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Laser Hair Removal. If you're not happy with shaving, tweezing, or waxing to remove unwanted hair, laser hair removal may be an option worth considering.  Laser hair removal is one of the most commonly done cosmetic procedures in the U.S. It beams highly concentrated light into hair follicles. Pigment in the follicles absorb the light. That destroys the hair.

Benefits of Laser Hair Removal. Lasers are useful for removing unwanted hair from the face, leg, arm, underarm, bikini line, and other areas. Benefits of laser hair removal include: Precision. Lasers can selectively target dark, coarse hairs while leaving the surrounding skin undamaged

How to Prepare for Laser Hair Removal. Laser hair removal is more than just ''zapping'' unwanted hair. It is a medical procedure that requires training to perform and carries potential risks. Before getting laser hair removal, you should thoroughly check the credentials of the doctor or technician performing the procedure.
If you are planning on undergoing laser hair removal, you should limit plucking, waxing, and electrolysis for six weeks before treatment. That's because the laser targets the hairs' roots, which are temporarily removed by waxing or plucking

What to Expect During Laser Hair Removal. Just before the procedure, your hair that will be undergoing treatment will be trimmed to a few millimeters above the skin surface. The laser equipment will be adjusted according to the color, thickness, and location of your hair being treated as well as your skin color

What to Expect During Laser Hair Removal continued...  Depending on the laser or light source used, you and the technician will need to wear appropriate eye protection. It will also be necessary to protect the outer layers of your skin with a cold gel or special cooling device. This will help the laser light penetrate the skin. Next, the technician will give a pulse of light to the treatment area and watch the area for several minutes to make sure the best settings were used and to check for bad reactions. When the procedure is completed, you may be given ice packs, anti-inflammatory creams or lotions, or cold water to ease any discomfort. You may schedule your next treatment four to six weeks later. You'll get treatments until hair stops growing.

Recovery and Risks. For a day or two afterward, the treated area of your skin will look and feel like it's sunburned. Cool compresses and moisturizers may help.
If your face was treated, you can wear makeup the next day unless your skin is blistering.

Costs of Laser Hair Removal. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost for laser hair removal is $235 per session. The cost varies widely, depending on factors that include:
•Size of the area being treated and time required for treatment
•Number of treatments required
•Whether a doctor or someone else is performing the procedure
•The part of the country where you are having the procedure
Ask for a consultation to get a better idea of the cost for your particular case

Mechanism of action. The primary principle behind laser hair removal is selective photothermolysis (SPTL), the matching of a specific wavelength of light and pulse duration to obtain optimal effect on a targeted tissue with minimal effect on surrounding tissue. Lasers can cause localized damage by selectively heating dark target matter, melanin, in the area that causes hair growth, the follicle, while not heating the rest of the skin. Light is absorbed by dark objects, so laser energy can be absorbed by dark material in the skin, but with much more speed and intensity. This dark target matter, or chromophore, can be naturally-occurring or artificially introduced.

Melanin is considered the primary chromophore for all hair removal lasers currently on the market. Melanin occurs naturally in the skin, and gives skin and hair their color. There are two types of melanin in hair. Eumelanin gives hair brown or black color, while pheomelanin gives hair blonde or red color. Because of the selective absorption of photons of laser light, only black or brown hair can be removed. Laser works best with dark coarse hair. Light skin and dark hair are an ideal combination, being most effective and producing the best results, but new lasers are now able to target black hair in patients with dark skin with some success.[5]

Hair removal lasers have been in use since 1997 and have been approved for "permanent hair reduction" in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[5] Under the FDA's definition, "permanent" hair reduction is the long-term, stable reduction in the number of hairs regrowing after a treatment regime. Indeed, many patients experience complete regrowth of hair on their treated areas in the years following their last treatment. This means that although laser treatments with these devices will permanently reduce the total number of body hairs, they will not result in a permanent removal of all hair.[6]

Laser hair removal has become popular because of its speed and efficacy, although some of the efficacy is dependent upon the skill and experience of the laser operator,[citation needed] and the choice and availability of different laser technologies used for the procedure. Some will need touch-up treatments, especially on large areas, after the initial set of 3-8 treatments.