With so many different hair removal methods women can use today, it’s sometimes hard to decide on one single method over others. Thanks to recent innovations in technology, we now have the luxury of being able to use laser hair removal techniques, as well as Intense Pulsated Light (IPL) devices, which operate in the same way using slightly different technology.
There are a few older methods that have worked for many years to allow women to effectively maintain hair and hair growth in certain areas of the body. Shaving or waxing are two of the more prominent hair removal methods that have been used in various cultures throughout history to eliminate unwanted hair from your our bodies.
Should I Wax, Use IPL, or Get Laser Hair Removal on my Armpits?
What was once just a “Waxing vs Laser Hair Removal for Underarms” has quickly become a Waxing vs Laser vs at home IPL treatment
The underarm is one of the main areas of concern for women who want to control their body hair and maintain smooth skin. In this article, we’ll compare waxing vs laser hair removal and explain some of the more important information related to each method.
Laser Hair Removal Overview
Scientists and engineers have developed new ways for women to maintain their beauty over the last few decades. One of the breakthrough methods that has quickly gained popularity is laser hair removal. This method is relatively painless and often results in long lasting and effective hair removal from problem areas such as the underarm.
For many years, laser hair removal was a method that was only reserved for those who are a board certified dermatologist and specialists that had certain professional qualifications. Women were only able to use laser hair removal if they actually visited a trained professional at a certain location and laser hair removal devices were not available to the public.
Now, we’re able to take advantage of this exceptionally easy and effective way of getting rid of unwanted hair by targeting the hair follicle itself.
How Does Laser Hair Removal Work?
Laser hair removal works through the use of some pretty impressive technology. The use of laser removal allows us to target each individual hair follicle in a way that results in permanent hair removal for many women.
Most laser treatment devices operate in the same manner. Each device sends a focused line of laser powered light onto the skin. This laser pinpoints the exact area where it’s passing over and effectively burns the hair follicles in a way that singes them and hardens the hair itself, allowing the user to use a pad or other object to rub over the skin and break the hair follicles loose.
Unlike shaving or waxing, laser hair removal is not an instant treatment. It will instead require multiple sessions in order to achieve the results you’re looking for and get smoother skin in your underarm or any other part of your body while also slowing or stopping the hair growth. In most cases, it takes at least six weeks of using the laser hair removal device to see full results.
Once you have effectively burned the hair follicles so that hair growth is stopped or considerably slowed, you’ll only have to use the device once every few weeks to maintain long term results and the smooth skin on your underarm or other area of the body.
These laser hair removal devices are known to be effective when it comes to removing hair from the bikini area or bikini line, legs, arms, upper lip, and virtually anywhere else.
Using this method does come with a small amount of pain in the form of a slight burning or stinging sensation that users say is virtually gone within a few seconds. Through using laser treatment, you can keep the hair follicle on any part of the body from growing back for a number of weeks or months. In some cases, the results are permanent and hair will not grow back.
Waxing Overview
Most women are already familiar with waxing to remove hair on their underarm area or any other part of the body. Waxing is one of the most effective ways of removing unwanted hair and is virtually an instant solution to totally removing all the hair from your armpits or other places where you want smooth skin.
Waxing has long been used as an alternative to shaving these areas and many women opt for waxing as opposed to any other method simply because it works so well. Unlike shaving, you can achieve immediate results without having to worry about ingrown hairs or other problems like a rash or painful cuts. You also won’t have to worry about shaving in the direction of the hair and it’s growth as you would with shaving.
While waxing is highly effective, it is also known to be the most painful method of hair removal. When used over the course of many sessions, however, waxing has been known to slow hair growth and eliminate the risk of incurring ingrown hairs for many women.
There are two types of waxing methods that include a hard wax, which doesn’t require paper strips, as well as a softer wax which must be used with strips in order to remove the hair. Waxing is a much faster way to get silky-smooth skin, but it’s understandable for many women to ask whether this is the right hair removal method for their own needs.
In the next sections, we’ll weigh out the pros and cons of waxing vs laser hair removal methods and laser treatments.
Pros and Cons of Laser Hair Removal
Of all the hair removal methods you can use, laser treatment is likely the most pain free ways you can achieve smoother skin on your underarm. However, there are certain pros and cons you’ll need to be aware of before getting started.
There are a variety of different brands that now produce laser devices which makes it easy for women to choose the exact model that’s just right for their own individual needs.
Laser treatment is a great way to get rid of unwanted hair for women that are prone to ingrown hairs as it totally eliminates the potential for developing ingrown hair. In addition to this, laser removal is less painful and leaves very little lasting pain after each use that will go away within a short amount of time.
It’s somewhat less time consuming as well compared to waxing as you’re able to simply turn on the device and run it over the areas of your body where you want to eliminate hair to have results. Once you’ve treated each follicle for a number of weeks, each treatment becomes easier and more effective.
Laser hair removal is a great long term treatment method that you achieve through just one session a week after the first month, in most cases. Each session lasts just a few minutes and you can use the laser device on other problem areas such as your bikini line, arms, legs, and other parts of the body.
There are a few notable disadvantages that come with laser treatment which you should also consider before purchasing a laser device. For individuals with dark hair and darker skin tones, it will take a stronger laser power and likely more session time and number of sessions to achieve the results you’re after.
Most laser device instructions will note that women with dark skin tones should expect to use the product at its maximum power to effectively treat each area. You may also need more treatments throughout the initial few weeks or months after you begin using the device as well.
While this is not something that might totally discourage anyone with dark skin to opt for another hair removal method, it is information that might cause you to select one product over another based on your own skin tone.
Pros and Cons of Waxing
Waxing the armpit area is a method that includes its own benefits and downsides. There are a number of different brands and wax products that you can use on your own at home, or you can opt to have your wax treatments done by a trained professional at a spa.
It’s relatively easy to wax your underarms as it’s an easy-to-reach location and isn’t a large area of skin like the legs arms, or even the bikini area in some cases. Waxing is usually something that must be done carefully, but it’s a treatment method that will effectively get rid of hairs in a way that will leave your skin incredibly smooth for a number of days afterward.
There is more pain involved with waxing as you are essentially plucking each individual hairs out at once with each strip of wax that’s removed. This is a level of pain that many women find fairly easy to tolerate, but others who have a light pain tolerance simply can’t deal with the intense nature of the pain involved with waxing.
Conclusion
If you’re someone who wants to have long lasting results with minimal effort and very little pain, it’s obvious that laser hair removal devices will give you the best experience for maintaining your skin. However, if you’re looking for instants results and are willing to tolerate more pain in order to get the job done, waxing might be the right choice for you.
Laser devices will obviously be more expensive initially, but purchasing the right one could save you money over an extended period of time where spending money on each individual waxing session might add up to be more than you’d spend on the laser treatment. Either way, we hope you’re able to use this information to select the method that works best for you and that you’re able to have smoother skin with whatever method you choose.
