Being rather young, I would say we do not have to worry about hair loss. However, there are times when body hair is just not where you want it. Laser hair removal is a solution that many people take to get rid of that undesired hair. In 1996, the first approved lasers were made available to those willing to pay for the treatment. It is a very costly process. Naturally, since 1996, many technological advances have been made. The laser hair removal process consists of destroying follicular units. A molecule called chromophore makes this safer to use. Chromophore is a light absorbing molecule that makes the target for this laser more accurate. This will help prevent damage to surrounding skin. A particular wavelength, pulse duration, and fluence is also taken into consideration to avoid further damage. Highly successful lasers include the ruby laser (694 nm), the alexandrite laser (755 nm), the diode laser (800 nm), an intense pulsed light source (590 to 1200 nm), and the neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser (1064 nm). An important thing to remember is that this is regarded as a medical procedure. People who request this procedure are required to consult a family physician first. They will know the skin-related side effects and can properly diagnose and provide correct treatment for patients. There have been an overwhelming amount of reporting side effects from patients who went to nonphysicians to seek this treatment. Although commercial claims suggest it is safe and will have no side effects, even certain physicians have seen problems.

This particular website claims “Complications can occur after laser hair removal, but can be reduced through an understanding of the fundamentals of laser treatment.” It is interesting to see that the fragile medical process that makes this treatment possible is still difficult to carry out by trained officials. Other than the burns it is considered a successful treatment for people to use. This is for cases where the razor or the tweezer method just is not cutting it (literally). We have talked a lot in class about physicians and the power they can have with our health in their hands. For people who desire to get ride of hair, it may not be a great risk to try!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2628842/