From Lasersandhealth.com Fotona Site with modifications

Unwanted hair is an age-old problem that affects both women and men. Excess body hair can be embarrassing, unsightly and can cause irritation in places where the hairs are likely to be pulled and tugged, e.g. during sports. In many cases excess body hair is hereditary, and can be influenced by race, age and hormonal conditions.

Unwanted hair is most often experienced by women on the face, especially the upper lip and eyebrow areas, under the arms, the bikini area and legs. Women often experience a new unwanted hair growth from pregnancy or the onset of  menopause. Men tend to also experience unwanted hair on the face, e.g. between the eyebrows, and often opt to remove hair on the neck, on the back, chest, ears and upper arms. Athletes may want to remove hair on their legs for hygiene reasons and comfort.

Methods of Hair Removal

Shaving and plucking are probably the oldest and simplest ways of removing unwanted hair. However, the drawbacks of these methods are equally clear; they are very short-term solutions, time-consuming, painful, can irritate the skin and only suitable for small skin surface areas. They are ultimately ineffective since the reduction in hair is not permanent and the unwanted hair inevitably grows back.

Waxing is another common and age-old hair removal method. Although it provides relatively better results than shaving and plucking and, can be applied to larger skin surface areas, the thought of waxing often brings tears to the eyes of those who have had to endure the discomfort of waxing. Furthermore, waxing is messy, can cause skin irritation and ingrown hairs, and can become very expensive with repeat treatments being an absolute must if the right aesthetic result is to be achieved and maintained.

Chemical depilation creams, may be more convenient and less painful than other more typical treatment methods, but they are inadequate for permanently removing hair. Furthermore, many people often complain of redness and skin irritation. The creams are ineffective compared to alternative hair removal solutions available today.

Vaniqa is a novel approach to hair reduction.  The active agent in the cream inhibits an enzyme ornitihine decarboxylase and reduces the velocity of hair re-growth by 2/3rds, thereby reducing the frequency of excess hair management.  It has recently shown to significantly enhance the permanent hair reduction from laser hair removal and may be very useful adjunct treatment in a permanent hair reduction program.

Electrolysis -- During electrolysis a small electric current is passed through a needle into the hair root in order to destroy it. Although this technique can be very effective in permanently removing hair, it is painful, depending on the area, and very time-consuming since each individual hair needs to be treated and may cause minor permanent scarring. Electrolysis is only really suitable for very small areas. Any larger areas, even the upper lip, typically need repeat consultations which can significantly increase the cost. A typical laser hair removal treatment is equivalent to 10-20 electrolysis treatments and usually much more cost effective.

Since the early 1990s, laser hair removal has become the gold standard for removing unwanted excess hair. Laser hair removal is non-invasive, safe, efficient, effective, long-lasting and probably the most cost-effective technique available today.

The Fotona Dualis^XP laser system is a high power laser incorporating revolutionary laser pulse controlling technology to provide safe and effective unwanted hair removal treatment. This innovative system thermally affects countless follicles in one shot, through a combination of selective and homogenous photothermolysis, but leaves the surrounding tissues completely unaffected.  The Dualis laser features variable square pulse technology that provides more consistent, evenly distributed and effective delivery of energy to the hair follicles that other lasers.

Using a special scanner Dualis^XP is able to treat large areas such as the legs, the back and the chest efficiently and quickly, making the treatment ultimately one of the most cost-effective and efficient treatments for long-term hair removal. The scanner is coupled with a Zimmer chiller to reduce discomfort during treatment and reduce the risk of outer layer side effects often experienced with shorter wave length lasers used for hair removal.

Depending on the treatment area size, three to five sessions, six to eight weeks apart will lead to a significant aesthetic and clinical result.

The results of laser treatments largely depend on your skin and hair type, the laser source and the skills and treatment insight of the practitioner. Depending on your skin type and the type of hair to be removed, it is realistic to expect a significant reduction in unwanted hair. Any future hair growth will usually be thinner and lighter, and thus much less pronounced than before. The Fotona ND:YAG is effective for hair removal in all skin types.  Ask us about which hair removal system we offer is best for you!

Hair can only effectively be removed when it is treated during its active growth cycle.  Facial, underarm and bikini line hair can be treated every four to six weeks, but arm, leg, back and chest hair can only be treated every eight weeks because of the difference in growth cycles, for optimal results. 

After treatment, the hair follicles treated may exhibit swelling for 10-30 minutes in lighter skin types or up to several days in darker skin types.  This is an indication that sufficient energy has been delivered to the follicle by the laser to remove the hair.  When the hair is treated in the active growth phase, it is common for the hair to “shed” two to three weeks later.   

Permanent hair reduction eliminates 80% of the hair treated, but it is not preventative.  The distribution and growth pattern of hair changes as we age.  Women tend to lose hair in the underarms and legs and grow more on the face. Men tend to lose hair on the head (we can help with this!), and grow hair on the back, chest and abdomen.  Normal aging changes may necessitate future hair removal treatments. (Robin Sult, RN., Orientation to the ND:YAG Fotona Laser) 

The concomitant use of Vaniqa topically increases the reduction of hair with Fotona laser treatments and reduces the small potential for regrowth after treatment significantly. Please click this link to read the study confirming the benefit of Vaniqa.

© 2006 Joel A. Sabean, M.D.  Privacy Statement  Disclaimer