If you’ve ever nicked yourself shaving or had to do the waxing waddle after a painful waxing appointment, chances are that you’ve considered laser hair removal at some point. Perhaps you’ve even done some research online about it. While the internet has a lot of good information, it is common to find misleading, outdated, or just plain wrong information as well… especially when it comes to laser hair removal.

As some of the nation’s leading experts in laser hair removal, the team at Milan Laser hears a lot of myths and misconceptions about laser hair removal during their free consultations. Not surprisingly, a lot of people have heard the same information and have the same questions or doubts about ditching their razors.

Here’s the truth about the five most common laser hair removal myths that they hear:

Myth #1: Results are only temporary.

Truth: Each laser hair removal treatment will provide you with permanent results when done properly. That’s because, during the treatment, a laser pulse is delivered directly to the hair follicle, which destroys it so that it can never—ever—grow again. That being said, new hair follicles can become active for a variety of reasons such as pregnancy, menopause, age, or genetics, and new hair can grow. Most places that offer laser hair removal services sell packages of 6 or 9 sessions. Just keep in mind, that at these places you’ll probably need to buy more packages or pay touch-up fees down the road. Your best option is to find a place that offers unlimited laser hair removal sessions for life at no additional cost like they do at Milan Laser.

Myth #2: It’s only safe to treat certain skin tones.

Truth: We’ve all heard the myth that laser hair removal only works for people with certain skin tones or hair colors. Heck, there are even rumors that it’s only for women. It’s not by the way, men’s laser hair removal has grown a lot over the last few years with some of the most popular body areas being the chest, back, abdomen, and neck. However, it’s myths like these that have so many men and women still using outdated hair removal methods like shaving and waxing.

While some of these myths might have been true—except that it’s only for women, that one has never been true—when the FDA first approved laser hair removal back in the late ‘90s, a lot has changed since then.

There are a lot more lasers on the market than there used to be, and technology has advanced quite a bit to make laser hair removal safe for everyone—regardless of skin tone. For example, a laser like the GentleMax Pro—which is the laser Milan Laser uses—will provide you with the safest laser hair removal treatments. That’s because it utilizes dual-laser technology. The dual technology allows Milan Laser to customize each treatment to the specific skin tone and hair type of each client using Alexandrite technology to treat lighter skin tones and Nd:YAG technology to safely even the darkest of skin tones.

Unfortunately, one thing that hasn’t changed is that laser hair removal does not work on white hair or “peach fuzz”. This should not be confused with blonde hair, which is usually treatable.

Myth #3: Fall and Winter is the best time to start laser hair removal.

Truth: When done properly the results of each laser hair removal treatment are permanent, but you will need multiple treatments to get the hair-free skin that you want. Your hair grows in cycles, and in order to get the best results possible from each laser hair removal treatment, you’ll want to go someplace that does your treatments 5 weeks apart as Milan Laser does. That will help ensure that you’re treating as many active hair follicles as possible, which plays a key part in getting you the best results as fast as possible.

Since your treatments need to be spaced out and because your skin needs to be its natural tone—meaning you can’t have a suntan—, starting your laser hair removal journey in the fall or winter is perfect because it will allow you enough time to get in several treatments before the weather warms up.

Myth #4: The treatments will be too painful.

Truth: While it doesn’t exactly tickle, laser hair removal is significantly less painful than a wax. Most lasers have a comfort feature built-in or one that is used as part of the treatment process to help make the treatments less painful. Some of the less sophisticated methods include using a numbing cream, messy gel, or blowing chilled air onto the area being treated to help ease any discomfort. However, for the most comfortable laser hair removal treatments, you’ll want to go somewhere that uses a laser with a built-in cooling mist like Milan Laser does. This technology releases a cooling mist immediately after each pulse of the laser during a treatment. To help put that into perspective, most of their clients describe it as feeling like the sting of a rubber band snap that fades away instantly.

Myth #5: It’s more expensive than waxing or shaving.

Truth: A lifetime of waxing or shaving is a bottomless pit expense. You’ll only ever get temporary results and will always need to keep spending more money and more time to maintain those results. A monthly leg waxing appointment alone can cost more than $15,000 in a lifetime. When you compare that to the cost of laser hair removal, it’s easy to see that you’ll save money—not to mention time—with the permanent results that you can get with laser hair removal. Also, most places offer payment plans to help make it more affordable. For instance, Milan Laser offers no-interest laser hair removal payment plans with payments that can be as low as $29 a month.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of laser hair removal myths, we hope that hearing from the laser hair removal experts has helped shed some light on the truth about laser hair removal.

Still have questions about ditching your razor for the laser? Feel free to give them a call at 833-No-Razor or go in for a free consultation. You can visit with a local expert at either of their Detroit laser hair removal locations, which are conveniently located near Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights and across from Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi.

Learn more about laser hair removal in Detroit.

Milan Laser Hair Removal was founded in 2012 by two board-certified medical doctors with a vision of offering a permanent solution to their client’s unwanted body hair. Milan Laser is now the largest laser hair removal company in the country with 96 locations nationwide and growing. The experts at Milan Laser have the industries only true Unlimited Package™ offering unlimited laser hair removal sessions to every client. Each medical provider at Milan Laser is certified by Candela, guaranteeing safe and effective treatments for all skin tones.