Beard Shaping

Permanent beard shaping with lasers is a process of using light at the right wavelengths to target the color pigments in hair follicles (the root of the hair). The principle on which it works is known as selective photo-thermolysis, a fancy way of saying that the light selectively breaks cell structures of a specific color through generation of heat.

In the case of laser hair removal, these are basal stem cells that lead to hair growth from the follicle. The laser helps de-activate the follicles from future growth. When we say selective photo-thermolysis, it also means that the laser does not effect other structures around it, which includes the skin. Once you choose beard shaping, a brief description of the steps that will be followed for laser hair removal procedure are: The dermatologist will check the nature of your hair, the thickness, texture and color; since all these factors decide the level of results that you can achieve and also help the dermatologist decide the power and settings on the laser machine. You enter the treatment room and your highly trained therapist takes over. Your desired beard line is marked to make sure that hair is removed only in the desired target areas. The areas above and below the line are shaved to start with. After the application of a gel, your beard shaping treatment starts with the settings as decided by your skin specialist. The therapist ensures that the coverage etc. are exactly as per the requirements to achieve best results. Finally, the area will be cleaned and you will be ready to go home! Re-visit for your next session depending on when hair growth appears again, which is usually 4-6 weeks between the first two sessions. After this, the gap at which you require the next session will gradually increase and by the 7th session, you should see long-term results! (It may take less than 7 sessions in many cases)

HOW DOES PERMANENT BEARD SHAPING HELP WITH UNEVEN BEARD SHAPE

In the case of laser hair removal, these are basal stem cells that lead to hair growth from the follicle. This helps de-activate the follicles from future growth. When we say selective, it also means that the laser does not effect other structures around it, which includes the skin. Beard shaping with lasers does not give desirable results in a single session. We must repeat the procedure multiple times to target hair follicles in different phases of growth. A total of 6-8 sessions are usually enough to permanently reduce hair growth. The two most popular methods are the Diode laser and IPL which are also used by our dermatologists. Both are effective on Indian skin tones with slight variations. Since hair in the beard region is generally darker and thicker, the results are usually very good. People with darker skin tones will take more time to see results. Results are not good with grey hair and your dermatologist may suggest that you not go for the treatment in case they feel that your hair too grey or pale to get results. Overall, you would see a 70-100% reduction in hair growth after laser hair removal. Even the hairs that do persist, would be much finer in nature and maintenance sessions at much longer gaps may be required for some people through life. It is still however, a method that saves you more time over traditional methods, considering the long gaps between maintenance sessions (if required). Between 2 sessions, you need to allow time for the hair to grow back so that the follicles can be targeted. Hence, you need to wait for 4-6 weeks between sessions and this time frame slightly increases as the sessions go on.