Learn About the Burn (Risk)

A laser is a concentrated beam of light. To remove your hair, we hit it with a high energy laser to cook and permanently kill it. However, the pigment in your hair, melanin, that absorbs the laser light, is also present in your skin. This makes the skin vulnerable to absorbing too much heat and burning.

Thus, the ideal candidate for laser hair removal will have very dark hair with very light skin. The dark hairs will absorb a lot of energy and destroy their follicle, while the light skin will absorb little energy and be spared.

It is necessary to have a medical consultation before the procedure to determine if a patient is a candidate. Beyond simply skin and hair color, other medical history aspects, such as current medications can all have serious affects on the ability of your skin to healthily survive the laser.

An FDA approved laser hair removal machine ensures the quality of the laser. The technique used by the provider, such as cooling the skin before and after the treatment, as well as having the correct machine settings can minimize potential skin burns.

It is best to choose a medical office with experience performing laser hair removal to minimize all potential complications.

Monica Gavin, M.D.

Azani Medical Spa