Laser hair removal pearls.

Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA.

A number of lasers and light devices are now available for the treatment of unwanted hair. The goal of laser hair removal is to damage stem cells in the bulge of the follicle through the targeting of melanin, the endogenous chromophore for laser and light devices utilized to remove hair. The competing chromophores in the skin and hair, oxyhemoglobin and water, have a decreased absorption between 690 nm and 1000 nm, thus making this an ideal range for laser and light sources. Pearls of laser hair removal are presented in this review, focusing on four areas of recent development: 1 treatment of blond, white and gray hair; 2 paradoxical hypertrichosis; 3 laser hair removal in children; and 4 comparison of lasers and IPL. Laser and light-based technologies to remove hair represents one of the most exciting areas where discoveries by dermatologists have led to novel treatment approaches. It is likely that in the next decade, continued advancements in this field will bring us closer to the development of a more permanent and painless form of hair removal.

PMID: 18330794 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]