Recent Advancements in Laser Hair Removal

Laser hair removal is one of the best ways to get rid of unwanted hair on multiple parts of your body for long periods of time. Lasers target the hair follicle and heat it until it can no longer grow hair. Clients can get laser hair removal on many parts of their bodies, including arms, legs, the bikini line, and their faces. The procedure was invented relatively recently, in the 1990s, but has undergone significant evolution in the last decade. The most significant advancement is that while 10 years ago only light-colored skin saw dramatic results with lasers, it is now more effective on people with darker skin. The procedure has also become more widespread and less expensive. The professionals that learned the trade in the 1990s have become practiced over the years and provide service that is informed by decades of experience.


How Laser Hair Removal Has Developed
In the mid-90s, researchers experimented with lasers that targeted the melanin in hair follicles, heating the center while not heating or irritating the surrounding skin. Selective photothermolysis is the process by which the laser does selective damage based on the dark color of the center of the hair follicle. The easiest way for lasers to damage hair follicles is if they contrast in color greatly compared to the surrounding tissue. The Food and Drug Administration approved laser hair removal for permanent hair reduction in 1997.
The FDA originally approved a few laser wavelengths for use in laser hair removal and these frequently burned people with darker skin, even causing the affected skin to lose color or become chronically dry. For men and women with light skin and dark hair, lasers were effective in the early stages of laser hair-removal development because the laser could easily target the offending hair follicle. However, this left people with darker skin or light people with light hair unable to see lasting results. Research concentrated on how lasers could be altered to fix this issue.



The last decade has seen more development in lasers with long wavelengths and pulse widths. After significantly more experimentation, studies showed that the longer wavelengths didn't cause the negative side effects, including lightening of skin that the original lasers were causing in people with ethnic skin attempting to have the procedure done. Specifically, now the Nd: YAG 1064nm laser is used for people with darker skin to get rid of hair. It's fair to say that it's still more difficult to combat coarse, dark hair on people with darker skin and it may require more treatments to get lasting results. However, the technology continues to develop and will become more effective as the demand for the service remains or continues to grow in the future.


Further Developments: Availability of the Procedure
Another way that laser hair removal has changed recently is that it's more popular than ever. More people are seeking it out so that they don't need to shave or wax on a consistent basis. This means that more and more medical spas and other accredited establishments have hired laser professionals to offer removal services. Because there is more competition for laser hair removal business, the procedures have gone down in price but up in quality. More aestheticians than ever are trained to be able to do laser hair removal and the ones that were taught in the '90s have two decades of experience under their belt.
(Conributed by Christian)