I FEEL like many of us are obsessed with armpits, especially women’s armpits. Models and celebrities are always shown to have perfect underarms, and I always hear people commenting if they see particularly nice (or not nice!) underarms.
For many people, however, imperfect underarms are a reality. There’s hair growth to deal with and pigmentation from hormones, friction, shaving, or other causes. I’ve previously written about options for hair removal on different parts of the body.
What about lightening? I feel like only a fraction of the very lucky population has smooth underarms that match their skin tone. To address hyper-pigmentation or discoloration in the underarms, laser whitening may be the only long-term solution. So what’s it like to have laser whitening or lightening done on the underarms?
First, the skin will be properly cleansed, followed by the application of a gray carbon gel to help concentrate the penetration of the laser light. A special machine will be used over the area covered by the carbon gel. This is the first part of the treatment, which is meant to strip off as much dead skin as possible. It minimizes pores at the same time. The smell of burning carbon is not pleasant, but this part of the treatment only feels very warm on the skin, and is completely painless.
The second part of the treatment is the actual laser toning. The laser is used to shatter the pigments in the treated area, which will result in lightening the skin.
Depending on your pain threshold, this part of the treatment may feel just a little uncomfortable, or borderline painful. It feels like a combination of static electricity and the light snapping of rubber bands over a very small area as the laser runs over the skin. It isn’t the most pleasant feeling, just some bearable discomfort.
If at any time you feel it’s painful, always speak up and tell the therapist you need a break.
I recently tried out the laser whitening treatment on my underarms at Lohas Skin and Slimming center. I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to treatments like this, but having a licensed doctor with the newest laser technology perform this on me certainly made me feel more confident about trying it. Procedures like this should be done only by a professional at a reputable center. You don’t want to think about what could go wrong if an unskilled person uses a high-intensity laser on your skin.
Your underarms may feel a bit tender after the treatment, but there is no down time whatsoever. An anti-inflammatory gel will be applied to the underarms, left on for 15 minutes, and then you can be on your way. The whole thing only takes about 45 minutes.
The laser whitening treatment can also be done on the face, as some people do have pigmentation there from hormones or pregnancy. If you’re wondering if this actually works, this is the same treatment for removing tattoos, although more sessions may be needed for tattoo removal.
There may not be a day-to-night difference after only one treatment, but effects can be seen immediately. Depending on your skin, you may need several sessions, which can be done in two-week intervals. Deodorant, plucking, shaving or waxing is not allowed for a week after the treatment, so the doctor advises to use only deodorant powder and a mild cleanser in the meantime.