Laser Hair Removal Treatments

Unwanted hair is a common problem in women and men. Shaving, waxing, and tweezing provide temporary relief from hair growth and generally are carried out on relatively smaller parts of the body. Laser hair removal is designed to permanently remove unwanted body hair by using the light energy from a laser. Laser hair removal treatment can be used to permanently treat and remove small and large areas of unwanted hair from the body. Best results are obtained in those with light skin and dark hair, and hair removal works better and faster on coarse hair rather than fine hair.

The primary principle behind laser hair removal is selective photothermolysis (SPTL). Lasers can cause localized damage by selectively heating dark target matter (melanin), in the hair follicle, while not heating the rest of the skin. Light is absorbed by dark objects, so laser energy can be absorbed by dark material in the skin (but with much more speed and intensity). This dark target matter, or chromophore, can be naturally-occurring or artificially introduced.

The area is shaved and cleaned, and an anaesthetic cream applied. The laser then produces pulsed beams of highly concentrated light which is absorbed by the pigment located in the hair follicles, damaging the surrounding follicle. The procedure can be uncomfortable, but it is not usually painful. The length of a laser session may be a few minutes to an hour or more, depending on the size of the area being treated. Any redness and swelling of the affected areas usually disappears in a short time. And most people return to normal activity right away.

Laser hair removal is widely practiced worldwide and its efficacy is now generally accepted in the dermatology community. Many reviews of laser hair removal methods, safety, and efficacy have been published in the dermatology literature and on the internet. Laser hair removal is an accepted method to do away with unwanted hair forever, thus saving you the trouble of periodic painful traditional and outdated methods.