Or is Breastfeed Safe During Laser Hair Removal Treatments
Is doing laser hair removal safe during breastfeeding month after the delivery? Many women feel that after the tremendous body changes they had during the 9 month of pregnancy, it is time to invest some time and efforts to gain their feminine body back.
In this post we will cover the information you need to know before you decide to undergo laser hair removal sessions while breastfeeding. If you have any concerns please consult tour doctor for specific guidance.
Laser Hair Removal and Pregnancy
As a general, laser hair removal is not conducted on women while pregnant, there are several reasons to avoid laser hair removal during pregnancy:
- First of all the body hormonal changes can cause changes to melanin production, causing the treatments to be more painful and less effective.
- The second reason is that the laser zapping can cause cramps, especially when done on lower abdominal and thighs.
- The third reason is that since there are not enough clinical trials done regarding pregnancy and laser hair removal. So without any proof that it is ‘safe’, no one would authorize it out loud. See below a doctor reference to this subject.
Here is a doctor who answers this same question at a medical site Dermanetwork.com:
“We do not recommend any laser or injection treatments while breastfeeding or pregnant. While there is no evidence to show a link between these treatments and any harm to your baby, it does not make
sense to us to undergo elective treatments during this time”. Read more
Laser Hair Removal Risks While Breastfeeding
After the baby is born the risk of cramps from the laser zapping is solved.
The main reason some laser hair removal clinics and med spas would not permit you to participate in their laser hair removal plan while BF is because of the fact that a women body while breastfeeding, is still full of hormones. The hormones cause side effects to the laser treatment, they do not want to happen.
Pregnancy Hormones Cause Laser Hair Removal To be Ineffective
Breastfeeding and pregnancy hormones cause hair growth. The laser pulse can destroy the hair only at a specific period during the growth cycle, hormones change the growth cycle. This means the laser clinic will be ‘fighting a phantom’ they will be treating ‘unnatural’ hair growth. Which may cause their treatment to seem ineffective!
Breastfeeding And Skin Discoloring
The risk for hyper-pigmentation. When there is over production of melanin the body can be covered by dark skin patches. One of the pregnancy symptoms cause by this hormonal change is called Melasma. This Melasma symptom usually appear over the face/forehead, it can be seen as brown discoloration patches.
Undergoing laser hair removal while breastfeeding means the melanin production may be altered. This means skin discoloration side effects may occur. No medical spa or beauty salon need the trouble of a law suit or compensation to a woman who has hyper pigmentation or hypo pigmentation. They will advise the women to come back 2-3 month after she has done lactating.
Breastfeeding? Beware of Topical Anesthetics
You need to know that the main reason laser hair removal is not recommended during breastfeeding is because of the topical anesthetics. At some med spa and beauty salons numbing creams like topical anesthetics are used regularly to sooth the zapping discomfort.
When lactating, topical anesthetics can go through the bloodstream to the baby’s milk. I was reading doctors references to applying large skin areas with topical anesthetics caused sever medical complications and even death.
How to Remove Hair During Breastfeeding Month
One option is postpone the hair removal till the breastfeeding is over. If the hair growth is not severe, or if you are sensitive to pain, it might be wiser to wait 2-3 month until you finish lactating. In these month you can use other methods to remove hair like shaving, waxing or epilating.
Do not use hair removal creams, because they may have the same effect of being absorbed into the bloodstream and affecting your baby.
The best advice would be to use a wet and dry shaver for women, this close curves shaver will keep you smooth until you can begin the permanent hair removal sessions. Since it’s wet and dry, you can shave during the shower and come out clean and hair free.
Click here and get one of the best wet and dry shaver.
Use Home IPL to Remove Hair
Another option can be to use home IPL hair removal systems! These usually use less light energy than laser so the risk of discoloration is rather low. They are less painful so there is no need to rub topical anesthetics or any kind of anesthetics anyway. Home IPL would be also much cheaper!
Here are two of the best hair removal systems for home use:
ELOS iLuminage Touch – The leader of the home ELOS machines! It does everything better, faster and with nearly no hassle. The iLuminage Touch uses the ELOS technology available ONLY at professional hair removal centers!
This ELOS is for those who need best results at minimum hassle.
LumaRX IPL – The LumaRx IPL has better specs than other IPL systems. It is not approved for dark skin, but if you have white-yellow type of skin it will be just fine for hair removal needs (legs, armpits, bikini). Check the comparison for the LumaRX IPL and iLuminage ELOS System.
You can get the LumaRX IPL directly from Amazon. With more flashes than competing devices, ad with two IPL caps, one for the body and one for the face!
Click here to read latest reviews and shop for the LumaRX at Amazon.
Laser Hair Removal and BF Conclusion
There is no direct risk to the baby when undergoing laser hair removal while breastfeeding.
There are some risks of side effects like skin discoloration due to the hormonal changes. Laser hair removal may be also ineffective as hair growth cycle during pregnancy and breastfeeding change also.