Contact & consultation

Arranging an assessment

Outpatient appointments are booked through the hospital on the numbers below; international patients can ask for Michael Yu. Bring a written note of which areas bother you and how long the hair has been there, whether it changed suddenly or gradually, and any treatment you have already had for it and what happened afterwards. If you have photographs from a few years ago, bring them, because they show change more reliably than memory.

What a good assessment includes

An examination of the hair and the skin in good light, a judgement about whether the hair carries enough pigment for the light to find it, an assessment of how your skin has behaved after sun, injury or previous laser treatment, and a decision about whether anything in the area needs looking at separately before any treatment. If the hair appeared suddenly or came with other changes, the assessment should include whether a hormonal cause needs investigating, and by whom.

Asking about the plan

Ask which wavelength was chosen and why it suits your hair and your skin. Ask for the session count and the gaps between them, and what happens to hair that is too fine or too pale for the light. Ask who performs the treatment and who to contact if the area burns or becomes infected. Ask what would make you the wrong patient for this treatment. A clinician who answers that last question specifically is assessing you rather than presenting to you.

Before you commit

No decision needs to be made at the first appointment, and a course has to fit your calendar rather than the other way round. Take the plan away, read it against the guides on this site, and come back with questions. A package priced before your hair and skin have been examined, or pressure to book before the assessment is complete, is information about the clinic rather than about your hair.