Laser Hair Removal

Laser hair removal is an extremely delicate procedure and much care is given to the preferences and the comfort of client. Before the start of any medical procedure including laser hair removal an adequate insight into patients general out look, past medical history and on going medical ailments is necessary. Following conditions should be considered before opting for laser hair removal procedure to achieve best laser hair removal results.

Patient education and consent

The patient should be informed about the details of the actual procedure, possible side effects and success rates. An agreement about the laser hair removal costs should also be reached to avoid future disputes. Proper written consent of the patient should be taken. Precautions and post procedural care should also be told.

Six weeks before laser treatment

The following care should be taken 6 weeks prior to the laser hair removal treatment

• Conditions causing Hypertrichosis which include hormonal, familial, drug-related, or tumor-related conditions.
• History of previous treatment methods, last treatment session and results should be considered.
• History of herpes a skin disease.
• History of scarring after a dermal laser treatment
• The specific pathological condition causing excessive hair growth if any should be known and also treated like hormonal derangement and ovarian tumors.
• Medication in use if any.

Use of sun block

Exposure to the sun should be minimized and skin tanning should be avoided at all costs if one is looking forward for laser hair removal on the exposed sites. Laser hair removal works well in high contrast areas, light skin verses dark hair, and for that purpose a broad-spectrum sun block is highly recommended. Even passive tanning can greatly worsen the situation so, strong sun block, effective against both UVA and UVB with high SPF (sun protection factor) like Fake Bake SPF 30 Body Lotion is usually recommended. You can also use Joey New York Pure Pores Oil-Free Moisturizer with SPF 15 if u have an oily skin or want to use an oil free solution.

Use of bleach cream

Bleach creams and sun screens should be advised to the dark skinned or suntan persons to lighten up the complexion before the procedure. Patients with darker skin or tanned skin are generally prescribed a bleaching cream such as hydroquinone in order to ensure proper contrast. The Fade Out Gentle Cream Bleach is an effective non-prescription option available to get reliable results.

Skin patch testing

Three or four days before the treatment skin patch testing is done to determine appropriate parameters for best laser hair removal results for a particular person. Probable estimation of results and suitable settings of the laser equipment are calculated by skin patch testing.

Avoid waxing plucking and electrolysis

The patient should avoid plucking, waxing, or electrolysis as now it is a documented fact that better results are obtained by shaving the area before treatment instead of waxing, suggesting that light absorption by the pigmented hair shaft itself plays an important role.

Depilatory creams and shaving

Shaving and the use of depilatory creams can be allowed till the day of treatment. The intact hair shaft respond better targeted by the laser light because the hair shafts absorbs laser light and follicle burns easily. The patient should be instructed to shave area and if shaving causes irritation then second choice is depilatory creams.

Use of drugs

Drugs like (e.g. acyclovir, valacyclovir, famicyclovir) should be used prophylacticaly incase there is a risk of viral infection. Same is the case with antibiotics. Anesthetic creams should be applied only one hour before the start of procedure .The use of various drugs requires extreme caution and should only be used in consultation with your doctor.

On the day of treatment

On the day of treatment the following things are done

• The skin is prepared for procedure by removing all topical applications including makeup creams powders etc because these can cause allergic reactions and can also decrease the efficacy.
• Local anesthesia is given on the requirement of client and the area under procedure but if required then topical cream is used to give the anesthesia.
• The operator should have good visibility for effective treatment. It can be facilitated with help of a head lamp or treatment gird.

Laser hair removal post operative care is an important aspect of the laser hair removal procedure which should not be overlooked at any cost. Let aside the matter of laser hair removal preoperative care, the question of postoperative care haunts loads of people. They normally think about the side effects, skin implications and pain associated with laser hair removal procedure. For those of us who are really haunted by these nightmares about laser hair removal following passage will help to answer some
of there basic fears.

Redness

Just after the treatment patient may experience redness and perifollicular edema in the area of treatment. There is no need to panic about small erythema or redness. The intensity and duration of these changes depends on the hair color and density. The fluence should be reduced if signs of epidermal damage develop during treatment .It is normal and subsides within a day but if it fails to subsides, although it happens very rarely, you should consult your doctor.

Fate of treated Hairs

The hair treated gradually shed off in a period of three to four weeks. After some time you may come across new growth. Don’t worry; this hair growth is due to the dormant hairs which are activated by the laser treatment. This growth of hair as you will notice will be much less in density as compared to the previous one. Just for that reason you need multiple visits to rid yourself of all these residual hairs.

Care of Skin

Immediately after the laser hair removal treatment don’t wash your skin with hot water and leave it as such but if required use tepid water. It’s suggested that you should use an effective sun block against UVA and UVB if the treated area is exposed area like face, neck and forearms.

Pain and Swelling

Pain is the first thought that pop up in ones mind and it can be reduced by using ice packs post operatively, ice packs also help to reduce the swelling after the procedure. If larger areas are treated then analgesics can be used for laser hair removal pain management but are seldom used for small areas.

History Of previous ailments

If there is any previous history of bacterial, viral or fungal infection then proper pre operative care should be taken. The course of prescribed medicine should be completed before the treatment.

Care of Injury

If epidermal injury occurs during the procedure then application of topical antibiotic creams and ointments twice daily is recommended. Mild topical steroid creams may also be prescribed to fight swelling and erythema. The steroids additionally reduce scarring of skin in case of injury.

General Care

In nutshell, take proper care of your skin after the procedure and avoid scratching the treated area, use sun screens to fight the hazardous effect of sun light over your now fragile skin for few days, use broad spectrum sun screen with a sun protection factor of 30.

Makeup after treatment

You can apply makeup immediately after the procedure is complete, it will help to hide some ill looking redness and you can leave the laser hair removal center immediately after the laser hair removal procedure and join the party. Incase if blistering or crusting develops then its better to avoid using makeup as makeup may cause some allergic reaction to the broken skin.

Blistering and crusting

Blistering and crusting may appear depending upon the skin type under laser hair removal treatment and measures should be taken to avoid harm. Make up is not recommended. Shedding of hair cast is a normal process after laser hair removal treatment and it should not be mistaken for hair growth.

Laser hair removal treatments are usually pain free .The pain or discomfort experienced during laser hair removal varies greatly among different people. This is most often described as a burning or stinging sensation, and varies from one individual to the next. The pain experienced during laser hair removal is mostly bearable and doesn’t require any pain relief medication. But for a few people this might turn out to be a very painful experience.

Management of Pain during Laser Hair removal

Following types of pain management medicines are used for laser hair removal pain relief.

Topical creams, oral medicine and injectables. The topical creams are the recommended drugs but should be used only after advice from your doctor.

Risks of potential side effects

• Allergy: Some people may be allergic to the medication used for laser hair removal pain relief. So proper medical history and sensitivity patch testing should be done to minimize the risks of allergy during laser hair removal treatment.
• Combining different drugs: The practice of combining different pain relief medication for more effective laser hair removal pain relief is common. This practice should be discouraged due to the possibility of harmful drug interactions.
• Using of habit forming drugs and dependency:Most of the drugs used for pain relief are habit forming. The patients have the tendency to use these drugs as pain killers other than laser hair removal pain relief. Along with many other adverse effects the most dangerous is the decency.
• Risk of over treatment:Due to insensible use of medication for hair removal pain relief, patients are unable to assess the extent of damage done as a result of over treatment by laser. This can result in burning and blistering of the skin. In one incidence the patient suffered second and third degree burns as a result of over treatment of an area at the hands of an experienced operator who had earlier prescribed her prescription drugs for hair removal pain relief.

Advice

The use of medication for laser hair removal pain relief should be decided by your doctor not you. With the advent of new and effective laser hair removal devices the extensive use of medication for laser hair removal pain relief has become a thing of past.

The growing popularity of laser hair removal and use of lasers in other cosmetology procedure has highlighted the need to use laser safety products especially laser eyewear. Laser safety eye wear is especially designed to reduce the amount of light of specific wavelengths to safe levels, while transmitting sufficient light for good vision There are different types of Laser safety eyewear which are in use. With the increase in the use of lasers for cosmetic procedures, including laser hair removal, the concern about laser eye safety is also growing.

Laser eyewear selection

The following things should be taken care of when choosing an eyewear for eye protection from laser hair removal.

• Laser wavelength and peak radiance
• Optical density (OD)
• Visual transmittance
• Field of view
• Effects on color vision
• Absence of irreversible bleaching of the filter
• Comfort
• Impact resistance

Wavelength

The wavelength of laser light has a lot to do with the energy levels of laser light. The longer wavelength has low energy as compared to short wavelength .The eyewear should have imprinted on it the wavelength for which it can be used. The wavelength specific eyewear should always be used.

Optical density

The optical density of laser eyewear material gives its ability to reduce the energy level of a specific wavelength to a reduced safe level. The new reduced energy level of laser light is tolerable for human eye. The optical density values for a specific wavelength can be obtained from ANSI 136.1 guidelines or it can be calculated. The manufacturer should mention the material used in the manufacturing and should also give its optical density value. The user should take care of the optical density and wavelength specific values are imprinted on the eyewear. The other thing a customer should keep in mind when buying a laser eyewear that it should not be damaged because any damage can claim ones eyesight.

Impact resistance

The laser safety eyewear should be resistant to a level to different type of impacts which can damage it and cause reduction in its affectivity. The eyewear should be dust, heat and impact resistant up to a normal level. The proper data should be provided with the eyewear for the help of customer.

Comfort

This is a personal satisfaction factor and should be given a proper thought before acquiring a laser safety eyewear.

Field of view

It is related to the design of the eyewear. The design should not restrict field of vision because a hindered or reduced field of vision can result in an accident.

Color vision effects

The eyewear should not affect color vision during laser hair removal because it can lead to different types of accidents during the process. The color filter of material should be taken care of.

Laser eyewear types

Mostly three types of laser safety eye wear are used during laser hair removal procedure. Theses are

Laser safety Glasses

The glasses are typical type of laser eyewear. They fit tightly and provide specific protection against laser light energy. They can be worn over the vision correcting glasses. They are usually larger and heavier than spectacles and wraps.

Laser safety spectacles

Laser safety glasses are commonly used for protection against laser light. It is a frame having two separate with side shields. Wavelength specific lenses should be used in laser safety glasses for effective laser eye safety.

Laser safety goggles

Laser safety goggles are more effective than the laser safety glasses because of more extensive eye covering. Laser safety glasses might seem uncomfortable or rather awkward but these are safer and provide excellent laser eye protection.

Wraps

It is a kind of eye wear which can cover both eyes in a lighter frame. It consists of a single lens. It is a better choice than laser safety glasses and laser safety goggles

Conclusion

Laser eyewear is the only way out to avoid permanent damage to the retina resulting in blindness or in mild cases damage lens or cornea. The laser eyewear should be given proper consideration during laser hair removal procedure specially the imprinted wavelength and optical density of the lens used in laser eyewear. This could be achieved by ensuring proper laser hair removal standardization. This also demands a proper education about laser eye safety both for client and physician to avoid mishaps associated with the use of lasers for laser hair removal and other medical uses.

Laser hair removal safety issues are often overlooked. The wide acceptance of use of lasers in laser hair removal has overshadowed the safety issues associated with this procedure. The use of laser energy for laser hair removal can not only cause damage to eye but it can also cause other
hazards. In the hands of an experienced operator and safe working condition the laser hair removal procedure is smooth sailing but in the hands of an inexperienced operator or faulty equipment it can be catastrophic.

Some important issues like laser eye safety and the need of use of laser eyewear are discussed in full detail both for the benefit of consumers and laser operators. In order to avoid the hazards attached with the use of lasers following measures should be taken into considerations;

General safety measures

Laser clinics have an important role to play in this context. They must ensure that they are treating their clients with professional Following general safety measures should be adapted by the laser hair removal clinics in order to minimize the chance of any mishap which can occur during the course of treatment;

Laser safety education

The first and most important step to ensure proper safety of the clients and the persons using lasers is the laser safety education of the people. There should be proper education about the hazards associated with the misuse of lasers in any procedure including laser hair removal. The physician and client should have proper knowledge of the laser hair removal procedure and basic principle of laser hair removal which will ensure their safety during the procedure. The proper education on laser safety should be given to all persons involved. In this context proper warning signs and literature in the form of charts, booklets and hand outs should be made and displayed at the laser clinic for the benefit of prospective clients and other people.

Laser warning signs

There should laser warning signs placed on the rooms where the laser is being used. Safety signs should be placed on the rooms where laser hair removal procedure is performed. Also there should be an indicator on the entrance of the room telling that treatment is in progress. So. that the chances that any person enters the room unprotected by chance and damages himself.

Laser safety officer

A person expert on laser safety should be taken in as a laser safety officer who can properly look after the lasers and can suggest the proper solution to laser safety issues. He should also conduct routine checkups to ensure that the equipment being used is in perfect condition and all the safety rules are being followed.

All these measures can only be effectively followed if there is standardization of laser hair removal. Also there should an agreement on who should perform laser hair removal and who should not. The above mentioned things can help to minimize hazards attached with this evolving technique and make it safe sound and more user friendly process.

Pregnancy laser hair removal might be a confusing problem for pregnant mothers annoyed by the new hair growth which might be a problem for some. Pregnancy laser hair removal might be encountered by women who are already undergoing laser hair removal and are worried should they continue their with their sessions as planned or stop. Some women might also be worried about the safety of pregnancy laser hair removal for women who are trying to conceive.

Is it wise to opt for pregnancy laser hair removal? Is it prudent to go for laser hair removal treatment when trying to conceive? These are the common question a laser experts get from many health conscious ladies.

Importance

Pregnancy marks the entry of a woman into motherhood. Pregnancy is an important and difficult stage in the life of a woman. Along with other problems associated with pregnancy the problem of unwanted hair growth is a visible and most annoying problem for some women. Various hormone changes going in the body during pregnancy are responsible for this problem.

Safety during pregnancy

To get the answer those simple questions, proper insight into the mechanism of laser hair removal procedure is required.

Laser hair removal works by sending beams of high energy laser beams targeting hair follicles. In order to reach the hair follicles laser beams must pass through the skin not farther than few millimeters. Therefore, it’s not likely that laser light will penetrate deeper to cause any damage to the developing baby.

The laser light is nothing like an x ray and the exposure is only on the skin. A healthy pregnant woman has a 3% risk of birth defects and 15% chances of miscarriage and nobody can alter the risk. There is no proof that use of laser increases these risks in any way.

The next question is regarding conception. Whether the use of laser is safe if one is trying to conceive or if one conceives during the course of multiple treatments sessions required. The answer is the same that there are no risks involved at it all.

Use of pain relief medication

Last but not the least there is a question associated with the use pain relief medication. Extreme caution should be taken before using any medication for laser hair removal pain management during pregnancy due to possible harmful effects of certain drugs during pregnancy. No anesthesia is employed during the procedure but only topical anesthetic cream is employed which only desensitizes the upper skin and has nothing to do with the fetus or embryo. Additionally the introduction of new and safe laser devices with efficient cooling has minimized the use of anesthetic medication during this procedure.

Advice

Pregnancy can be a difficult time for women especially women pregnant for the first time. Due to the mood changes and increased irritability during pregnancy laser hair removal might turn out to be a painful procedure for some women. Also due to risk of complications not relating to laser hair removal but due to pregnancy itself the laser clinics do not take up pregnant patients. So, due to this consideration it’s better not to consider this procedure during pregnancy. If you have a previous schedule to follow then u should wait until you have delivered.

Conclusion

No known problems have been recorded yet which discourage pregnancy laser hair removal. It is quite safe and it has a good safety profile. So, whether you are pregnant or trying to conceive there are no risks associated with the use of lasers for removing hairs. But the main glitch is that laser clinics do not take pregnant ladies as patients. Also during pregnancy you might experience some new hair growth, so you should wait and get rid of all these hairs after your pregnancy.

Your very first laser hair removal appointment can be exhilirating or nerve-wracking or both! Here is a checklist of things to remember:

Four weeks or more in advance

It's important to stop using depilation creams, sugaring, tweezing , epilating and waxing at the latest 2 weeks prior to treatment, and ideally a month or more in advance. These depilation methods interfere with the root that the laser treatment for hair removal is designed to target.

Lose your tan! The whiter your skin is at the point you have your laser treatment for hair removal, the more effective and long lasting your results from laser hair removal are likely to be.

Talk about pain prevention with your hair laser removal clinic and choose a plan.

There are topical anesthetics such as EMLA, which you apply to your skin. These products are excellent if you are concerned about pain during the treatment, however do be cautious if you are spreading it on large areas of skin as the chemicals are absorbed into the bloodstream. Follow the directions closely.

Think about whether you wish to take photographs of the areas of the body you are having treated to have a visual record of how well the treatment works. The clinic might do this but even so you might want to keep your own record.

About a week in advance

Consider the option of booking some vacation time if you are having laser hair removal on the face and feel you might be embarrassed about the red skin that you'll probably have present immediately after your laser hair removal treatment. For other areas of the body, you can most likely go immediately back to your regular day after your hair laser removal appointment.

24 Hours to go!

The night before is a ideal time to shave the areas of the body you are going to have laser hair removal done on. If you shave within 24 hours of the treatment you will find the pain more tolerable and it can also be more effective because less of the laser energy is used on torching the hair above the skin, meaning a greater proportion of the laser energy is directed where it is most useful, at the root, to kill it off.

The morning of your appointment

If you are getting your underarms treated, don't apply any deodorant. Just wash your underarms with soap and rinse thoroughly. If it's a hot day and there's a danger you might get too sweaty prior to your appointment, you could use unscented baby wipes to ward off any smells.

For any areas of the body, don't put lotions or creams on before laser hair removal.

20 minutes prior to your appointment

For those of us who get a bit concerned at the thought of pain from laser hair removal, taking two oral painkillers at this point seems like a really good idea - better to be safe than sorry!

Wishing you a successful and stress-free laser treatment for hair removal!

Permanent removal of hair by laser - is it really permanent? How long can the results last?

The answer to this question relies a great deal on understanding some key facts about how your body hair grows, and how laser hair removal actually works.

How Does Hair Grow?

Hair grows from structures named follicles underneath the skin. The root grows in the follicle, and the portion of the hair that can be seen above the skin is named the "shaft" of the hair. Your body hair grows cyclically. At any one point in time, the hair in some of the follicles will be actively growing; other follicles will be resting, and yet others will be in the process of shedding.

How Laser Hair Removal Works

Hair reduction or even permanent removal is now practical for most skin and hair colorings. Laser hair reduction therapy works by targeting hair root cells under the skin. It is possible for the laser rays to hone in on the hair root cells because of the melanin these cells contain, which makes them darker than the ambient tissues.

However, this does mean that the success rate of laser hair removal treatment is dependent on the difference in color between the hair root cells and the skin. That is to say, it works most effectively if you have very fair skin and very dark hair - where there is a strong difference between the dark color of the hair root cells and the light color of the ambient skin tissues.

Even in ideal scenarios, however, the lasers do not kill off all of the hair. Why? Due to the fact that the lasers can only target actively growing hairs. As we learned earlier, only a proportion of the body hair in any one part of the body will be actively growing. This is why laser hair removal treatments are usually spaced several weeks apart - so that different follicles will be active at the next visit, and can be effectively treated.

Conclusion

Because of the mechanism by which laser hair removal works, while it may disable a significant proportion of the follicles it will not cause a 100% stoppage in all body hair growth in the treated area. However, an 80% reduction in hair is entirely possible - permanent laser hair removal is a truly viable solution for undesirable hair growth.

If you have the problem of Ingrown hair, you need to learn about laser hair removal - the new and powerful way of solving the problem of Ingrown hair.

Ingrown hair occurs when hairs attempt to grow but do not break through your exterior of your skin. Instead they grow sideways along or under your skin, or even rotate in reverse and grow into your skin. At times Ingrown hair are accompanied by folliculitis, a condition where the follicle becomes infected.

The Traditional Ways to Tackle Ingrown Hairs

The usual approaches to addressing this upsetting problem are exfoliating the skin and removing the affected hairs one by one with tweezers. Neither of these solutions address the underlying cause of the problem and are at best a short lived solution and at worst can result in horrible scars and scabbing.

Mechanical Epilating Machines

The use of mechanical epilating machines is a particularly bad culprit in terms of Ingrown hair - as the hairs are torn out from their roots at odd angles it is common for your root or follicle to become distorted, and Ingrown hair can then become numerous in a short space of time.

Laser Hair Removal - the Ultimate Solution

Unlike the commonly used solutions, removal of hair by laser goes straight to the root of your problem - literally! In removal of hair by laser, special lasers attack the follicle under your skin and disable it to stop any more regrowth from that follicle. Unlike electrolysis, which used to be considered the only way to permanently stop growth, laser hair removal not only has a permanent impact but also can be employed to speedily treat significant expanses of your body rather than the one shaft at a time that normally characterizes electrolysis treatments.

Ingrown Hair - the Causes

Regardless of whether you use shaving, waxing or another method of getting rid of excess body and facial hair, you would be in a small minority if you did not have the problem of Ingrown hair at one time or another. In reality this unpleasant problem can even occur spontaneously on skin which has not even been tweezed, shaved or waxed at all, although it is more frequently occuring on waxed or shaved skin.

The Future of Your Skin with Laser Hair Removal

If you are tired of battling with Ingrown hair, perhaps now is the time to find out more about the advanced technological breakthroughs that have been made in laser hair removal, and discover how you could take advantage of removal of hair by laser to solve your Ingrown hair problems - once and for all!

The laser hair removal procedure is not as simple as it seems. Laser hair removal procedure is sensitive procedure as it involves lasers and the most sensitive areas of the body skin. So, detailed knowledge of laser hair removal procedure is necessary for both person performing and the person undergoing the procedure.
The Laser hair removal procedure is a stepwise process comprising of following steps

The laser hair removal procedure is not as simple as it seems. Laser hair removal procedure is sensitive procedure as it involves lasers and the most sensitive areas of the body skin. So, detailed knowledge of laser hair removal procedure is necessary for both person performing and the person undergoing the procedure.
The Laser hair removal procedure is a stepwise process comprising of following steps

Pretreatment considerations

Laser hair removal pre operative care of the patient should be included as a part of the procedure because neglecting this important aspect severely affects the out come of the treatment. Pain relief medication or anesthetic cream are applied an hour or so before the start of the procedure.

Principle of procedure

The basic principle of laser hair removal procedure is selective photo-thermal destruction which is the selective destruction of hair follicle by means of heat energy which is provided by the laser light.

Laser energy per unit area

Amount of laser energy required varies from client to client and it is estimated before treatment by test doses given to particular area of which treatment is to be done. Highest amount of tolerable laser energy should be delivered per unit area to ensure maximum outcome of the treatment. This is calculated by skin patch testing before the procedure.

Procedure

During the procedure, a hand-held laser is pressed against the skin and with the help of an automatic switch it is activate just for a fraction of a second. The laser light emitted as a result traverses the skin's surface to reach the hair follicles. Hair follicle structure include hair shaft, hair bulb and hair follicle matrix. These hair structures are abundant melanin which is highly laser sensitive. As a result selective targeting of the hair follicle and hair shaft takes place. The energy transmitted in this process is high enough to destroy the hair bulb and the hair follicle. As the skin contains far less amounts of melanin as compared to hair structures it absorbs negligible amount of laser energy. To enhance this effect a carbon lotion can also be used which is wavelength specific to the type of laser used and gives improved results. If sufficient laser energy is delivered during this procedure and enough hair follicle damage has occurred, the old hairs are stunned and shed out after some time. The results are best when appropriate equipment is used with selection of recommended laser parameters for that equipment.

Cooling of the skin

The cooling of the skin is required after the laser hair removal procedure is completed and it is done by

1. Clear gel cooling.
2. Contact cooling.
3. Cooling cryogen sprays.
4. Airflow cooling.

Newer laser devices have the ability to simultaneously cool the skin during the treatment hence further decreasing the chances of irritation and skin burns during the procedure.

Care required after treatment

Just after the completion of procedure ice packs are applied to minimize the pain and swelling of the skin. Pain killers are not used until required. If the skin gets injured then antibiotic and antiviral creams are applied on the skin. The area treated should not be scratched or pricked to avoid injury to that area. Sun block should be used and sun light exposure should be avoided. Make up can be used after a day or two if there is no skin damage. After completion of the procedure, an extensive laser hair removal post operative care is necessary to minimize the laser hair removal side effects.