The Safest Choice of Laser Hair Removal

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Over the past decade, laser hair removal has become a hot commodity. Some doctors even offer treatment using a combination of lasers; but a new study shows the safest and most effective way to remove hair is with a single laser.

First introduced in 1996, laser hair removal destroys hair follicles so hairs won’t grow back. Researchers in Iran examined 15 people who received four treatment sessions at eight-week intervals. Three individual lasers were tested: a 12-millimeter spot size alexandrite laser, an 18-millimeter spot size alexandrite laser, and an Nd:YAG laser. A combination therapy of the Nd:YAG and 12-millimeter lasers was also tested.

The laser found to remove the most hair after 18 months was the 18-millimeter spot size alexandrite laser, which reduced hair by an average of 84.3 percent, compared to 77.8 percent for the combination treatment. Patients, however, reported more pain with the alexandrite lasers than with the Nd:YAG laser. More pain and hyperpigmentation were also reported in areas treated with the combination therapy.

“Despite other studies showing more efficacy of the alexandrite rather than the Nd:YAG laser, our trial results showed no significant difference between them,” study authors concluded.

SOURCE: Archives of Dermatology, 2008;144:1323-1327

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