Cost of Laser Hair Removal a Concern Not to be Taken for Granted

Cost of laser hair removal varies widely in a lot of ways.   When scouring the market for possible solutions to your problem about unwanted hair, you would always get across laser treatment, among others.  Intrigued by its longer-lasting result, you inquire about the price. 

To illustrate this point, a survey of four San Francisco dermatologists show that, for six treatments of under arm laser hair removal, derm A charged $1,600; derm B $999; derm C $2,100; and derm D $1,100.  This show a very wide disparity in charging cost for the same type of treatment (under arm).  Dermatologists from the same city could charge differently from each other, and dermatologist from different states would show an ever bigger disparity in charging laser hair removal costs.

One major contributor to this disparity is that no patient is alike in the sense that skin areas to be treated, number of treatment required, length of treatment per session, etc., are unique for each individual patient.  To give a better understanding of why there is no standard answer to the question of how much laser hair removal costs would be to take at look at the actual treatment process.

Laser hair removal is the use of laser energy to produce long-term hair reduction.  The tricky part about laser hair removal is targeting the hair shaft without damaging the melanin pigment in the surface of the skin.  Thus the laser light has to be on long enough to heat the hair, but not too long to allow that heat to spread to the surrounding skin, causing damage.  In addition, the darker the patient’s skin, the more difficult it is to avoid injuring the surface of the skin while treating the hair.  For this reason, there are three main types of hair removal lasers that are used today, and depending on the thickness of the hair and the color of the skin, one laser may provide benefits as compared to another. The best candidates are those with light skin complexion and darker hair color (brown or black).  While previously, it does not recommend laser treatment to people with darker skin types, some practitioners now are better equipped for the latter types

Obviously, different treatment variables are applied to each individual case.  Treatment results also differ from one patient to another. Thus the huge disparity in laser hair removal costs.

Those who are looking for a good price might look into chains, but be sure the chain you choose has experienced practitioners. In fact, you should ask specifically about the person who is doing your work. After all, what good is spending money if you aren't getting good results?

If you are going to buy a block of treatments, be sure to ask about what happens if you need additional touch-ups, and how much those might cost. Anything you can get in writing is important, and be sure to pay with a check or credit card so you have a record.