Laser Facial Hair Removal

The Laser facial hair removal technique is one of the best ways to remove unwanted hair, along with another method called IPL or Intense Pulsed Light.

Now to explain things further I used to do the IPL treatment when I had the Westwood Waxing Salon in East Kilbride, I did the treatment for over a year with great results, although I have to say it isn't for everyone which I will explain about later.

With so many other treatments for example acne scar laser treatments, or some people want to stop smoking, however hair removal seems to be popular, at least that is what I found. So before we go any further you need to know what it is etc, so let's get started...

What is the difference between Laser & IPL

Laser

This is a machine which was performed experimentally for about 20 years before it became commercially available in the mid 1970s. The efficacy of laser facial hair removal is now generally accepted in the dermatology community and is widely practiced.

Many reviews of laser hair removal methods, safety, and efficacy have been published in the dermatology literature. The primary principle behind the laser is selective photothermolysis, meaning that they can cause localized damage by selectively heating dark target matter, (melanin), in the area that causes hair growth, (the 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.

Hair removal lasers selectively target melanin and this is what gives your hair and skin colour. Laser facial hair removal is only effective on black or brown hair, that is the downside for people who are fair, white and grey.

Laser works best with dark coarse hair. Light skin and dark hair are an ideal combination, but new lasers are now able to target dark black hair even in patients with dark skin. A patch test must be done first just to make sure you don't lighten the skin or burn the skin.

Several wavelengths of laser energy have been used for facial hair removal, from visible light to near-infrared radiation. These lasers are usually defined by the lasing medium used to create the wavelength (measured in nanometers (nm)): so for example:

• Argon: 488 nm (Deep Sky Blue).
• Cyan :514.5 nm (no longer used for hair removal).
• Ruby laser: 694.3 nm (OrangeRed) again no longer used for hair removal and is only safe for patients with very pale skin.
• Alexandrite: 755 nm (Red) it is most effective on pale skin and not safe on darker skin at effective settings.
• Pulsed diode array: 810 nm (Near-Infrared) this is for pale to medium type skin.
• Nd:YAG laser: 1064 nm (Near-Infrared) this one is made for treating darker skin types, although it is effective on all skin types.

Pulse width is an important consideration. Longer pulse widths may be safer for darker skin, but shorter pulse widths are more effective in disabling hair follicles. The repetition rate is believed to have a cumulative effect.

Based on the concept of thermal relaxation time. Shooting two or three pulses at the same target with a specific delay between pulses can cause a slight improvement in the heating of an area. This may increase the "kill rate" for each treatment.

Now the size of the head affects the laser facial hair removal treatment. Theoretically, the width of the ideal beam is about four times as wide as the target is deep. Hair removal lasers have a spot size about the size of a fingertip (8-18mm). Larger spot sizes help laser light penetrate deeper and make treatments faster and more effective.

Fluence or energy level is another important consideration. This is measured in joules per square centimeter (J/cm²). It's important to get treated at high enough settings to heat up the follicles enough to disable them from producing hair.

Surface cooling of the skin has been determined to allow higher fluences and reduce pain and side effects, especially in darker skin. Three types of cooling have been developed:

Contact cooling: through a window cooled by circulating water or other internal coolant. Cryogen spray: Sprayed directly onto the skin immediately before and/or after the laser pulse is done. Air cooling: forced cold air at -34 degrees C (Zimmer Cryo 5 unit).

The above information is from Wikipedia

Another amazing thing about the laser technology is it also stimulate hair growth, for men and women alike, I have had a lot of clients and a lot are women who have suffered from thinning hair on their head, which for women is more embarrassing. Male Hair Regrowth - SureThik offers effective male hair regrowth products.

This company have a great product and a range of accessories for both men and women. Check them out, they have a cool video which shows you how to use the laser hair comb.

So that is all about some of the laser facial hair removal machines and I must also point out it is also used for other areas of the body, like legs, biking, under arm, lip, chin, back, and chest.

The only part that is best to avoid is the eyebrows. I decided to talk about the laser facial hair removal as this is the most popular request I got when I did the treatment a few years ago.

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