In the United States, the removing of hair permanently using a laser is the fastest growing non- invasive beauty laser practice. The number of performed hair removal laser treatments is expected to increase by 18 percent each year. This suggests you will see an estimated 6, 000, 000 laser hair removal procedures performed in the year 2010!
Typically, removing hair for beauty reasons is most in-demand among women- nearly all women over 12 years old partake in the practice in some way, shape or form. Laser hair removal for men, however, is quickly growing in popularity. An increasing number of men seek long lasting hair removal treatments- on the neck, to address issues of ingrown hairs, as well as on the chest, back and shoulders, mostly, for aesthetic purposes.
Considering the size of the consumer market for consistent hair removal treatments growing at such a fast rate, recently, we’ve seen new systems developing to help shoulder the load of the consumer market. In this post, We’ll talk about two handheld at home laser hair removal devices, and provide points of comparison with respect to professional medical lasers.
But, first, let’s discuss how hair removal lasers work.
Laser hair removal works using laser energy, to target the melanin in your unwanted hair, to cause damage to your hair follicles. Once damaged, the hair follicles will no longer produce new hairs. After a series of treatments the follicle basically dies and can’t grow hair.
In the past, the ideal candidates for laser hair removal were those with light skin and thick dark hair. However, laser technology has evolved and now, darker skinned and tan people are also able to see wonderful results(using an Nd: YAG laser) .
A series of treatments are needed for a simple yet effective treatment as the laser is most successful when it hits the follicle in its growth phase. During the growth phase of the hair growth cycle, the follicle has the most melanin, which is necessary for the laser light to target. Since each hair can be in a different growth phase at any given time, several treatments are essential to ensure that the treatment hits each of the hairs in the proper growth phase.
Let’s proceed to the cost of laser hair removal treatments.
The price of a laser hair removal treatment depends on many factors including the region in which the laser center is located, and also the size of the area being treated.
If you live in New York, and have your appointments at Assara Laser you can do an Unlimited Full Body Laser Hair Removal for$ 449 per month. This means you are able to laser every body part you would like for$ 449 monthly- from your sideburns, to upper lip, arms, back, bikini, bum, legs. An average client is treated once every 4- 5 weeks, for six sessions, so with this program the cost of 6 sessions for full body treatments is about$ 2, 700, paid over 6 installments of$ 449.
How does laser hair removal feel?
Folks always want to know just how much discomfort is involved in laser hair removal. There is certainly some discomfort involved. The laser zap feels like a snap against your skin, but a handheld cooled air jet attached to the laser helps to cool your skin and diminish the discomfort.
The discomfort comes from the light energy from the laser being converted into heat energy when the laser light is absorbed by the melanin in your hair follicle. A professional laser practitioner must therefore keep the energy level of the laser sufficient to generate enough heat to affect and disable the hair follicle, but low enough so that there is no harm done to the surrounding skin.
Now that we’re equipped with these tidbits of information. Let’s take compare at home laser hair removal systems with medical laser systems used in laser centers and Medispas.
In terms of price, at the date of this article, the Tria’s pricepoint is$ 595. That’s a little bit over the price of a full body session under the Unlimited Program, I earlier mentioned.
Light- Source/Wavelength: Tria makes use of a diode laser and Silk’n uses an intense pulse light- IPL- flash lamp to work. For light skin, the Alexandrite(or Alex) laser is generally considered one of the most effective wavelength for laser hair removal purposes. IPLs are generally considered an antiquated system when compared with lasers. They are commonly looked at as less effective likely to cause injury as the light emitted from the flash lamp isn’t focused, so it is more likely to disperse into the client’s skin before reaching the melanin rich blub of the hair follicle.
The biggest drawback from the laser hair removal home units with respect to light source is that neither the Tria’s diode laser, nor the Silk’n’s IPL system, is appropriate for tan or dark skin; most practitioners would recommend use of the Nd: YAG laser for skin with pigment.
Fluence/Energy Level: The fluence(or energy level) is another essential element in laser potency and effectiveness for permanent hair reduction. Fluence is quantified in joules per square centimeter(J/cm²) . The Tria has an adjustable fluence level of between 7 and 20 joules. The Silk’n has a fluence level of 5 joules. As earlier discussed, the energy level needs to be adequate to cause permanent damage to the hair follicle so that is forever disabled from growing hair.
True medical lasers used for laser hair removal, like the Cynosure Apogee Elite(Alexandrite, and Nd: YAG) have maximum fluence levels selectable by your laser practitioner of between 50 and 80 joules. A skilled laser practitioner will normally select an energy level of between 25 and 60 joules for an efficient treatment. The practitioner needs to be careful to not provide too little energy, which impairs the effectiveness of the treatment, and also needs to be careful to not provide too much energy, which can damage surrounding skin.
Conclusion
So there you’ve got it. The handheld contraptions are to some extent cheaper than a single full- body professional laser hair removal treatment. They aren’t appropriate for tan or dark skin, and their energy levels are much lower than what is commonly used by professional technicians. Because they products are still new, only time will tell how effective they’ll be in the long run.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Cordless At Home Laser: Convenience or Hassle?
Tria needs to be charged, so it can be used cordless. I did like that when you have to twist and turn the laser to different angles there are no cords getting in the way, and no need to worry about being close to an outlet. The challenge is that you only get about ½ hour of time to use the laser, and it needs to be charged again. Re-charging the device takes about two hours, so if you’re treating big areas like your legs, the sessions would be cut into many times.
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Tria isn’t for dark skin tones, I’ve read. It seems that those with light darker or tanned skin tones can’t safely use Tria. The system comes with a skin sensor that will test your skin tone and determine if it’s light enough to use. Only if your skin passes with a green light, will the laser unlock for use. Scarring, blistering and burning can result if it’s used on skin tones that are too dark.
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sara Reply:
January 12th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
that makes sense. if someones skin is too dark, either Tria would have to sell a more powerful laser (which might injure people) or the laser would be too weak to be effective.
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Laser hair removal at home? BAD IDEA! I am one of the suckers who actually bought this machine. Worst $400 I ever spent. The idea is good but the device is completely underpowered. It needs to be charged after one body area! How annoying.
This is one case where at-home is much worse that in-clinic. I know from experience: take your hard earned money to a clinic where they do laser hair removal for a living and you won’t regret it. Unlike your purchase of this at home contraption… Which I sold on Ebay to some unsuspecting person in Alabama! (All’s fair in love and business!)
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We recently did an article about weight loss. Women are constantly struggling with obesity, but also struggle with hair removal. After stumbling on your blog, I realized what a great impact a hair removal article would have on our website. Many women struggle with facial hair, leg hair, neck hair, and it can be such a turn off for men. I really appreciate the work you have put into this blog and we started our article on laser hair removal, but this one far exceeds the amount of information we plan to include on the subject. When we have more time, we will be elaborating on our laser hair removal article and likely link back to your website for readers looking for more information on the subject. Thanks for the great blog article.
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I think this could have its uses, but not for serious hair removal. The reason you have to be so careful in picking a laser hair removal place is that the lasers are so powerful, the person getting treated can get seriously burned if the operator doesn’t know what they’re doing. On something like this, there’s no way the company would open themselves up to lawsuits by selling a laser with any real power. This is probably good if you’re only doing a clean up.
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I think its best to leave it up to the pros. To much of a hastle at home. I went to Assara Laser 2 weeks ago and it was a great experience for me….the service was excellent and the laser techs were so nice. I got my bikini line done as well as my upper lip and still i feel great about the job. I recommend you try this place out. I also found a deal that can help out anyone who doesn’t want to pay alot. Its at halfoffdepot and its in the new york section…..check it out!
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