• What is Laser Hair Removal?
• What Laser Hair Reduction Do
• Causes of Excessive Hair Growth
• Preoperative details
• Advantages
• Postoperative details
• Complications
• What to expect after treatment

What is Laser Hair Removal?

Lasers produce a high-intensity ray of pure light which gives off heat energy. This energy is absorbed by different body tissues, depending on the colour of the laser beam. That's why laser light can pass safely through the skin, and destroy targeted cells under the surface without harming surrounding areas. For hair removal, the heat energy damages the cells at the root of the hair, thus preventing further growth

How does the system work?

The energy from the light source is taken up by the pigments (melanin and haemoglobin) in the skin, hairs and blood vessels. Selective filtration makes the energy uptake specific for melanin (600 to 950 nanometres) or haemoglobin (530 to 950 nanometres); thus the system can be used for hair removal, vascular lesions and pigmented lesions.

Hair removal is accomplished by the generation of heat from light in the melanin, which is then transferred to the hair follicle (root).

Pulse times of this applied light have been chosen to destroy the hair follicle by heating for at least 1 millisecond (one thousandth of a second) to 70 degrees centigrade.

What Laser Hair Reduction Do

The treatment can be used on the face or on any other part of the body including bikini line, under arms, legs and stomach. The treatment works best on new hairs that are just starting to grow, which is why you will need several treatments in the same area to deal with all the hairs as they begin their growth cycle.

What Laser treatment probably dont do

It probably won't remove all hair permanently, but should reduce growth significantly, and any regrowth is likely to be paler and weaker. Lasers are targeted at pigmented tissue, so they don't work on white, grey or platinum blonde hair

Causes of Excessive Hair Growth:

Excessive hair growth affects the healthy population, but it also severely affects patients with hormonal disturbances, such as:

1. Polycystic ovary disease
2. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
3. Hirsutism
4. Hypertrichosis
5. Congenital hairy nevi
6. Pilonidal disease

Hyperandrogenaemia (ie, increased plasma androgen levels) is sometimes the cause. This condition may be related to adrenal causes (eg, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, androgen-producing tumors), pituitary causes (eg, Cushing disease), ovarian causes (eg, polycystic ovary disease, ovarian tumors), or exogenous causes (eg, anabolic steroids, testosterone).

If a hormonal problem is suspected, you would be advised referral to an endocrinologist or a gynecologist.

Preoperative details:

- Do not to pluck or wax hair for several weeks before treatment
- Do not to sunbathe for several weeks or even months before treatment.
- The procedure is less effective in people who sunbathe than in those who do not.
- The area to be treated is shaved prior to treatment.
- The area is marked (an eye-makeup marker works best) and photographed.

If a cooling gel is used, it is applied at this stage. If the handpiece offers dynamic cooling, it is firmly applied to the skin.

Advantages

1. Long-lasting hair removal or permanent hair reduction.
2. Safe if performed properly.
3. Useful for large areas such as backs or legs.
4. Regrowth can come back lighter in color or finer in texture.
5. Light-skinned consumers with dark hair have the best results.
6. Reduces ingrowing hair.
7. Reduces folliculitis [skin infection]

What Happens During Treatment

You may need to wear goggles, depending on the laser system used. A cooling gel or spray, or even an anaesthetic cream may be applied to the treatment area.

Lasering stings or tingles, and takes 15-45 minutes, depending on the size of the area.

The same area is lasered once a month for two to eight months, until all the hair follicles have been treated.

After treatment the skin may look red and slightly swollen, but this should disappear within 24 hours. You can return to normal daily life straight away.

Most people need at least 3-6 sessions for best effect. The damaged hairs are shed gradually in the two weeks after treatment.

Postoperative details:

• After treatment, most patients have a mild sunburn-type sensation that fades in 2-3 hours.
• Moisturizers and/or cool compresses can help during this time
• Small blister areas can be treated with Bacitracin applied 3 times daily untilthey resolve.
• Sunblock should be used for as long as 6 weeks after treatment if sun exposure is anticipated.
• No waxing, shaving, or dying should be performed for 2 weeks after treatment.
• Pretreatment restrictions also apply to the posttreatment period.
• Ejection of hair shafts (ie, clearing out) occurs in the first 10-14 days.
• Some erythema and minor oedema can persist for 2-3 days after facial treatment and longer in other areas (eg, 1 wk on the trunk).
• Treated sites should be washed with gentle soap (eg, Dove) and water twice a day.

Follow-up care:

Three treatments (range, 2-6 sessions) are usually needed to achieve the desired effects.
The timing of treatments is important because hair should be treated during the anagen phase. This phase is short (6-12 wk) for hair on the head, and treatments are spaced a month apart.
On the trunk, the telogen phase lasts 12-24 wk, and 2-month spacing is best.

Complications:

• Hyperpigmentation is the most common effect and usually resolves within 6 months without treatment
• Itching during treatment
• Pain
• Tingling, or a feeling of numbness (with a cold spray)
• Crusting or scab formation on ingrown hairs
• Bruising

Rare:

• Purpura on tanned areas;
• Redness; swelling;
• Infection (uncommon);
• Temporary hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation;
• Scarring (which does not occur at proper fluences and with appropriate skin cooling).

What to expect after treatment:

Hair shafts may extrude from the damaged follicles during the 2-3 weeks following treatment and may mimic the appearance of rapid regrowth. These may be left to fall out, or they may simply be shaved or plucked. In most cases, the area can be treated again in as soon as 3 weeks, when dormant follicles become resume hair growth.

Increased hair growth in or around the treated area is a very rare consequence of Laser Hair Removal, usually seen on facial areas in patients with darker or olive complexions. and almost always resolves spontaneously in a month or so.

You should also avoid laser treatment if you are particularly sensitive to light or have any infection around the place to be treated. You should not have laser treatment if you have been treated for acne with Isotretinoin in the previous year.

Risks

• The treatment works best, and has fewest risks, on pale skin.
• Let any sun tan fade before you consider treatment. The skin can be left with dark marks or pale patches, which should fade over several months.
• Lasers don't always work well on red hair.
• Because laser energy is absorbed by pigment, it may not be suitable for people with darker complexions, because of the risk of too much energy being absorbed and damaging the skin. People with Mediterranean complexions can be treated, but with care.

Why is gel used?

It is necessary to apply a thin layer of gel to the skin prior to treatment to ensure an optimal optical transmission of light from the applicator to the skin.

How is the treatment carried out?

The applicator (hand piece) is placed in contact with the skin surface and the light pulsed through it onto the skin. The applicator is then moved to the neighbouring area and the process is repeated.