Laser Hair Removal Tanning During Treatments

Laser Hair Removal Tanning

If you want to remove unwanted hair with laser hair removal and you are wondering how laser hair removal tanning during treatments would work, the simple answer is yes you can still tan.  But, for best laser hair removal results, tanning during laser hair removal treatments is not recommended. However, spray tans are a great alternative for laser hair removal tanning options.

Plenty of medical offices and spas offer laser hair removal,and most have the capability to treat people with all shades of skin. But even though lasers can work on darker skin, they’re still most effective on skin that’s lighter (or at least, as light as it can be). That’s because lasers target melanin, which is the compound that makes hair (and skin) dark. The greater the contrast between your hair (dark) and skin (light), the more effective the laser will be. So having darker skin—and therefore less contrast between your skin and the hair to be lasered—means your skin has more melanin and is therefore more likely to be injured by the standard laser treatment.

Tanning During Laser Hair Removal Treatments

For that reason, people with darker skin—whether it’s their natural skin tone or a suntan —must be treated with a different technology, which is unfortunately, not as efficient as the ones capable of treating lighter skin types. This usually requires 2-3 times more treatments to accomplish the same task. This also means you will have to pay for 2-3 times as many treatments.  The other option is for the laser settings to be turned down to lower levels.  Unfortunately, lowering the laser settings are not effective enough treatments, meaning that individual hairs may be merely stunted, not permanently disabled, and so will need to be treated again. And that means more time (and expense) for you.

Of course, if you really can’t get along without that sun-kissed glow, schedule a trip to the spray-tan salon right after your laser treatment. Just be sure your skin is exfoliated and back to its natural (pale) state a week before your next laser session to ensure the best results for laser hair removal tanning.