The best candidates for laser hair

The Best Candidates for Laser Hair Removal

The best candidates for laser hair removal are fully able to comply with aftercare instructions, well-educated about the procedure, and have realistic expectations. Here are some criteria to help you decide if you are a good candidate:

• Dark hair, light skin, and course hair are the easiest to treat. These patients typically see the best results and require fewer treatment sessions.
• People with dark skin may not be ideal candidates for laser hair removal, but may still benefit from treatment. Under certain circumstances the procedure can be effective.
• Blond, grey, and red hairs are more difficult to treat with a laser.
• Tanned patients must wait until the tan fades before treatment.
• Candidates who suffer from skin disorders such as psoriasis, cystic acne, and dermatitis are not ideal candidates for laser hair removal.
• Candidates taking certain medications such as Retin-A or Accutane are excluded from treatment.
• Treatment is not appropriate for people who have a pacemaker, who are pregnant, or who have metal screws in the area where the procedure would be performed.
• The procedure does not necessarily result in 100 percent reduction of unwanted hair in the first treatment session. Multiple sessions may be needed.

Why Use a Laser?

One of the best ways to answer "Why use a laser?" is by illustrating why not to use other treatments. Here are a few reasons:

• Remember tweezers, shaving, waxing, and depilatory creams? Their disadvantage is that hair usually returns within three to seven days.
• Electrolysis provides longer-lasting results than conventional methods. For many, however, electrolysis is too painstaking as it treats one hair follicle at a time. Compared to electrolysis, laser hair removal typically requires fewer treatment sessions, less time per session, and minimal discomfort.
• Oral medications such as Spironoolactone (a diuretic) and proscar have also successfully treated unwanted hair. But oral medications may not be appropriate for everyone.

Laser treatment can remove hair from many areas of the body, including the face, upper lip, bikini line, and neck area. The results of the laser can last for many weeks before hair is even slightly visible.

Complications and Risks of Laser Hair Removal

Complications are possible with any procedure, though rare with laser hair removal. Complications might include hyperpigmentation: a light or dark discoloration of the skin. Although this condition typically lasts for only a short time, in rare cases it can last for months or be permanent. Medicated creams can reduce dark discoloration. Blisters, burns, infection, and allergic reaction are also possible but rare complications. They can be treated with medicated ointments, creams, or oral antibiotics.