how long do I have to wait AFTER a laser session to pluck hairs that have been treated and are supposed to be shedding?
You’ll pretty much know. If you have to “pluck” then it’s too soon. They should just slide right out without any resistance, as in you should be able to even use your fingers to pull them out and it should come. If it’s being plucked out or has resistance it’s too soon, generally around 7-10 days after they’ll start to shed anything before is too soon.
You shouldn’t have to pluck, as edokid said. They will just fall out (on their own or with a super gentle tug). If you pluck any sooner than this, you will have NO way of knowing if the treatment is effective, because you will not be able to gauge how much of the hair is actually shedding vs. just being plucked.
Things start to shed between week 2 and 3. If you have patches that don’t ever shed, DON’T pluck them! You need the hair to stay in the follicle so you can re-treat it with a touch up.
The hair will fall out/shed on its own. No need to pluck. If you try to pull on it, it should slide out without resistance. That’s how you know it’s shedding. It takes 3 weeks for this to happen.
what does it mean if you have treatment and the visible hair you just shaved, and thought was going to be treated, is very resistant?
does this mean in a few days it will dislodge or does it mean the laser didn’t treat it, and if so, why?
If it has been more than 2-3 weeks and it hasn’t fallen out, then it isn’t going to. The hair should just slide out if you pull on it. It sounds like the laser wasn’t set right. Make sure to let the laser tech know about it the next time you see them so they can adjust the settings.
You really shouldn’t have to pull the hairs out, they will fall out on their own usually within 2 weeks. At least that’s my experience.