Risks Of Laser Hair Removal

[Guest chibi_usa]

Well, the laser that I will be having soon is called the Candela GentleLASE.

I was wondering.

-How safe is this?

-What are the long term effects on laser hair removal?-------<<< Most important

-If I do bikini area/around pubic, would I still be able to have kids?

-What are the chances of me getting permanent hyperpigmentation (those blotchy spots)?

-Chances of Skin Cancer?

-What are the possible steps to prevent any long term effects/hyperpigmentation?

By the way I'm Viet so I have kinda tan skin.

Thanks for answering (If you did!

[Guest chibi_usa]

Even though there are votes it would be nice to know the reason please? >.< Just so it can help me make my decisions?

[Carolyn Marie]

Chibi, LHR as I understand it does not involve radiation. It is a high intensity, focused light beam, sometimes coupled with a radio frequency pulse.

We aren't doctors hon, and can't give medical advice. But you can do a lot of research on the Internet. Here is one site with a Q & A. I make no claims about the accuracy of the information, especially since the site is from an LHR company. LHR info

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Risu]

Hi Chibi-Usa,

I think the best thing you can do is research. I voted no for two reasons. 1) Laser Hair Removal is not FDA approved to be permanent. 2) It did not work for me and wound up wasting a large amount of money.

It is always worth a try to see if it will work for you but my thinking is that Electrolysis is permanent and works for everyone. I believe Julie T mentioned that if you have curly hair it may cause the folicle to curl a bit and it will require a couple of shocks to completely kill it, but it will work.

Some laser clinics will do a test on a small area. Some do this for free and others charge. You can always ask the place you're looking into.

Research, research, and research some more. As they say here, your mileage may vary and Laser may end up working for you.

[Guest kelise]

I'd have to say the biggest risk you take in deciding to have laser hair removal is the possibility of wasting your money. There are no guarantees it will have any decent long-term effects, unlike electrolysis, which is the tried-and-true, guaranteed-will-work solution to PERMANENT hair removal. Whatever you do, do not buy a laser package scheme, rather go to a place that charges session-by-session. The packages seem like money-savers, but if you find the laser not working so well for you, you've just ended up wasting a lot of money. They'll keep bringing you back time and time again, promising you'll see results soon, then when your year is up, they say, well, I guess it's just not working for you! Go with a session-by-session rate, and see how you like the results after, say, five sessions. If you haven't seen significant results after that, try switching to electrolysis.

[Guest Ceren]

Hi,

All laser treatmets are safe as long as the power delivered to skin is appropriate for your skin type.

Long term effects: if the delivered power is appropriate and sufficient, chances are high that you will get rid of the most coarse and dark hairs.

Laser hair removal treatments cannot interfere with any of your bodily functions. The delivered light can only penetrate 3-8mm's into the skin. This means that  it cannot reach your reproductive or any other organs in the body.  The effects of any of this type light (near infrared lights) is to heat any object which is dark. Thus even if it will reach your organs it cannot ceate any effect, because all organs except liver and kidneys have light color. Logically it can heat the red blood cells which are the second darkest structures on the path of the laser light. Even this doesn't happen in the modes for hair removal.

Chances for hyperpigmentation are low. Actually I would be afraid of hypopigmentations. If you have a darker skin I would suggest that Candela Gentlelase is not a good choice. It uses Alexandrite laser at 755nm. This type of laser is most appropriate for fair complexion. I suppose that a laser with Nd:YAG (1064nm) will suit best for your complexion. Candela has also machines with Nd:YAG laser. With Alexandrite chances are high that you will get a skin burn with sufficient power or you will get a low dose which means that you will wasting your money.

Chances of skin cancer: only and may be if you've got multiple  skin burns.

Some laser centers advise the use of hydroquinone creams for hyperpigmentations, but there is controversies on it. Hydroquinone is thought of being able to induce skin cancer. In our centers we don't use it.

Good luck

Ceren

[Guest chibi_usa]

I already bought the laser from groupon--http://mayamedicalcenter.com/. The deal was 6 laser unlimited times for a whole year for 300$. So if it's about the money, I wouldnt worry TOO much. Anyways all I'm worried about is permanent scarring/ Permanent hyperpigmentation/long term effects. So any other suggestions?

[Guest chibi_usa]

Also are there any questions I should ask them before I do this?