In life, there are certain processes we don't necessarily want to see up close (i.e.: how the sausage gets made). While the science is undeniably interesting, it can also be...well, pretty gross. This new video from the science nerds over at Veritasium is a perfect example. It unpacks what actually happens when you get laser hair removal — in slow-motion frames that are almost as painful to watch as the treatment itself.
Spoiler alert: This shit ain't pretty.
The team at Veritasium enlisted a few macro-lens cameras to catch the hair-obliteration process (on a shoulder, and thankfully not a bikini line) in all its glory. If you can get over the fact that you're watching detailed shots of hair shrivelling up from the inside-out, the science behind the hair removal is actually really interesting. What we see as one short burst of a laser is actually six pulses — each one lasting about 1.5 milliseconds.
"As the melanin [in the hair] absorbs laser energy, the hair heats up to over 100 degrees Celsius, causing it to burn and vaporising the water it contains," explains the narrator. "This puffs the hair up a little bit, like a Cheeto... The objective is not to destroy the hair; it's to actually use the hair to destroy the germ cells in the follicle that produce the hairs in the first place. It’s using the hair to kill the hair." Mind. Blown.
Watch the video above to get the rest of the hairy details — just make sure you aren't eating while you do it. And if this freaks you out, but you're still looking for a hair-removal option that will leave you smooth, here are a bunch of products that work — Cheeto-like shriveling not included.
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