excel HR Laser hair removal

Unwanted hair — the shaving, waxing, ingrown-hair cycle you'd rather retire. On the face or anywhere on the body, on any skin tone.

excel HR treats the face and anywhere on the body, for men and women. Small areas, such as the upper lip or the chin, take 5 to 10 minutes; the underarms or the face 15 to 20; the legs or the back 45 to 60. A full body is planned area by area, often over more than one visit, because the face and the body follow different intervals.

Each area needs a course of six to eight sessions: four to six weeks apart on the face, and six to eight weeks apart on the body, the underarms, bikini line and legs included. Facial hair tends to respond least: in trials that followed people for a full hair-growth cycle, the reduction was smallest on the face, so it may need the full course and more touch-ups.

For men, the back, shoulders, chest, neck and beard line are the usual areas. On the beard, decide on the shape first, because the reduction is long-term. The 1064 nm wavelength is also used for razor bumps on the beard and neck, though they tend to come back without maintenance.

excel HR combines two lasers, as its maker describes it: a 755 nm alexandrite laser and a long-pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser, with sapphire contact cooling. The 755 nm wavelength suits finer, lighter hair on lighter skin; the 1064 nm wavelength reaches deeper with far less absorption by skin pigment, for darker and tanned skin.

Which one you have is decided at the first visit, from your skin tone, your hair's colour and thickness and any recent sun, and it can change during a course if your skin tans. Reviews of the evidence find that several kinds of laser, alexandrite and Nd:YAG among them, can reduce hair over the long term; matching the wavelength and settings to your skin is what decides how well it suits you.

No laser works well on white, grey, blonde or red hair, which has too little of the pigment the light targets. We tell you so at the first visit rather than plan a course that won't work.

1. 1 At the first visit we look at your skin tone, your hair's colour and thickness, any recent sun or tanning, your health and your medicines, then choose the wavelength and settings.
2. 2 Shave the area beforehand, but never wax or pluck: the laser needs the root in place. The skin is cleansed and dried, with no make-up or self-tan left on it; numbing cream is optional for sensitive areas.
3. 3 Everyone in the room wears eye protection. The cooled sapphire window of the handpiece moves over the skin pulse by pulse, each a warm rubber-band snap: 5 to 10 minutes for small areas, 45 to 60 for legs or a back.
4. 4 The skin is cooled again, and sunscreen goes on any exposed skin. Some redness around the follicles is common for a few hours.

1. Straight after Redness and small bumps around the follicles are common and usually fade within hours. Most people carry on with their day; skip saunas and hard workouts for a day or two, and keep the skin out of the sun.
2. One to three weeks Treated hairs shed on their own, and until they do it can look as if the hair is growing back. Let them fall rather than pluck them; shaving is fine.
3. After two or three sessions A reduction usually becomes visible, as hairs that were resting at the first session come into their growing phase and are treated in turn.
4. Six to eight sessions The full course for most areas, four to six weeks apart on the face and six to eight on the body: six months to a year in all. In trials, the reduction was largest on the legs and smallest on the face.
5. Every year One or two touch-ups usually keep the result. New growth can follow hormonal changes, so hair that returns quickly is worth showing to a doctor.

We go through your health and medicines first, because excel HR may not suit you, or may need to wait, if any of these apply:

• You are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• You are being treated for skin cancer or having chemotherapy, or the area has had radiotherapy.
• The area is tanned, recently in strong sun or self-tanned: we wait for it to fade, or adjust the settings.
• You take a medicine that makes skin sensitive to light, such as some antibiotics, or have taken isotretinoin for acne in the last six months.
• There is an infection, a rash or dermatitis in the area.
• You tend to form keloid or raised scars, or have vitiligo or a tendency to darker or lighter patches of skin.
• You have diabetes or a bleeding disorder, or take blood thinners.
• You get cold sores, or have had shingles, in the area: treatment is still possible, with preventive antiviral medicine first.
• There is a tattoo, permanent make-up or a mole that needs checking in the area: we keep clear of it.
• Your hair is very light, grey or red: laser responds poorly to it.

• Strict sun protection for four weeks before and after each session: SPF 50 on exposed skin, reapplied through the day, and clothing over treated areas where you can.
• No tanning, sunbeds or self-tan during the course; if you do tan, tell us before your session.
• In the Dubai summer, or before a beach holiday, if strict sun protection isn't realistic for an area, we pause and pick up again later.
• For a day or two: no saunas or hard workouts.
• Between sessions, shave if you need to, but don't wax, pluck or use hair-removal creams.
• Let treated hairs shed on their own over one to three weeks.
• Message us if you notice blistering, crusting, or a patch of skin that turns darker or lighter.