Patient guide

Laser hair removal, preparation and contraindications

Questions that come up in the practice before the first visit: whether to shave, how long to stop waxing, what about tanning, retinoids and medication, and when the treatment needs to be postponed.

Published on 3 October 2023. Last verified on 18 August 2026.

How to prepare for the first treatment

Preparation comes down to two things: the skin must not be tanned or irritated, and the hair must remain in the follicle, because it is the hair that absorbs the energy. Everything else follows from these two rules.

• Two to three weeks without tanning, including sunbeds, and without self-tanning products. Tanned skin has more melanin, so it absorbs the energy meant for the follicle.
• Four to six weeks without hair-pulling methods: waxing, sugaring paste, epilators and tweezers. Without hair in the follicle, the treatment has nothing to work on.
• Shave with a razor a day or two before the visit. The hair should remain in the follicle but not above the skin; the device documentation specifies a length of up to two millimetres.
• On the day of the treatment, no creams, lotions, deodorant or perfume in the treatment area.
• Cosmetics with retinol and acids should be stopped usually for two weeks. Do not stop medication prescribed by a doctor on your own, report it before the qualification.
• A list of medications and supplements for the consultation. Some preparations, including certain antibiotics and herbal medicines, increase sensitivity to light.

The first visit includes a qualification and a laser test on a small area, which lets you check the skin's reaction before working on the whole area. Details of the process are described on the laser hair removal page.

When we do not perform the treatment or postpone it

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• Active skin infection in the treatment area, including cold sores, fungal infection and bacterial lesions, and active inflammation, for example a flare-up of acne or eczema.
• Fresh suntan and sunburn, as well as skin treated with self-tanner.
• Photosensitising medicines and preparations, including oral retinoids. The appointment date is set by the person carrying out the treatment once the medicine has been reported.
• A tattoo in the treatment field, vitiligo and other pigmentation disorders in this area, pigmented lesions requiring assessment.
• Clotting disorders, autoimmune diseases affecting healing, cancer during treatment.
• A recent treatment in this area: a peel, a filler, a surgical procedure.

The list is not exhaustive, and some points mean postponement, not exclusion. Endocrine conditions, for example polycystic ovary syndrome, do not exclude the treatment but affect hair regrowth. Where excessive hair growth has a sudden onset, diagnostics are needed, as described in the entry on unwanted body hair.

How long the treatment takes and how many visits the series includes

The length of the visit depends on the area. The upper lip takes a few minutes, the whole legs or back can take up to an hour, plus skin preparation and cooling. A large handpiece shortens the work on large surfaces, a small one allows precise work in areas such as the face.

A course usually includes 6 to 8 treatments at intervals of 4 to 6 weeks, because the laser acts on hair in the growth phase, and not all follicles are in that phase at the same time. The hair growth cycle is described in a separate entry on unwanted body hair, and the best time to start a course is covered in the entry on starting laser hair removal.

After the course is finished, some people see single, finer hairs appear. That is why we talk about permanent hair reduction rather than permanent hair removal. The number and thickness of regrowing hairs decreases, but the area does not have to stay completely clear forever. Follow-up visits are then planned as needed.

Will the laser work on my skin and my hair

Two things decide this: skin phototype and the melanin content of the hair. Our devices cover different phototype ranges, so the choice of technology is part of the qualification, not a matter of preference. The ranges for individual devices are given on the laser hair removal page, and the difference between alexandrite and diode is described in the entry alexandrite or diode.

Very light, grey and red hair responds poorly, because it contains little melanin or a different type of it. No device in our laser range changes this, and we say so honestly at the consultation instead of offering a course with a poor outlook. Selective action on melanin reduces the risk to the surrounding skin, but does not remove it, which is why cooling and the choice of parameters matter.

What to do after the treatment

Straight after the treatment, the skin can be red, warm and tender, and a perifollicular reaction appears around the follicle openings, described in a separate entry on perifollicular oedema. For 2 weeks we avoid the sun and sunbeds, and protect the area with a high factor sunscreen.

Make-up in the treatment area is usually put off for a day, and longer if redness persists. Between treatments you may shave with a razor. Pulling hairs out interrupts the course. Symptoms that need contact with the practice are blisters, oozing, increasing pain, fever and redness spreading beyond the treatment field.

Laser versus IPL, where does the difference come from

IPL is not a laser. It emits broadband light, filtered to the range needed for a given indication, while a laser delivers a single wavelength. In our practice we carry out hair removal with lasers, and we use the IPL platform for other indications, including vascular and pigmented lesions.

This does not mean that one technology is by definition better than the other. It means that these are different tools with different indications, and comparisons in terms of price per session say nothing about the outlook in a specific case.

Further on the site

1. Treatment and qualification: laser hair removal, technologies: alexandrite laser.
2. Prices and packages: laser treatment price list.
3. Package rules: laser hair removal package terms.
4. Booking a visit: contact or online booking.

Do you need to shave before the treatment +

Yes. The area is shaved with a razor about 1 to 2 days before the visit, so that no long hairs remain on the skin surface. Hair that is too long heats up above the skin and increases the risk of burns, and the manufacturer's documentation gives a length of up to 2 millimetres.

Can you remove hair between treatments +

You may shave with a razor. You must not pull hairs out with wax, sugaring paste or an epilator, because the laser acts on the hair present in the follicle. Pulling methods are stopped for 4 to 6 weeks before the treatment.

When can you apply make-up after the treatment +

Usually after a day, if the skin is not red or irritated. Before that it is better to wait, because applying cosmetics to irritated skin increases the risk of inflammation of the follicle openings. If irritation persists, make-up is put off until it clears.

Do you need to stop retinoids before laser hair removal +

Cosmetics with retinol and acids are usually stopped for about 2 weeks before the treatment, because they increase the skin's sensitivity. Medicines prescribed by a doctor, including oral retinoids, are not stopped on your own. They are reported before the qualification, and the treatment date is set by the person carrying it out.

Can the treatment be carried out near a tattoo +

Not directly on the tattoo itself. The pigment absorbs the laser's energy, which risks burning the skin and permanently damaging the design. The area around the tattoo is assessed by the person carrying out the treatment, who chooses a safe margin.

Sources

Hair length before the treatment, intervals between treatments and the endpoint in the form of a perifollicular reaction are given according to the treatment documentation of the devices used in the clinic.

About this text

The text was prepared by the NL Clinic team. Published 3 October 2023, reviewed 18 August 2026.

This content is for information only and does not replace a qualification for the treatment.