Written by Kerri Otto, PA-C
Hair laser treatments are one of the most effective ways to reduce unwanted hair. This industry has grown significantly over the last several years and has enabled both men and women to take advantage of decreasing the amount and coarseness of undesired hair growth. As with any cosmetic treatment, caution must be taken in order to avoid potential adverse reactions. Without going into significant detail and reverting back to physics class, it is important to understand how laser therapy works. These devices absorb certain spectrums of color, based on the wavelength of the device. In the case of hair reduction, the laser will absorb brown, black and darker red colors of hair growth. This is how the hair follicle is targeted and thus how the reduction in hair occurs over a series of treatments. But, because of the laser’s ability to absorb brown pigment, skin that has recently been exposed to the sun or a patient’s skin that is tan from using a tanning bed or self-tanning lotion is very vulnerable to treatment. Lasers are not quite smart enough to differentiate between the color of the hair and our skin. If the skin is tan, both the skin and the hair follicle are absorbed by laser light. This most certainly can develop potential blistering of the skin as well as possible scarring. Another additional hazard to hair reduction is photosensitizing medications. Many medications increase our sensitivity to sunlight as well as laser therapy. Taking one of these medications while hair laser is performed can elicit the same responses stated above. Finally, once a hair laser treatment is done, it increases our sensitivity to the sun over the next 4 weeks. Thus, serious sunburns can occur if patients are not informed of this.
Hair reduction treatment can be a fast, simple way to eradicate unwanted hair, but the desired effect can only be reached if the above precautions are taken. Below are some photographs I found online of what exactly the adverse reactions can look like.
I want to share with you what steps Sutton Ryan takes to insure this does not occur in our medical practice.
Hairless Habits at Sutton Ryan Aesthetic Center:
-We are a medical practice that specializes in only skin. We understand how skin responds to cosmetic treatments because it is our specialty. We are skin experts!
-Every patient receives a thorough history regarding current medication and instructions regarding photosensitizing medication if applicable BEFORE their treatment.
-Every patient is also asked about current and planned sun exposure as well as a Skin Type/color exam BEFORE EVERY treatment.
-If a patient’s skin is not appropriate for treatment at a given time, education is provided and treatment is rescheduled for a time in which it is safe for the patient.
-Our Aesthetic Center has been providing permanent hair reduction for over 10 years. We are proud to deliver our patients safe and effective treatments.
-Treatments are done by a Physician (Dr. Margaret Sutton), and Physician Assistants (Rebecca Reinke, Kait Matthes and myself). We all have in-depth knowledge regarding the safety and mechanisms of laser therapy.
