth.

Shave the area the day before or the morning of your session so the follicle below the surface is intact while the surface hair is gone. Do not wax, thread, pluck, or use depilatory creams for four weeks beforehand, because those remove the target the laser needs. Avoid deliberate sun exposure and self-tanner for two weeks before treatment, which in South Florida is the instruction patients find hardest and the one that most affects safety.

Sessions themselves are quick. An upper lip takes minutes; full legs take closer to an hour. Afterward the area often looks and feels like a mild sunburn, with some redness and follicular swelling that resolves over a few hours to a day. Cool compresses and bland moisturizer are usually all that is needed.

In the one to three weeks after a session, treated hairs work their way out of the follicle in what looks like regrowth but is shedding. Gentle exfoliation helps. Daily broad-spectrum sun protection on treated areas is not optional here, both for safety before the next session and to avoid post-inflammatory pigment changes.

Most patients see visible thinning after the second or third session, and the hair that returns comes back finer and lighter as the series progresses. The accurate term for the endpoint is permanent reduction: follicles that respond to the laser do not regrow, and areas without a hormonal driver often stay clear for years with occasional maintenance.

White, grey, and true blonde hair lack the melanin the laser targets and do not respond. Very fine vellus hair responds poorly. Results photographs shared by our practice are unretouched and represent individual outcomes; your hair color, coarseness, skin type, hormonal status, and adherence to the schedule all affect what you should expect. We would rather tell you at the consultation that an area is a poor candidate than sell you a series that will disappoint you.

Plans are built at consultation, offered as 8 or 12 session packages, priced in writing, and adjusted as your skin and hair respond, which is how a physician-led practice should handle a treatment that spans several months of your life.