Rio SALON LASER LAHC Information Manual page 10

© The Dezac Group 2011
W H y IS A S ER IE S OF T RE A TM ENT S RE qu IRED ?
Everyone's hair grows differently, depending on age, weight,
metabolism, hormones, ethnicity, medications, and other
factors. but all hair goes through three distinct growth phases:
Active growth phase (called the anagen phase), which
lasts between 2 and 7 years. During this phase the dermal
papilla actively produces cells which form the hairshaft. In
certain areas of the body, such as the scalp, the majority (83%)
© The Dezac Group 2011
of the hairs are in this phase. During the Anagen phase the hair
has an abundance of melanin.
Degradation phase (catagen phase), which lasts between
10 and 20 days, during which the hair stops growing but is not
yet shed. About 3–4% of our body hair is in this phase at any
given time. The hair follicle shrinks at this time as the hair is
prepared for eviction.
Resting phase (telogen phase), which can last for several
months, during which the hair falls out and a new hair begins to
© The Dezac Group 2011
form. The hair follicle is not treatable during this time.
Laser treatment is only effective when the hair is in the active
growth phase. Hairs or hair follicles in the Degradation or
Resting phase need to progress to the active phase before
treatment will be beneficial. Therefore multiple treatments are
required for long term permanent hair reduction.
Also in a single treatment not all of the hair follicles in the
active phase will be destroyed. Some follicles are destroyed,
others may be miniaturised into vellus hairs (light fine hairs),
and some enter prolonged dormancy. The initial treatment
should be repeated to take care of active hair follicles that
were not effectively treated in the first session as new hair
growth is observed, this will typically be some 3–4 weeks later
depending on where the treatment area is.
Further treatments should be planned at regular intervals
to treat hairs that are coming out of the resting phase and
into the active growth phase. Generally, we recommend 6
treatment sessions over 6 months. Given the number of hair
follicles in the resting phase at any given time this hair re-
growth can be significant.
Any follicles without a target hair within will simply grow again
and will need to be treated next time around.
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