Laser hair removal
[1] One of the first published articles describing laser hair removal was authored by the group at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1998.
[2][3] Laser hair removal is widely practiced in clinics, and even in homes using devices designed and priced for consumer self-treatment.
Many reviews of laser hair removal methods, safety, and efficacy have been published in the dermatology literature.
[4] R. Rox Anderson and Melanie Grossman[5] discovered that it was possible to selectively target a specific chromophore with a laser to partially damage basal stem cells inside the hair follicles.
IPL-based methods, sometimes called "phototricholysis" or "photoepilation", use xenon flash lamps that emit full spectrum light.
Some current IPL systems have proven to be more successful in the removal of hair and blood vessels than many lasers.
The ancient Egyptians developed a similar mechanism, sugaring, in which one would mix oil and honey then apply it to the skin.
In some places, only doctors and doctor-supervised personnel can do it, while in other cases permission extends to licensed professionals, such as regular nurses, physician assistants, estheticians, and/or cosmetologists.
An electrologist working under the direct supervision and responsibility of a physician is also allowed to perform laser hair removal in the state of Florida.
These lasers are characterized by their wavelength, measured in nanometers (nm):[21] Pulse width (or duration) is one of the most important considerations.
The main reason why hair removal fails is simply because the equipment cannot generate the desired temperature for the correct time.
Spot size, or the width of the laser beam, directly affects the depth of penetration of the light energy due to scattering effects in the dermal layer.
Epidermal cooling has been determined to allow higher fluences and reduce pain and side effects, especially in darker skin.
Three types of cooling have been developed: In essence, the important output parameter when treating hair (and other skin conditions) is power density – this is a combination of energy, spot diameter and pulse duration.
The number of sessions depends on various parameters, including the area of the body being treated, skin color, coarseness of hair, reason for hirsutism, and sex.
Certain areas (notably men's facial hair) may require considerably more treatments to achieve desired results.
For darker skinned patients with black hair, the long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser with a cooling tip can be safe and effective when used by an experienced practitioner.
Use of strong numbing creams over large skin areas being treated at one time must be avoided, since it can cause serious harm, and even death.
Ibrahimi and Kilmer reported a study of a novel device of diode handpiece with a large spot size which used vacuum-assisted suction to reduce the level of pain associated with laser treatment.
[27] Unwanted side effects such as hypo- or hyper-pigmentation or, in extreme cases, burning of the skin call for an adjustment in laser selection or settings.
Some patients may show side effects from an allergy to either the hair removal gel used with certain laser types or to a numbing cream, or to simply shaving the area too soon after the treatment.
