Hair Removal

Hair covers most of our skin surface. The number of hair follicles is the same in men and women; thus, a woman's body can potentially be as hairy as man's. The difference in the visible body hair between men and women is caused by hormonal differences between the sexes: women have much less of hormone testosterone than men and, consequently, much less visible body hair.

Although body hair is physiologically normal, it is often undesirable for aesthetic reasons. Various methods exist for removing or decreasing body hair. The most efficient and cost-effective methods of permanent hair reduction and removal involve laser and light technologies.

Hair contains a pigment, melanin, which gives it color. This pigment can preferentially absorb certain spectra of light. Thus, laser or BBL light can be used to destroy these pigment-containing hair. As skin also contains melanin, care must be taken to choose the type of laser that will destroy the melanin-containing hair preferentially, while sparing the surrounding skin. Nd:YAG laser, with wavelength of 1064nm, is the safest laser for hair removal available to us.

Only hair in active growth phase can be permanently destroyed during treatment with any technology. This represents, on average, 20% of body hair at any given time. Thus, multiple treatment sessions are required to remove the bulk of body hair.