Case Study: Underarm Laser Hair Removal with the GentleMax Pro

Why she came to see me

By Swaleen Nissan, Lead Medical Aesthetician, 20+ years

I am Swaleen Nissan, Lead Medical Aesthetician at Distill Laser Clinic in North York. In more than 20 years in medical aesthetics, and with more than 10,000 treatments performed at our clinic, underarms are the area I have treated most often. That volume of work is part of why Distill Laser Clinic received the Consumer Choice Award 2026 for laser hair removal. This is the real story of one client. I will call her Maya, which is not her real name, to protect her privacy. She has given written consent to share her photographs and her story.

Underarm clients almost always tell me the same thing at their first visit. They are shaving every day or two, the hair grows back fast and thick, and the skin is left with a dark shadow that never really goes away. Maya was no different. She wanted to stop thinking about her underarms, and she wanted to know whether laser was worth it.

Her journey started with a free consultation at our North York clinic. No pressure, no sales pitch, just a look at her skin and her hair and an honest answer about what laser could do for her.

The consultation: matching the laser to her skin

Laser hair removal works by sending a pulse of light into the skin. The pigment in the hair absorbs that light; it turns into heat, and the heat disables the follicle that grows the hair. That only works well when the wavelength matches the person in the chair, so the first thing I do at every consultation is check skin type and hair colour.

Maya has Fitzpatrick type II skin, which is fair, with dark underarm hair. That is the combination a laser likes best, because the light is drawn to the pigment in the hair, not the skin around it. For her skin type, I used the Alexandrite 755nm wavelength. We run two laser platforms at Distill, the Candela GentleMax Pro and the Cynosure Lutronic Clarity II, and both carry two wavelengths. For Maya, I chose the GentleMax Pro. It pairs high power with a cryogen cooling spray timed to every pulse, and that combination is my pick for dense, coarse underarm hair.

I also went through her medical history and current medications, and I asked about recent sun exposure and self-tanner. A fresh tan raises pigment in the skin and increases burn risk, so we do not treat it. Maya was clear on everything, and we booked her first session.

Her treatment plan: 6 sessions, 6 weeks apart

Laser only works on hair that is in its active growth phase and still attached to its follicle. Only a share of your hair is in that phase at any one time, which is why laser hair removal is a course of sessions rather than a single visit.

For underarms, I space sessions 6 to 8 weeks apart. That gap matches the hair cycle in this area, so each visit catches a fresh group of hairs in the growing phase. Most clients need 6 to 8 sessions in total. Maya needed 6, and we kept each one 6 weeks apart.

Before every session, she followed the same routine:

• Shave 24 hours before. The laser needs the hair in the follicle, not on the surface. Long hair above the skin burns and stings.
• No waxing, plucking, threading or epilating for 4 weeks. Those methods pull the hair out by the root, so the laser has nothing to target.
• No sun or self-tanner for 2 weeks. Tanned skin carries more pigment and pulls energy away from the hair.
• Clean skin on the day. No deodorant, lotion or perfume on the underarms before treatment.

What the sessions felt like

Underarms are a small area, so each visit was quick. I cleansed the skin, set the wavelength and settings for her skin type, and worked across each underarm in even passes so no spot was missed.

I will be honest, because this is the question people ask quietly. Laser hair removal always involves some sensation. Maya described each pulse as a warm snap, like an elastic band against the skin. The GentleMax Pro sprays a short burst of cryogen onto the skin just before each pulse, which protects the surface and takes the edge off almost at once. She found the sessions generally well tolerated, and like most clients, she found each one easier than the last as the hair thinned.

After each session, her underarms were a little red, like a light sunburn, and that settled within a few hours. For the first 24 to 48 hours, she avoided heat, hard workouts, and sun on the area, then went back to her normal day.

Shedding, and why it looks like regrowth

This is the part that worries people, and it is worth understanding before you start. Over the one to three weeks after a session, the treated hairs loosen and slide out of the follicle. It can look like the hair is growing back. It is not. Those hairs are already dead and on their way out.

I told Maya to let them fall on their own and never to pluck or wax them. Shaving between sessions is fine. Once she understood what was happening, the shedding stopped worrying her and became the sign that the session had worked.

Her results

Maya came back for every session on schedule, 6 weeks apart, for 6 sessions in total. After the first two or three, the hair that returned was finer and sparser, and she was shaving far less often. By the time we took her final photographs, the difference was clear. Far less hair remained, and what was left was fine and light. The dark shadow from thick hair under the skin was gone.

I want to be careful with my words here, because a lot of clinics are not. Laser gives you long-term hair reduction, not lifelong hair removal. A small amount of fine hair can return over time, and hormones can wake up new follicles, so most clients book a maintenance session once or twice a year. If a clinic promises you smooth skin forever, that is a sales line, not a clinical fact.

This is the outcome we work toward on every underarm plan at our clinic for laser hair removal in North York. You can read more about the area on our underarm laser hair removal page, and about the laser itself on our Candela GentleMax Pro page.

What I tell clients like Maya

Consistency matters more than anything else. Stick to your 6 to 8 week schedule, because that is how we catch each group of hairs in its growing phase. Skipping a session or leaving too long a gap lets follicles slip past us and adds visits to your plan.

Prepare properly. Shave the day before, stay out of the sun, and come in with clean skin. Small things, but they change how well each session works.

And ask questions. If you are not sure whether laser suits your skin or your hair, a free consultation at our North York clinic will give you a straight answer. A patch test is available following your consultation.