Laser hair removal has become one of the most popular non surgical cosmetic procedures. There are many types of laser treatment in Britain, including Intense Pulsed Light (IPL).
IPL should not be used on olive, tanned, Asian or black skin types. IPL looks for the dark melanin or pigment in hair in order to destroy it. However, IPL unlike a true laser, is not specific so the light can be delivered to unintended target pigment within the skin. If the skin is olive or tanned, the IPL can mistake the pigment in the skin for the hair and destroy that too. The result can be permanent blotching that gets worse every time you go in the sun. Therefore it is advisable to use a true laser to treat unwanted hair.
Several wavelengths of laser energy have been used for hair removal, from visible light to near-infrared radiation. These lasers are usually defined by the lasing medium used to create the wavelength, measured in nanometers (nm):
- Argon: 488 nm (Turquoise/Cyan) or 514.5 nm (Cyan) (no longer used for hair removal)
- Ruby laser: 694.3 nm (Deep Red) (no longer used for hair removal; only safe for patients with very pale skin)
- Alexandrite: 755 nm (Near-Infrared) (most effective on pale skin and not safe on darker skin at effective settings)
- Pulsed diode array: 810 nm (Near-Infrared) (for pale to medium type skin)
- Nd:YAG laser: 1064 nm (Near-Infrared) (made for treating darker skin types, though effective on all skin types)
Pulse width (or duration) is an important consideration. Longer pulse widths may be safer for darker skin. At The Angel Laser Clinic we use the Elite laser which allows us to increase the pulse width in order to treat safely even the darkest skin type.
Spot size, or the width of the laser beam, affects the treatment. The width of the ideal beam is about four times as wide as the target is deep. Larger spot sizes help laser light penetrate deeper and make treatments faster and more effective. At The Angel Laser Clinic the practitioners use the Elite laser which has larger spot sizes. Normally 15mm spot size is used for large areas to increase the depth of penetration.
Energy level is another important consideration. This is measured in joules per square centimeter (J/cm²). It’s important to get treated at the highest level of energy the skin can safely tolerate in order to disable the follicle from producing hair.
Epidermal cooling has been designed to allow higher energy and reduce pain and side effects, especially in darker skin types. Three types of cooling have been developed:
- Contact cooling: through a window cooled by circulating water or other internal coolant
- Cryogen spray: sprayed directly onto the skin immediately before and/or after the laser pulse
- Air cooling: forced cold air at -34 degrees C (Zimmer Cryo 5 unit) cools the skin before, during and after the treatment; this is the cooling devise of the Cynosure Elite laser.
A huge advantage at The Angel Laser Clinic is that of our laser allows us to carry out a wide variety of treatments such us:
- vein removal
- pigmentation removal
- black skin laser hair removal
- dark skin laser hair removal
- olive skin laser hair removal
- asian skin laser hair removal
- white skin laser hair removal
We specialise in laser hair removal in Highbury and Islington, north London
No matter if your skin is black, dark, Asian or white… you can feel safe contacting us today to arrange for a complimentary skin examination and patch test. Consultations are carried out prior to any laser treatment in order to confirm your suitability for treatment. We discuss your expectations with you and provide a thorough explanation of the treatments provided.