Ethnic skin care tips

Laser and light devices – most of them – are sensitive to color because that is particularly what they are targeting.

A laser, depending upon the wavelength, will target a different color or chromophore. It will either target red, which is hemoglobin, brown, which is melanin, or water. If they’re targeting water it doesn’t matter what color their skin is. But if they are targeting reds or browns you have to be careful of the wavelength. You have to go deep under skin. If you go to a short wavelength it will burn their skin or heat it too much. And of course, that’s because their skin is brown. If you heat the skin too much you are going to cause problems.

On a dark-skinned person you want a very long wavelength so we use a Yag laser. A Yag laser has a wavelength of 1064 nanometers.

For instance, in laser hair removal we have different parameters to work with; the amount of time the laser shoots, which is milliseconds, the wavelength, and the energy that we use, the amount of joules that are put on the skin. All these parameters are taken into consideration to get the safest treatment but enough energy gets in there to actually be effective.

Yag laser can be used on even dark skin safely. Since the laser goes deeper into the skin the surface of the skin is protected if properly cooled and proper settings are used.

Another consideration is in certain ethnic groups with dark skin tone for some reason an unusual phenomenon can happen during laser hair removal called "paradoxical hair stimulation." While treating for laser hair removal, for some reason it stimulates hair growth. There are ways to prevent it and there are ways to treat it. But you have to know to do those things preventatively before you even start.

There are ways to treat darker skin safely with proper information.

As it relates to laser treatments such as hair removal, ethnic skin types should be aware of the following:

The incidence of side effects such as blisters, burns and hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) are higher with darker skin. This does not mean that the procedures are not safe when done correctly and with the proper technology. It means that without the correct laser technology and proper training darker skinned patients will be at a higher risk for side effects.

The good news for women of color is they have smooth skin and look much younger than women with more fair complexions.

The biggest issue for a woman with darker skin is finding a foundation that matches her skin tone. There are a few lines on the market today that specialize in "ethnic" skin tones. I like Loreal's HIP line, which has an incredible selection of foundations for medium to dark skin tones.

Also, women of color often have oily skin and need to cleanse and tone every evening to reduce oil, especially in the T-zone.

Patients with black or ethnic skin types should be particularly aware of the complications of poor post-op scarring, such as keloids.