Laser hair removal is a hot topic lately and if you are not informed, you might think it is an easy hair removal solution for anyone. The truth is laser hair removal is not for everyone and even for those who are good candidates, each will respond differently to the treatment.
The first obstacle to overcome is the price. An average laser hair removal session typically costs $500 and up to four treatments may be required. And of course, this is an elective procedure so the costs are not covered by most insurance.
The next consideration is the person’s pigment. The pigment is what gives coloring to the hair and skin. In order to be a candidate for laser hair removal, a person must have hair that is darker than the skin surrounding it. Therefore people that have dark coarse body hair against light skin will be most successful with the laser process; more so than those with light hair and dark skin.
Pigment gets its color from melanin. Melanin has to absorb the energy from the hair removal laser which puts out a good deal of heat. Melanin surrounds the part of the hair follicle where new hair is germinated and once it absorbs the heat from the laser and is destroyed, the structure is also destroyed and future hair growth will cease.
Since people with dark skin or tanned skin have a large amount of melanin, their skin is able to absorb more of the laser energy therefore the laser might not be able to penetrate the hair follicle and destroy the structure that produces new hair growth. One way to decrease the amount of laser energy the skin absorbs is by cooling the skin with a cold compress during the procedure. Then the laser can bypass the skin and go straight to the melanin inside the hair follicle.
Another way to keep the skin cool during laser hair removal surgery is to use multi pulsing lasers. Because this laser is pulsed and not streamed, the skin is kept cooler. In fact there are several new laser technologies emerging which are designed to help combat the difficulty of using lasers on darker skin.
Part two of this article will outline the advantages and disadvantages of laser hair removal and some important things you should know before deciding to utilize this technique.
Written By: Angela Myers
