How do you know if a hair is in Anagen phase?

This is my first post but I have been reading this forum for a while.
About 10 weeks ago I performed laser hair removal on my chest/abs for the first time. I have been waxing prior to doing the “jump” to laser. Everything went well, most of the hair “burst” after the laser, with the rest falling out after about 1-2 weeks. I didn’t want to do a scheduled treatment cycle because I just want to reduce the hairs by half, not fully, so I wanted to see what it would look like after full cycle of regrowth.

So now we’re there at full regrowth (i think) and I want to go back for another session. But I was reading that the hair must be in Anagen phase for the session to be successful. How do you know if your hair is in anagen phase? That’s my main question.

When I pluck a hair from my chest, I could not identify a bulb. It was just a straight line. I know I didn’t break or snap the hair because I felt it come out right, I guess. I pulled out others from random places and most looked the same. I pulled some from random places on my body and some had white bulbs (telogen) but all else were just straight. No bulb, just straight black lines. Could that be from the laser? If so, is this considered anagen phase? Some hairs had a clear like film over where a bulb is supposed to be, but most didn’t.

I just want to make sure I time this next session right. I’m contemplating waxing and waiting the weeks needed in order to capture these hairs at the right moment if they’re not ready now. Is 10 weeks too long (the length of the cycle of chest hair)?

Thank you for any help or advice!

Don’t worry about the exact week number. Just go when there’s enough hair to treat – usually after week 8 is good. It is true that hair needs to be in the anagen phase to be killed by laser. I’m sure someone else can answer better than I can how to know if the hair is the anagen phase.

Thanks for the quick reply. I just want to make sure I get the best value for my money. Laser isn’t cheap! And if it’s not killing the roots, it’s not really worth it. Just need to figure out if it’s ok to do it now or wax now and wait…