Only the Best

Created on 13th July 2009

Jan Williams from the Frodsham Laser Clinic explains why laser is the gold standard for hair removal

As the weather gets hotter our thoughts turn to baring flesh but for many women it can mean an uncomfortable time as they contemplate hairy legs and even hairy arms and faces. Wouldn't it be great to have a permanent solution? No more waxing, no more shaving, no more creams. Jan Williams from the Frodsham Laser Clinic clears up the myths surrounding laser hair removal.

"It can burn your skin"

False: Laser hair removal (LHR) should not burn your skin - it should only vapourise the hair. This is down to the practitioner and if they are not properly qualified or experienced then they can burn the patient by using the wrong laser on the wrong type of skin. If the skin has an active suntan then the laser light is picked up by the melanin within the skin rather than the melanin within the hair follicle.

"It can be really painful"

False: LHR is pretty much pain-free. Using cool air on the skin reduces the discomfort felt from heating the hair follicle. New emerging technology also allows it to be totally pain-free using a Diode laser running much faster and delivering its energy in smaller pulses (see www.painfreehairfree.co.uk).

Often people confuse it with IPL treatments which can be painful. Laser hair removal is a pure laser whereas IPL is intense pulsed light (a filtered light) - I have heard it described that IPL is a penknife and LHR is a chef's knife in terms of precision in targeting melanin.

"You need different lasers for different skin types"

True: We use two different types of laser for hair removal; Alexandrite for light skin and ND-Yag for dark skin. Diode lasers are also very popular and give good results.

We evaluate people's skin on the Fitzpatrick Scale. Skin types are classified from one to six based on your skin, eye and hair colour. One to four is classed as white skin and four to six dark/ethnic skins.

Problems occur when practitioners use the wrong lasers or IPL. I have a lot of Asian patients who have been through six different clinics with really poor results then come to us because we specialise in ethnic skins. If you use the wrong laser then it basically heats the skin as well as the hair, sometimes causing damage to the surrounding tissue, and on Asian skin you can cause terrible dark pigmentation that can last eighteen months to two years if not longer.

"You can treat any type of hair"

False: LHR can be used on blonde and dark hair but you can only treat grey hair to a certain degree. We use a product containing squid ink that dyes the hair so it can be treated by the laser. I would say it is about fifty per cent successful and you can't guarantee it for everyone.

"You don't need to see the hair to have LHR"

True: Your hair grows in growth cycles and in the first stage, when the hair is still connected to the blood cells, it means that the follicle is brimming with melanin. The laser is only attracted to melanin - it doesn't actually ‘see' the skin or hair, but is attracted to a target, in our case melanin, so the light will be absorbed by its most concentrated form.

The two other growth stages are when the hair pushes through the surface of the skin. The hair will still be cooked and cauterised but it won't be destroyed.

"There are no side effects with LHR"

True: If it is done properly then there should be no side effects. The only thing that can happen, although there is no major evidence of this, is that if hair is destroyed in one place it can sometimes grow in another.

We have a lot of patients comes to us with polycystic ovaries and we can get rid of it on their faces but they might find that a small patch could come up somewhere else. However, most find it is much more beneficial to have it removed from their face.

"It is permanent"

True and False: Different people have different results. I have treated some people that date back from when I first opened the clinic and they have not had to come back whereas other people might have to come back every nine or ten months for a one-off treatment.

There is about an 80 per cent reduction with the Cynosure lasers we use but we do tend to get a better reduction here because we are small clinic and we pride ourselves on getting the best result possible

I have to be very careful to state to patients that we are doing a hair reduction because a lot of people who come to us don't want to see any hairs and we just can't do that. You are always going to have a very fine layer of downy hair that is necessary to protect your skin.

"It is important to do your research about what machine is being used"

True: There are very different lasers out there and people have to be more educated about the types of lasers.

Anyone who has a laser has to be registered with the Health Care Commission so always check they are registered and if you have any doubts you can look on the website (www.healthcarecommisson.org.uk).

Spas and beauticians will often use IPL machines because one machine will do lots of different things. In my opinion, IPL is fantastic for skin treatments but it is not my choice for hair removal.
CS&AM