Laser hair removal: how many sessions does it take?

Most people need six to ten sessions of laser hair removal on each area, four to six weeks apart on the face and six to eight weeks apart on the body. It takes a course because laser only works on hair that is actively growing, and only some of your hair is growing at any one time.

At the end of a course most people have far fewer hairs, and a lasting result. It depends on the person, and some hair may remain.

Laser light heats the pigment in hairs that are growing and damages the root, so less grows back. A follicle that is resting, or has just shed its hair, gives the laser nothing to find, and it comes back into growth later.

So each session treats what is growing that day, and the next is timed to catch the hairs that have started growing since. A course is not an upsell. It is how the treatment works.

Four to six weeks on the face, and six to eight weeks on the body, because hair in different places grows on different cycles. Coming back sooner does not speed things up, because the next hairs have not reached the growing stage yet.

Six to ten sessions at those intervals adds up to several months. Facial hair often needs the top end of the course and occasional top-ups, and hormonal hair can need more sessions than that.

A patch test shows how your skin reacts to the laser at the settings planned for you, before a whole area is treated. Every new patient is patch tested at least 24 hours before their first session, and again after a significant gap between courses or a change in medication.

It is free and takes five minutes. At the same appointment your skin type, your hair and anything you take that makes skin sensitive to light are checked, and the price for your area is confirmed. Any clinic willing to treat you on the same day as your first consultation is cutting a corner that can leave a lasting mark.

Laser works best where there is strong contrast between dark hair and lighter skin. It needs pigment in the hair to target, so grey, white, red and very fine blonde hair will not respond meaningfully. You should be told that before you pay for a course, not after.

Darker skin can be treated safely with the right wavelength and settings, but it needs lower energy and more caution, and the patch test matters even more. If the laser is not right for your skin, you will be told plainly rather than treated.

It suits women and men. Common areas are the face and neck, the underarms, the bikini line, the legs, arms and stomach, and for men the back, shoulders, chest and the neck and beard line. A beard line is shaped and agreed before the first session, because the result lasts.

The clinic does not carry out laser hair removal during pregnancy, on skin that is tanned or fake-tanned until the tan has gone, on hair over a tattoo or around the eyes and eyebrows, or on anyone under 18. Some medicines, including certain antibiotics and acne treatments, make skin sensitive to light, so mention everything you take and it will be checked before you are treated.

If hair has started growing somewhere new, suddenly, or alongside irregular periods, see your GP before you book. It can have a cause worth finding, and laser does nothing about the cause.

With PCOS, laser can remove the hair you have now, but it does not treat the cause, so new hair may keep growing. Expect more sessions than most people need, and regular top-ups. That is not a treatment failure, and it is worth talking through before you start.

Some may. Most people see a lasting result, and what grows back is often finer and lighter. Some hair may remain after a course, and an occasional top-up keeps it down, priced when you need one. Be wary of anyone who promises you will never see another hair.

Shave or trim only. Waxing, plucking, threading and epilating pull out the hair the laser needs to find. Keep the area out of the sun and off the sunbed, and skip fake tan.

Most people describe it as a quick snap, like an elastic band against the skin, with a flash of heat. Some areas are more sensitive than others, and you can ask to pause at any point. Afterwards, redness and slight swelling usually settle within a few hours. Less often, patches of skin turn darker or lighter, usually for a while and rarely for longer, which is more likely on darker or tanned skin. Rarely, there is blistering, scarring, or hair growing thicker around the treated area.

At our clinic in Donington, near Spalding and Boston, laser hair removal is from £25 per area, per session. Six sessions on one area is from £150, and ten is from £250. Larger areas, such as the legs and back, cost more. Each area is priced separately, and the price for yours is confirmed at the free patch test, before you book any sessions.

You are treated by Alicia Marsland, the clinic's nurse prescriber, or a member of her small team. Whoever treats you is fully trained in laser hair removal, and the clinic is fully insured.