Disclaimer: If you’re considering laser hair removal, do not rely solely on the following information. Consult with your personal physician.

If you’re one of the millions of men and women who suffer from the embarrassment of unwanted hair, you’ll be glad to know that there are new and improved ways to treat this problem and leave your skin smooth and bare.

A Growing Trend

The first commercial laser hair removal treatments were unveiled in the mid-1990s, following two decades of experimentation. Since then, the popularity of this procedure has increased so significantly that there are numerous companies who currently manufacture devices approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The popularity of laser hair removal has grown primarily because of the relatively low cost and the speed of the procedure. Though the device used is not even technically a laser, the Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) tool uses xenon flash lamps to emit full spectrum light to remove the hair from the skin.

The Alternatives

Over the years preceding lasers and to some extent even today, the accepted procedures for removing unwanted hair included shaving, waxing, tweezing and depilatory creams. All of these options are somewhat effective and inexpensive, but need to be repeated often. Electrolysis, on the other hand, is a more permanent process that uses a needle to pass an electric current to destroy each hair follicle. The drawback with this option, however, is that each hair needs to be treated separately, making this is a long, costly and extremely tedious process.

How Laser Hair Removal Works

That’s why many people are turning to laser hair removal, which works by employing a concentrated burst of pulsating light of a specifically controlled duration that can cause localized damage to the hair follicle. This effect occurs because the dark colored melanin, which is the pigment matter in the hair shaft that gives the hair its brown or black color, absorbs the laser energy to the point where the accumulated heat travels down the shaft and damages the base of the follicle and prevents its capability to function properly. The laser light footprint can be about the size of a nickel (88-88 mm.), depending on the laser-head setting. This allows a larger number of follicles to be treated at one time without damaging the surrounding skin, making the treatment a much faster alternative to electrolysis.

The sensation of laser hair removal can be described as the feel of a rubber band briefly snapping against the skin as each pulse targets a follicle. Following treatment, it is usually normal for the affected area to show some redness for about 3 days.