The laser hair removal treatment in some patients has been found to result in a terminal growth of hair in untreated areas in close proximity to the treated ones [46-50]. In most cases, this paradoxical hair growth occurs at a site adjacent to the treatment area that has high vellus growth, and is relatively free […]

One of the safety concerns related to facial hair treatment is the use of laser near the eye or the periorbital area. A direct laser light exposure to open eye carries the risk of serious injury to retina, including permanent blindness. The laser irradiance level in most epilation procedures can easily exceed the maximal permissible […]

6.5.4.1 Dermal Safety Based on the hair removal mechanism of various lasers, the severity and frequency of dermal side effects are directly related to the fluence dose of the laser energy and the skin pigmentation levels. For safe and effective hair removal treatment, the treating clinician gen­erally adjusts the laser parameters for each subject based […]

Although the laser energy has been shown to be an effective means of reducing hair growth on the face, its efficacy is limited by the requirement for the heat-absorbing chro- mophore, melanin. Thus, facial hair that is not darkly pigmented is less susceptible than darker hair, resulting in uneven efficacy within an individual and variability […]

McDaniel et al. [31] reported long-term efficacy of alexandrite laser treatment on the upper lip, leg, back, and bikini area in 22 patients with Fitzpatrick skin types I—III. The hair removal efficacy varied with the site, pulse duration, and the number of treatments admin­istered. A spot size of 10 mm, and a fluence of 20 […]

6.5.3.1 Efficacy Determination The clinical efficacy of laser hair removal systems is determined by the amount of hair remaining after completing a course of laser treatments. For facial hair, treatment regimens generally range from four to eight treatments given at a 3-6-week interval. Even though dramatic and stable reduction can be achieved, complete hair eradication […]

Based on the principle of selective photothermolysis [23], several lasers have been devel­oped to selectively affect the hair follicle. Eumelanin in the hair follicle acts as a chro – mophore that can absorb the laser radiation of a select wavelength, converting it into thermal energy. Light-based systems for hair removal are either laser-based, a single […]

6.5.1 Facial Hair—A Key Area of Concern for Women Among body areas for which laser hair removal is indicated, facial hair removal is most popular. An automated phone survey of over 5000 women conducted by the Gillette group in the Boston area (Needham, MA) had 145 respondents who indicated having received professional laser or light-based […]

Female facial hair can present itself as a coarse terminal hair in a male-type pattern in the upper lip and chin regions (hirsutism), or as a finer vellus-type on the chin and cheeks. The characteristics of vellus-type hair in terms of its density and pigmentation are more com­monly associated with genetic extraction but, nonetheless, are […]