Your First Laser Appointment: What to Expect, Start to Finish

The week before

• Stop waxing, plucking and threading four weeks out. The laser targets the root, so the hair has to still be attached. Shaving is fine and expected.
• Stay out of the sun and off tanning beds for two weeks, and skip self-tanner. Recently tanned skin changes the settings we can safely use.
• Tell us about medications and skincare. Some antibiotics, acne medication and strong actives increase light sensitivity. Retinol usually pauses for a few days.

The day before

Shave the area about 24 hours ahead: close, in the direction of growth, with a fresh blade. Shaving the same morning is workable but can leave the skin slightly irritated before we start.

This one matters: body laser appointments have to be rescheduled if the area isn't shaved. Surface hair absorbs the energy and singes rather than letting it reach the root, which is both ineffective and uncomfortable.

On the day

Come with the area clean and bare: no lotion, oil, deodorant, makeup or perfume. Wear something comfortable that gives easy access to the area being treated.

The appointment starts with a short consultation covering skin type, hair type, medical history and what you're hoping for. Then a patch test on a small area if it's your first time, so we can confirm the settings before treating everything.

What it actually feels like

The handpiece is cooled, and it glides over the skin in passes rather than stamping pulse by pulse. Most people describe it as warm, like a hot stone massage, with the occasional sharper flick over bonier areas such as shins, ankles and the upper lip.

Rough timings: upper lip or uni-brow, five to ten minutes. Bikini line, about fifteen. Lower legs, twenty to thirty. Full body, closer to two hours.

Straight afterwards

Expect some redness and small raised bumps around the follicles. That's a normal response and it usually settles within a few hours, sometimes up to 48. A cool compress or aloe vera gel helps.

For the first 24 to 48 hours, avoid hot showers, saunas, steam rooms and workouts, because heat on freshly treated skin is what causes irritation. Skip makeup, perfume and deodorant on the area for 24 hours. Don't pick, scratch or exfoliate until everything has calmed down. SPF 30 or higher on any exposed area for the next two weeks.

The full aftercare list is worth saving on your phone.

The shedding phase

Here's the part nobody warns you about. For one to three weeks after a session, treated hair appears to grow. It isn't growing. It's being pushed out as the follicle sheds it. Exfoliating gently helps it along.

People often assume the treatment failed at this stage and it's entirely normal. Real thinning becomes obvious after the second or third session.

Booking the rest of your course

Sessions sit four to six weeks apart to match the hair growth cycle. Booking the next one before you leave keeps the spacing right, which matters more than it sounds, because stretching the gaps out means catching fewer follicles in the growth phase and needing more sessions overall.

When to call us

Blistering, intense swelling, or redness that hasn't settled after a couple of days is not part of a normal response. Contact us and your doctor straight away if any of that happens.