Conclusion

Hair removal using lasers and light-based methodologies are limited by the chromophore dependence on melanin located in the hair shaft, creating a small window of efficacy and safety for the treatment of light hair hues and darker skin phenotypes. More recently, this dependence on the melanin chromophore has been eliminated by using an alternative source of energy, RF, and synthesizing its use with current light and laser modalities. The combination of optical and RF has proven to be a safe and effective method for the perma­nent removal of unwanted hair, and has shown promising effects in both those individuals with darker skin types as well as in those with blond or white hair, while also creating a high safety profile with minimal patient discomfort. Further investigation with more long-term studies and comparison trials are needed to further elucidate the integrated RF and optical energy technology, especially in the earlier refractory group of photoepilatory individuals.