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How
laser hair removal work?
Laser
hair removal is a medical procedure that uses
laser light — an intense, pulsating beam
of light — to remove unwanted hair. Laser
hair removal works by passing a light beam through
the skin. The laser targets dark pigment, called
melanin, in hair. When the light beam hits the
hair follicle (where hair growth originates),
the intense heat destroys the hair follicle
instantly.
In
most cases, laser hair removal slows hair regrowth,
but it takes several treatments to provide an
extended "hair-free" period.
What
is a laser?
A
laser is a device that produces light of a single
color or wavelength. In dermatology, these lasers
produce pulses of high-energy light that is
taken up by the desired target. In the case
of hair removal, the target is the melanin pigment
contained within the hair shaft.
A
delicate balance
The
challenge with laser hair removal is targeting
the hair shaft without damaging the melanin
pigment in the surface of the skin. Thus the
laser light has to be on long enough to heat
the hair, but not too long to allow that heat
to spread to the surrounding skin causing damage.
In addition, the darker a patient’s skin,
the more difficult it is to avoid injuring the
surface of the skin while treating the hair.
For this reason, there are three main types
of hair removal lasers that are used today,
and depending on the thickness of the hair and
the color of the skin, one laser may provide
benefits as compared to another.
IPL
- Intense Pulsed Light
In
addition to lasers, intense pulsed light sources
are also used for hair removal. These light
sources do not emit a single color or wavelength
of light, but emit light containing many colors.
It may be more difficult to predict the outcome
and avoid complications when using light sources
that contain many wavelengths of light. However,
the results with any device depend upon the
experience of the practitioner.
How
many treatments?
Normally,
a series of three to five treatments are administered
at four to eight week intervals depending upon
the location of the hair. Following the initial
series of treatments, subsequent treatments
are administered, usually at longer and longer
intervals. Some number of maintenance of treatments
may be needed to keep all the hair away in a
given area. After a single treatment, the hair
in a given area is usually reduced in amount
and thickness for a very long period of time.
However, it may not be completely gone. To keep
an area completely devoid of hair, maintenance
treatments are always required. These maintenance
treatments may eventually be required at only
yearly intervals or even longer. This depends
on the area being treated as well as the individual.
As with any other traits in an individual, the
frequency of maintenance treatments varies considerably
from person to person.
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