Laser Hair Removal Special

Now only $399- 6 sessions!

We offer the latest technology in laserhair removal. The cooling effect eliminates pain and a larger hand peace targets more areas at a time, condensing your session to an average of 15 minutes!

Epilation through laser had been experimentally performed in the mid 1970s, 20 years before it was made commercially available. IPL or Intense Pulsed Light epilators, although technically it is not a laser, make use of the xenon flash lamps which emit a full spectrum light. Light based and laser methods, also known as photoepilation or phototricholysis, are now very commonly known as “laser hair removal”. In 1998, the Massachusetts General Hospital group published one of the first articles that described the laser hair removal technique. The technique’s efficacy is now very widely accepted by the dermatology community. Laser hair removal is today widely practiced. Several reviews of the hair removal techniques, efficacy and safety have also been published over the years in dermatology literature.

The mechanism

The main principle operating behind laser hair removal is SPTL or selective photothermolysis. Lasers may result in localized damage by selectively heating the dark target matter or melanin in an area which causes hair growth while avoiding heating the other skin parts. The light is absorbed by the dark objects and so laser energy can be absorbed with much intensity and speed by the dark material of the skin. Chromophore or dark target matter can be artificially introduced or may be naturally occurring. Hair Removal lasers target melanin selectively.

Melanin is considered to be the primary chromophore for hair removal lasers of all types that are currently available. Melanin naturally occurs in the skin and provides hair and skins its natural color. The two types of melanin in hair are eumelanin that gives hair black or brown color and pheomelanin that provides hair red or blonde color. Because of selective absorption of laser light photons, only brown or black hair may be removed.

Laser tends to work best with coarse dark hair. Dark hair and light skin is the ideal combination, however new lasers are currently able to target black hair even when patients have dark skin. The US FDA- Food and Drug Administration approves hair removal lasers for “permanent hair reduction” and the process has been in use since the year 1997. Permanent hair reduction may be defined as stable, long term reduction in the number of hair re-growing after the treatment regime. Several patients have experienced complete regrowth of their hair in treated areas in a few years after the last treatment. Hair removal through laser is quite popular today because of its efficacy and speed, though some of its efficiency will depend on the experience and skill of the operator as well as the availability and choice of different laser techniques at the clinic that performs the procedure. In some cases touch up treatments may be required, especially when dealing with large areas after the initial 3 to 8 treatment set. Also, it has been observed that some people may not respond to the treatment though this is not yet confirmed and there are no known reasons yet. This, in fact, may be because of lack of skill of the laser operator or because of the settings or the type of machines that are used by them.

Laser vs. electrolysis

Another method used for hair removal is electrolysis. This method has been used for more than 135 years. Currently it is the only permanent solution for light colored and very fine hair. FDA currently allows the term “Permanent Hair Removal” to be used for only electrolysis. Electrolysis, unlike laser hair removal is effective for all hair colors. In 2000, a study conducted at the Ankara, Turkey based ASVAK Laser Center which compared electrolysis and alexandrite laser for hair removal on twelve patients. The study concluded that laser hair removal was less painful, more reliable and 60 times faster than electrolysis.

Laser parameters affecting results

Various wavelengths of energy are used for hair removal, ranging from near infrared to visible light radiation. These lasers are defined generally by lasing medium that is used for creating the wavelength and is measured in nanometers.

Another important consideration is pulse width. The longer pulse widths are said to be safer for use on darker skins. However, the shorter pulse widths tend to be more effective for disabling the hair follicles. The repetition rate is also believed to have cumulative effect, as per the thermal relaxation time concept. Shooting two to three pulses with specific delay between these pulses at the specific target can cause improvement in the heating of the area. Also, it may provide better kill rate for every treatment. The laser beam width or spot size also affects treatment. Theoretically, the ideal beam width should be four times in width as the depth of the target. Hair removal lasers have spot size of 8 to 18mm, the size of a normal fingertip. The laser spot size can help the laser light penetrate deeper and they can make treatments more effective and faster. Energy level or fluence is also an important consideration. Basically, fluence is measured as joules/square centimeter. It is important that the patient is treated at settings that are high enough to heat the follicles enough so that they are disabled from producing hair. It has been determined that Epidermal cooling allows higher fluences and it also reduces side effects and pain, especially for darker skin. Three cooling types have been so far developed:

·         Contact cooling: done through a window that is cooled by internal coolant or circulating water.

·         Cryogen spray: it is sprayed onto the skin directly immediately after or/and before the laser pulse.

·         Air cooling: involves forced cool air at a temperature of -34 degrees C

Number of sessions

It has been seen that multiple treatments, generally 6 to 8 and spaced 8 to 12 weeks apart, based on skin color and hair type provides long term results. The current parameters suggest that a series of treatments that are 8 to 12 weeks apart and are based on hair cycle patterns of every area provides the best results. There are various parameters which decide how many sessions would be needed like sex, hirsuitism reason, hair coarseness, skin color and the area that is being treated. Light skin with dark coarse hair is the easiest to treat. Darker skin tends to be slightly harder and finer hair is affected only at times. Some of the areas, especially men’s faces, could require more treatments for achieving the desired results. Also, because hair grows in various phases and since laser only affects anagen, or the follicles that are currently active and are growing, several sessions would be needed to kill hair in all its stages of growth. Also, it is important to take note that laser does not work effectively on most vellus hair (peachfuzz), fine hair and light colored hair of any color.

Intervals between the sessions

Generally the treatments are spaced 8 to 12 weeks apart, based on the hair cycle length and body area. Faces generally need more frequent treatments, spaced 3 to 4 weeks apart while legs need less frequent treatments. Rather than following arbitrary schedules, it is important to wait till they experience shedding of treated hairs. This should be complete within a time frame of 2 to 3 weeks. Another treatment should be done after enough hair reappears after the shedding. It is also advisable that you go for a touchup treatment if a considerable amount of hair has not shed within three weeks.  

Other uses

There are several other uses of hair removal lasers, like for treating pseudofolliculitis barbae, commonly known as shaving bumps or ingrown hair. For patients having black hair and darker skin, Nd:YAG, a long pulsed laser with cooling tip is effective and safe when it is used by an experienced and knowledgeable practitioner. These have been reported recently as very helpful for treatment of pilonidal cysts as they eliminate ingrown hair producing troublesome foreign reactions in the body.