Guide to Laser Hair Removal

A little background on the subject. Hair removal entered the laser age in 1995 when FDA cleared the ThermoLase Softlight laser, manufactured by Thermotrex Corporation, based in San Diego. The Softlight is essentially a standard dermatological laser similar to others already on the market for treating skin lesions and removing tattoos.

	Here are some of the facts you may want to consider. The known dangerous side effects are nothing more than the old myths and not based on real facts. You can ask anyone about the worst case situation that can come from laser hair removal treatments and that person won't be able to give you a straight answer.

Patients with very sensitive skin may have swelling in some cases but this too subsides within a few hours and in most cases within an hour. You may experience skin irritation in some patients at about 22%.

Laser hair treatments are done by professionals and most of them are fully licensed. You can easily see if your state requires them to have a license. With highly skilled professionals, accidents are very rare.

Laser hair removal treatments have become one of the most effective and the most permanent solutions to excessive hair growth for many people.

Am I a candidate for laser hair removal?
Laser hair removal isn't for everybody. The key requirement is that your hair must be darker than the skin it surrounds. Additionally very darkly pigmented people's skin tends to absorb too much laser energy to be ideal candidates. Tanned patients with light hair are also not ideal candidates. If you have dark hair, but are tanned, you should wait until your tan fades before you would be considered.

The first hair removal lasers used a ruby laser. They were best at removing dark hair from light skin.

Laser hair removal treatment

The newer neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser may be suitable for all skin types. In general, though, lasers are still best at removing dark hair. If you wish to remove light or gray hair, a method called intense pulsed light, which uses a broad spectrum of nonlaser light, may be an option.

No matter what skin type you have, you're more likely to experience good results and fewer side effects if you don't smoke and have no history of abnormal scarring, excessive sun exposure, allergies or herpes infection.

It's a good idea to note that burning is also prevalent when the patient has a fresh tan. It is strongly advised that the treatment be avoided when you have just come back from a trip to the beach or tanning booth.

What will it cost for laser hair removal for me?
Treatment cost for laser hair removal varies with the size of the area treated. Experienced laser hair removal treatment centers, generally charge an average of around $4-500 per treatment session, with an average of four treatment sessions initially recommended.

Larger areas, such as the entire back, or the entire legs, cost a considerable amount more. Small areas, such as the upper lip, can be much less.

Any area, except adjacent to the eye, where there is excess hair. The most common areas requested are the face, upper lip, neck, chest, periareolar, underarms, back, abdomen, bikini line, vagina and legs.

Lightening of tattoos and loss of freckles or pigmented lesions is also possible with this method.

Expect it to take many treatments to clear your skin of hair. If you have a lot of hair, it is very possible that you may have to be treated every 4-6 weeks for a year or longer. If you feel discouraged, remember that every hair that is killed will never grow again, though nearby follicles may start to grow hair to take its place. Your first treatment will be the most productive with the most noticeable results.

Before going ahead with laser hair removal, you might consider pulsed light hair removal treatment instead which is similar except that it uses a pulsed light in conjunction with a cooling gel that is applied directly to the skin.

The process of laser hair removal treatment is very safe.