Permanent hair removal is a very topical subject these days, when people take off their stockings and shorts and costumes show inches of skin that could have been quietly hidden during the winter. So how do you get smooth, hairless skin without having to spend the summer juggling waxing, razors, electric epilators and whatnot? The solution is undeniablypermanent progressive epilation.

There are currently two particularly effective methods for permanently removing unwanted hair: pulsed light (IPL) and the Alexandrite laser. These two technologies use high-intensity light energy to target the pigment cells of the hair follicle, which are permanently destroyed after a few treatments. There are three phases of hair growth: anagen, catagen and telogen. it is during the first phase, the anagen phase, that the hair is sensitive and vulnerable. Therefore, for an effective treatment it is first of all necessary to carry out it during the hair's development phase, the anagen phase. It is also necessary to carry out several treatments about a month apart in order to affect as many hairs as possible.

Sunlight should be avoided for at least a month before the treatment because, for best results, it is best to have the maximum colour difference between skin and hair. That is why if you are thinking about permanent hair removal now is not really the ideal time, it is better perhaps to postpone it until the autumn.

We talked about pulsed light and Alexandrite laser, which is the best method? In reality there is no one method better than the other, it all depends on the skin phototype (there are 5). Based on that, the doctor will assess and determine the duration of the treatment, the intensity, the best pulse and the machine to be used on a case-by-case basis.

How is the treatment carried out? The patient prepares the area to be treated by removing the hair with a razor 2 to 4 days beforehand. The hairs should be barely visible so that the area to be treated can be identified. During the treatment a sensation of heat will be felt on the skin, but the burning sensation will be alleviated by a forced cooling of the skin, making it comfortable and not at all painful. Sessions last between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the extent of the area to be treated, and must be repeated at one-month intervals for about 7 to 10 sessions.

But let's come to the question that will most certainly press you: is this type of epilation really definitive? In reality we cannot speak of definitive results as much as of permanent results. The limitation is not due to technology, which is very advanced thanks to increasingly high-performance machinery, but rather to factors affecting the hair's life cycle. The effectiveness of the treatment depends very much on the amount of energy absorbed by the melanin at a time when the hair is in an active phase, i.e. when the hair is growing. Then there are the so-called silent follicles that do not produce hair but can be activated under the stimulus of hormones or drugs. This is why it is more correct to speak of permanent hair removal; the results on the treated follicles remain over time.

Another determining factor for the duration of the treatment and the result obtained is the type of facility one turns to. In Italy, in fact, both doctors and beauticians can perform laser hair removal. In the latter case, however, the machines allowed are depowered, hence of reduced intensity and less incisive than those used in a doctor's surgery.