"Doctor, does it really hurt a lot?"

— A question I heard ten times this week alone

In the exam room, about ten people a week

ask me the exact same question.

"Does hair removal really hurt a lot?"

The truth is, it’s hard to say simply

"it hurts" or "it doesn’t hurt."

Depending on the wavelength, the area, whether numbing cream was applied,

and how the practitioner spaces the shots,

even the same person can experience

pain that differs by a factor of two.

Hair removal pain,

you probably think it’s all about the same, right?

But actually, here’s the thing

Hair-removal lasers work on the principle that melanin in the hair follicle

absorbs light and turns it into heat.

That heat damages the follicle.

But there’s one important point here.

Even with the same hair-removal treatment, depending on the wavelength of light,

the depth it reaches into the skin is different,

and that changes the quality of the pain.

Alexandrite (755nm)

is absorbed relatively near the surface,

while Nd:YAG (1064nm) penetrates deeper.

Diode (800~810nm)

sits somewhere in between.

Why does 1064nm feel so heavy?

— It’s a matter of depth

Director Wi Young-jin’s

key insight

1064nm penetrates deeper, so

the pain is a little stronger than 755.

It feels like being snapped with a rubber band

with a slightly heavier impact —

If numbing cream is applied for 30 minutes,

it’s definitely tolerable.

There was someone similar in today’s clinic too.

A 28-year-old woman

came in for an armpit and bikini-line consultation.

She had tried it once at another clinic,

and because it was "much more painful than expected," she got a refund that day

and came to us just for a consultation first.

She put the procedure on hold instead of booking right away.

Her case was a textbook example of a pain issue.

Her skin tone was slightly darker,

so if we use 755nm Alexandrite aggressively,

it also absorbs into the epidermal melanin, causing more stinging

and slightly increasing the risk of hyperpigmentation.

For patients like this, 1064nm Nd:YAG is

safer.

But because 1064nm has a longer wavelength,

it reaches deeper layers of the dermis, about 4~5mm.

It disturbs the epidermis less, but

because heat is generated deeper down,

the "rubber band snap" sensation feels a little heavier.

The pain level is slightly stronger than 755.

Still, if numbing cream is applied properly for 30 minutes,

it’s a level most people can tolerate.

In fact, when we ask patients after treatment,

about eight out of ten say,

"It was better than I expected."

One thing I definitely need to mention is that

if you go in after applying numbing cream for only 5~10 minutes,

it has almost no effect.

It takes at least 25~30 minutes for lidocaine

to pass through the stratum corneum.

About half of the times people say,

"I applied numbing cream, but it still hurts,"

the real cause is not enough application time.

Director Wi Young-jin’s key summary

1064nm goes deeper and feels heavier,

while 755nm is near the surface and stings.

More than the wavelength itself, whether you properly applied numbing cream for

30 minutes

is the real variable that can cut the pain in half for the same person.

See which case applies to you,

by body area and skin tone

If you can see this at a glance, the difference will be obvious.

If your skin tone is light and hair density is average,

755nm Alexandrite is efficient

and the pain is just a brief sting, so it’s manageable.

If your skin tone is darker or you’ve just tanned,

or if it’s a deep area like the bikini line or hip,

1064nm Nd:YAG is safer,

and you should not skip the 30-minute numbing cream application.

Also, one more thing: when it comes to reducing pain,

the practitioner’s skill matters more than you might expect.

Even with the same device, how tightly the cooling handpiece is

pressed against the skin,

and how the shot intervals are spaced,

can change the perceived pain by 30~40%.

Honestly, this is something that

isn’t listed in the device specs.

If you’ve read this far,

this is probably what you’re wondering

Q1. If I use numbing cream, does it really not hurt?

A. This question comes up a lot, actually.

Rather than "it doesn’t hurt,"

"it’s tolerable" is more accurate.

Numbing cream reduces surface-level pain by about 70%,

but the heavy feeling of deep-penetrating 1064nm

can’t be completely eliminated.

That said, someone who applies it properly for 30 minutes

and someone who goes in after just 10 minutes

can have pain scores that differ by a factor of two, even for the same procedure.

For sensitive areas like the bikini line and hip,

we always follow the 30-minute rule.

Q2. Does it hurt less as the sessions go on?

A. This is a little tricky,

because in theory the hair amount decreases,

so it should hurt less, but in reality some people say

the 2nd or 3rd session stings more than the first.

This varies from person to person, because

the hairs in the active growth phase are picked up differently

from session to session.

Usually, from the 4th session onward,

patients say it definitely gets easier.

So the most disappointing pattern is when someone gets 1 or 2 sessions

and then quits, saying

"I can’t do this because it hurts too much."

Q3. Is a burning sensation after treatment normal?

A. Feeling a burning sensation for about 30 minutes to 2 hours after treatment

is a normal reaction.

Mild swelling around the follicles

or redness is also common.

It usually calms down the same day.

However, if the burning is severe the next day,

or if blisters or oozing appear, there may be a burn,

so you should come in right away.

On the day of treatment, avoid hot water, saunas, and intense exercise,

and if you keep up with moisturizing and sun protection,

most people feel fine by the next day.

If you take away just one thing today,

— pain depends less on the wavelength and more on 30 minutes of numbing cream

and how tightly the practitioner keeps the handpiece against the skin.

In the next post,

"How to not quit hair removal after 1~2 sessions

— why the peak pain comes early"

I’ll break it down.

If you look at it together with the hair-growth cycle,

you’ll really understand

"why people say it gets easier from the 4th session."

This was Wi Young-jin.

Read also

• Beard hair removal: If it’s not GentleMax Pro Plus, don’t believe claims that it’s permanently removed

• GentleMax beard hair removal: Why simply increasing the number of sessions doesn’t help

• Underarm laser hair removal: How many sessions will it take? A realistic session breakdown