Unwanted Hair
Unwanted Hair
Hair on the face or body that has to be shaved or waxed again within days. Removing it that often leaves ingrown hairs and irritated skin. Most people who ask about this have spent years on it. The upper lip and chin need attention every few days. The underarms and bikini line never quite clear. Legs and back can take an hour a week. The ingrown hairs and shaving bumps come with all of it. It is one of the most common concerns in the consultation room, and the answer is usually clear, as long as the hair is the right kind.
Unwanted Hair
Unwanted Hair
Hair on the face or body that has to be shaved or waxed again within days. Removing it that often leaves ingrown hairs and irritated skin. Most people who ask about this have spent years on it. The upper lip and chin need attention every few days. The underarms and bikini line never quite clear. Legs and back can take an hour a week. The ingrown hairs and shaving bumps come with all of it. It is one of the most common concerns in the consultation room, and the answer is usually clear, as long as the hair is the right kind.
WHAT CAUSES IT
Why it happens
Why the hair is there, and what makes it treatable. This is why it helps to be assessed instead of picking a treatment from a list. The same look can have different causes. The right treatment follows the cause.
01
Genetics and hormones
Most unwanted hair is simply inherited pattern, and some is driven by hormonal change, which is worth a medical conversation when it is new or sudden.
02
The colour of the hair
Dark, coarse hair carries the pigment that laser hair removal targets; white, grey, blonde and red hair does not, and no laser treats it.
03
The colour of the skin
The contrast between hair and skin decides the settings. Darker skin types are treated with adjusted settings after a test patch. Some treatments are declined for them.
04
The removal itself
Shaving, waxing and plucking cause the ingrown hairs, bumps and irritation that many people find worse than the hair.
WHAT ACTUALLY TREATS IT
What actually treats unwanted hair in Barrie
Unwanted hair has more than one cause, and the color of the hair and the color of the skin decide what will work. Both surgical and non-surgical treatment is available here, and you will be told plainly if your hair is not the kind that responds.
Laser Hair Removal
Laser hair removal on the Sciton platform, run as a course. Almost any area is treated: upper lip, chin, underarms, bikini, legs, arms, back and chest. After a full course most people see a lasting reduction of the great majority of hair in the treated area, and the ingrown hairs go with it.
Dark hair on light to medium skin, on any area. Darker skin is treated with adjusted settings and a test patch where the platform allows. White, gray, blonde and red hair does not suit it, and you will be told so rather than sold a course. Hair that is new or sudden is discussed medically first.
A pulse of light is absorbed by the pigment in dark hair and not by the skin around it, which is how the follicle is treated. Shaving, waxing and plucking remove the hair and leave the follicle, which is why it comes back and why it causes the bumps. Hormonal change can bring some hair back, and an occasional maintenance session deals with it. It is delivered by the trained clinical team under Dr. Tumi's direction.
Six to eight sessions, four to eight weeks apart, with a few hours of pinkness after each and no downtime. Each session takes ten minutes for a small area and up to an hour for full legs, and the treated hairs shed over one to two weeks. Hair thins visibly after two to three sessions and the full reduction shows after six to eight. Between sessions you shave rather than wax, and you stay out of the sun for two to four weeks either side.
No laser treats hair that has no pigment. White, gray, blonde and red hair does not respond.
Hair that is new or sudden is discussed medically first, because hormonal change can be behind it.
Home light devices are far weaker than a clinical laser and are not safe on all skin types.
Depilatory creams remove the hair and leave the follicle, with irritation added.
What to expect
A small area takes about ten minutes. Full legs take up to an hour. The skin stays pink for a few hours afterwards, and the treated hairs shed over one to two weeks. Hair thins visibly after two to three sessions and the full reduction shows after six to eight. Between sessions you shave rather than wax, and you stay out of the sun for two to four weeks either side. The plan for your areas is confirmed at the consultation. See before and after results
What will not fix it
Shaving, waxing and plucking remove the hair and leave the follicle behind. That is why the hair returns. It is also why the bumps form. Depilatory creams do the same with irritation added. Home light devices are far weaker than a clinical laser and are not safe on all skin types. And no laser treats hair that has no pigment. This is worth saying plainly, because it is where people spend the most money for the least change.
Cost
Fees are quoted at the consultation, once the areas and your skin and hair type have been seen, because courses are priced as a package by area. You receive the figure in writing. Not covered by OHIP. Financing available through Beautifi, Medicard and Credit Medical.
Financing
Not covered by OHIP. Financing available through Beautifi, Medicard and Credit Medical.
Who provides your care
Surgeon-led care you can verify
You are assessed by Dr. Kamal Tumi, M.D., F.R.C.S.(C), a board-certified plastic surgeon with more than 28 years in practice and over 3,500 surgeries performed, and a consultant plastic surgeon at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre since 2004. The surgeon who assesses you is the surgeon who operates. Injectable treatment is performed by Dr. Tumi himself. Non-surgical treatment is delivered by our trained clinical team under his direction, including Priscilla Carvalho, medical aesthetician, phlebotomist and skin therapist. Smoking materially affects healing for most procedures, which is why you will be asked about it. His CPSO registration is public and searchable.
“I will not do a surgery on you if you do not need it.”
An assessment and a conversation.
You do not need to arrive knowing which procedure you want. Describing what bothers you is enough. You are not committing to surgery by booking a consultation.
FAQ
About Barrie Plastic Surgery
Yes. He holds an M.D. and is certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as a specialist in plastic surgery. That certification separates a plastic surgeon from a physician who offers cosmetic treatment. He has been a consultant plastic surgeon at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre since 2004.
In everyday use they are used interchangeably, and both terms describe most of what we do. Strictly, plastic surgery is the recognized surgical specialty, which includes reconstructive work. Cosmetic surgery describes procedures done to change appearance. Dr. Tumi is qualified in the specialty.
It depends on the procedure. Some, including upper eyelid surgery, are done in our own office under local anesthetic. Larger procedures are booked in an operating room, and which setting applies to you is confirmed at your consultation.
Yes. Male patients are a normal part of the practice. Eyelid surgery and gynecomastia are the usual reasons, and skin procedures are common too. ---
Unit 24, 222 Mapleview Drive West in Barrie, just off Highway 400 at the Mapleview exit. Consultations, injectables and the office procedures happen here. Operations that need a general anesthetic are done at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, where Dr. Tumi has been a consultant plastic surgeon since 2004.
Dr. Tumi performs facial, breast and body surgery. Skin procedures are part of the practice too: mole removal, skin cancer removal, scar revision. On the non-surgical side he injects the neuromodulators and fillers himself. Laser, CoolSculpting, Morpheus8 and skin treatments are delivered by the clinical team under his direction.
Yes, for anything surgical, and for most non-surgical treatment too. The consultation is an examination and a conversation. Dr. Tumi looks at what is actually causing what you see, tells you what can and cannot be changed, and gives you a written quote afterwards. You are not asked to decide on the day.
Dr. Tumi performs every surgery and every injection himself. The surgeon who assesses you is the surgeon who operates. Laser, CoolSculpting, Morpheus8 and skin treatments are delivered by the clinic's trained clinical staff, under his direction.
Yes. Cosmetic procedures are not covered by OHIP, and we work with three financing providers: Beautifi, Medicard and Credit Medical. Every quote is given in writing at the consultation, so you know the full figure before you decide anything.
Dr. Tumi examines the area himself. He explains what he finds in plain language, including what he would not recommend, and offers the smaller option where one exists. You leave with a written quote and time to think. If nothing surgical is the honest answer, you will be told so.