Everything we tell clients in the treatment room before they book laser hair removal, including the answers most clinics would rather you did not ask about.

How laser hair removal works

The idea is simple, even if the machines are not. Hair contains pigment, and pigment absorbs light. A laser sends a very short pulse of light at one exact wavelength into the skin. The pigment in the hair soaks up that light; the light becomes heat, and the heat travels down the hair into the follicle, the small pocket in your skin that grows it. Enough heat, delivered at the right depth, and that follicle loses its ability to produce a full hair.

The skill is aiming the heat at the hair, not the skin around it. Your skin also contains pigment, which is why the wavelength, pulse length, and cooling all have to match your skin tone. This is what separates a good result from a burn, and it is why the person setting the machine matters more than the brand on the side of it. We wrote a longer explainer on how laser hair removal works.

Here is the detail that explains almost everything else on this page. Each hair cycles through growing, resting and shedding. The laser only works on hairs that are actively growing, because that is when the hair is connected to the follicle. At any one time, only a share of your hair is in that phase. So one session treats one share. The next session, a few weeks later, catches the next share. That is why laser hair removal is a course, not a single appointment.

Our two lasers and why we have both

We run two platforms in North York: the Cynosure Lutronic Clarity II and the Candela GentleMax Pro. Both carry two wavelengths on the same device: an Alexandrite wavelength that suits lighter skin and an Nd:YAG wavelength that reaches deeper and passes more safely through darker skin. That is why we can treat all six Fitzpatrick skin types, with the wavelength matched to the person in the chair rather than the other way round.

Why two machines instead of one? Because no single laser is best at everything. Fine hair, coarse hair, small areas, large areas, sensitive skin and deeper skin tones all respond a little differently, and having both lets us pick the better tool for you on the day. Both platforms have cooling built into the handpiece that protects the skin's surface while the light works underneath. This two-laser approach, and the daily work behind it, is part of what earned our clinic the 2026 Consumer Choice Award for laser hair removal.

If you have been told in the past that your skin was too dark for laser, that was true of older, single-wavelength machines. That is not true of a properly set Nd:YAG laser. Our article on laser hair removal for different skin and hair types explains what to expect for your tone and hair colour.

Is it permanent? The honest answer

You will see the word "permanent" on a lot of clinic websites. We do not use it as a promise, and you should be careful with anyone who does. Laser hair removal gives most people long-lasting hair reduction: much less hair, and the hair that does come back is usually finer, lighter, and slower to grow.

Some follicles are damaged for good. Others recover partly over time, and hormones can wake up new follicles that were never treated because they were not growing hair yet. This is why most clients book a maintenance session once or twice a year after their course, and why nobody can honestly tell you that you will never see a hair again.

We would rather you knew this before you paid than after. The full explanation, including what the research says and what "permanent" actually means in this industry, is in is laser hair removal permanent.

Areas we treat

We can treat almost any area with unwanted hair, with a few exceptions near the eyes. Coarse, dark hair on lighter skin responds fastest. Fine, light, or grey hair has little pigment for the laser to target, and we will tell you plainly at your consultation if laser is not the right tool for your hair.

Women can read the complete area-by-area plan on our laser hair removal for women page.

What a session actually feels like

We will not pretend you feel nothing, because you do, and you would find that out within the first ten pulses. Most clients describe each pulse as a quick hot snap, like an elastic band flicked against the skin, followed by a moment of warmth. The cooling built into both of our lasers takes the edge off, and the feeling passes as soon as the pulse does.

Some areas are louder than others. The upper lip, bikini line, and lower abdomen are usually the most sensitive. Legs and arms are usually easy. Coarse hair feels stronger than fine hair in the first two sessions because there is more pigment to heat, and most clients notice each session feeling gentler than the last as the hair thins out.

A few things help. Eat before you come. Skip caffeine that morning if you can. Arrive freshly shaved, because long hair above the skin turns into heat on the surface instead of in the follicle. Please tell us if you are close to your period, since sensitivity rises in the days before it. And if you need a pause, ask. We can slow down, adjust settings, or stop and restart. Nobody has to be brave in our treatment room.

Small areas such as the upper lip take a few minutes. Underarms take around ten minutes. Full legs or a full back take longer. Most clients are back at work or at the gym later the same day.

How many sessions, how far apart, and the shedding phase

Most people need 6 to 8 sessions to get the reduction they want. Clients with PCOS or other hormonal hair growth usually need 8 to 12, because hormones keep recruiting new follicles during the course. Men with coarse back or beard-line hair sometimes need a session or two more than average. We tell you our best estimate at your consultation and adjust it as we watch how your hair responds.

Spacing matters as much as the count. Facial hair grows on a shorter cycle, so face sessions are usually 4 to 6 weeks apart. Body hair cycles more slowly, so body sessions are usually 6 to 8 weeks apart. Booking too close together wastes a session if your hair is not ready. Leaving it too long lets treated follicles recover. Read how many treatments laser hair removal takes for the full breakdown by area.

Before and after every session

Preparation is not optional with laser. Getting it wrong is the most common reason a session gets cancelled at the door, and it is entirely avoidable.

Before

• Shave the area 24 hours before. Shaved, not waxed. The hair needs to be in the follicle for the laser to find it.
• No waxing, plucking, threading or epilating for 4 weeks. These pull the hair out and leave the laser nothing to target.
• No sun, tanning beds or self-tanner for 2 weeks. A tan raises the pigment in your skin and raises your risk of a burn. We will reschedule rather than treat tanned skin.
• Tell us about medications. Some antibiotics, acne medications and other drugs make skin sensitive to light. Bring your list.
• Arrive with clean skin. No lotion, deodorant, makeup or perfume on the area.

After

• Keep the area cool and clean. A cold compress helps if the skin feels warm.
• No hot showers, saunas, hot yoga or hard workouts for 24 to 48 hours.
• Avoid sun exposure on the treated area, and use daily sunscreen once you are back outdoors.
• Skip exfoliating acids, retinoids and scrubs for a few days.
• Shave between sessions if you want to. Never wax or pluck.

A patch test is available following your consultation if you or we want to see how your skin responds before treating a full area.

How pricing works

Laser hair removal is priced by area and by session. At Distill Laser Clinic in North York, sessions start from $55 for a small area, and larger areas cost more because they take longer. You can find the full price list by area on our laser hair removal pricing page. The consultation is always free, and we quote your full plan in writing before you commit to anything. Prices last updated September 2026.

Packages of sessions cost less per session than paying one at a time, and because a course is 6 to 8 sessions, most clients buy in packages. We also offer an unlimited laser hair removal option, which we walk you through at your consultation. Financing is available if you would rather spread the cost. For a full picture of what laser hair removal costs across Toronto and what moves the price up or down, read our 2026 guide to laser hair removal cost in Toronto.

One warning we give every client. The cheapest session in the city is rarely the cheapest course. When you bounce between clinics chasing deals, each new clinic starts from a different machine, different settings and no record of your progress, and your session count starts to drift upward. We see people who have paid for twelve sessions across four clinics and are still not where a single course would have taken them. Consistency matters more than any one discount.

Safety, side effects and who should wait

Laser hair removal has a long safety record when done with the right wavelength, the right settings, and honest screening. Common side effects are mild and short-lived: redness, warmth, and small bumps around the follicles that settle within hours to a day. Read our full article on laser hair removal side effects for the details.

The serious problems, burns and changes in skin pigment, come almost entirely from treating tanned skin, choosing the wrong wavelength for a skin tone, or setting the energy too high. Every one of those is a decision made by the person holding the handpiece, which is why we ask you to take the consultation seriously and why we take the two-week no-sun rule seriously.

We do not treat you if you are pregnant. Please wait if you have an active skin infection, a cold sore outbreak, or broken or irritated skin in the area. Recent isotretinoin use, certain photosensitising medications, a history of keloid scarring and some skin conditions all change what is appropriate, and sometimes we will ask you to check with your doctor first. We avoid tattoos in the treatment area and do not treat over them.

Your consultation exists to catch all of this before anything is booked. It is free, it takes about 20 to 30 minutes, and there is no pressure to book on the day.

"The laser does the same thing every time. The result comes from matching it to the person in the chair, and from that person finishing the course."

Swaleen NissanLead Medical Aesthetician, Distill Laser Clinic North York · 20+ years in medical aesthetics

Real client results

These will be real clients treated at our North York clinic, shared with written consent, with photographs taken in the same spot under the same lighting at each visit. Nothing here is a stock image, and nothing is edited.

Learn from Swaleen: books and training

Swaleen has spent more than 20 years in laser treatment rooms in Barbados, New York City and Toronto, and now trains other clinicians in laser hair removal. Everything on this page comes from that experience, and these resources go deeper. This guide also sits in our treatment guides library alongside the Morpheus8 guide.

Go deeper: detailed articles

This page is the overview. These articles go further into each question, all written by Swaleen.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information only and is not medical advice. It does not account for your specific circumstances, and results vary from person to person. Please book a consultation so we can assess your skin, hair, and medical history before any treatment. For advice about your situation, speak with a suitably qualified professional.