Hair Removal and Skin Treatment With Lasers

By Morgana Reichel


Hair removal and skin treatment are the two primary uses for lasers in cosmetic procedures.

Laser Hair Removal

Hair in unwanted places is a hassle, and you might feel self-conscious about your appearance because of it. Laser hair removal offers an easy, long-lasting, and virtually painless way to remove unwanted hair, and keep it off.

The process is fairly simple. The hair follicle absorbs a high energy beam of light that a laser emits. The laser is pulsed, or turned on, for only a fraction of a second, the duration of each pulse is just long enough to treat the hair follicle, and not damage the surrounding skin. Once absorbed, the laser light energy is transformed into heat, destroying the hair bulb at the base of the hair follicle.

Your hair colour depends on a pigment called melanin, which is produced by melanocytes, and is found in the hair bulb. This melanin pigment is the target for the laser energy in laser hair removal. Thus the more melanin an individual has in his/her hair, the more effective a laser's energy will be absorbed into the follicle and the better the results will be.

The treatment effectively slows hair growth, but does not guarantee permanent hair removal. It typically takes several treatments to provide relief from unwanted hair. Also, maintenance treatments might be needed periodically.

Hair removal treatments safely remove body hair without damaging the surrounding lighter skin with the laser.

In general, the procedure is painless. There may be some soreness or tenderness accompanying the healing process, or a slight discomfort that is often compared to a rubber band against the skin, but these symptoms are very minor and curable.

The great thing about laser hair removal is that the results are long-lasting. It may take repeated treatments to be completely rid of unwanted hairs, but once they're gone, this effect usually lasts. Besides, it is easy to treat any new hair growth.

Laser Skin Treatments

Skin treatments involving lasers differ from hair removal, because they go beyond the upper layer of skin (epidermis) and target below the second layer (dermis). Laser skin resurfacing is one of the most popular types of laser skin treatment. It involves a laser that gently removes layers of damaged skin so that healthy skin can form in its place.

Skin treatments with a laser can even the skin tone and diminish the signs of aging, including highly-visible veins, blotchiness and wrinkles.

There is another treatment that works by using a laser to penetrate the epidermis and dermis layers of the skin to build healthy new tissue underneath. The tightness and elasticity that your skin once had will be repaired, in no time at all, because this healthy tissue will reduce sagging skin and wrinkles.

The actual laser skin treatment usually painless. And, the healing pain is minimal in most cases. Your face will likely be red and a little swollen following the resurfacing session. In just a few days, this should subside. You can go back to your regular life right after you leave the clinic. It may take several procedures to achieve the desired results with laser skin treatment; the results might not be noticeable right away, but by the end of your sessions, you should notice changes in your skin.




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