Vellus hair

PLEASE NOTE: Vellus hair can be stimulated by IPL or Laser!!

Vellus hairs are too pale to absorb heat from the laser. In theory, this means that laser light won’t affect them. In practice, however, it may sometimes stimulate them to grow darker and coarser after treatment, most likely caused by extra blood flow in the skin after treatment. Being darker and coarser they are actually easier for us to remove, however, you might not have been planning on two treatment trajectories, one to stimulate growth and one to remove it. Women of Mediterranean heritage are particularly prone to this occurring.

We thus recommend you to not treat vellus hair with Laser or IPL. Bleaching the hairs is a better option. If you are persistent and convinced that it might work for you, then we could try treatment after thorough testing on other parts of your body, for example, the vellus hair on your upper arm.

Do I need to shave prior to treatment?

Yes, you do. Prior to treatment you need to be smoothly shaven. If not, the heat of the laser will scorch the hair before it can penetrate to the hair follicle (where it needs to be). This will also increase the risk for burns and blisters.

Won't shaving vellus hair stimulate the rate of growth / make it come back darker and thicker?

No. Shaving does not change the hair’s thickness, color or rate of growth, this is a myth. Shaving the hair gives it a blunt tip which might feel coarse or ‘stubby’ for a while as it grows out. During this phase, the hair might be more noticeable and maybe even appear darker or thicker, but it’s not. There is no scientific evidence that the hair root can possibly receive information from the end of the hair.

My skin has recently been exposed to the sun but is still very pale. Can I still undergo treatment?

No, you will have to wait between 6-8 weeks after your skin has been exposed to the sun. Your skin has to be as light as it can be and as close to your natural skin tone as possible.