What is the best laser for permanently removing body hair?

Question

I am middle eastern with olive undertone but my skin is pretty fair/med and I have dark brown hair. What is the best laser for permanently removing body hair??

Anil R. Shah, MD · Answer

There is no single best laser system, but characteristics of a good laser hair removal office and laser are as follows for Middle Eastern hair removal:-Experience treating Middle Eastern Skin- Staff must be knowledgable about Middle Eastern Skin and understand how to treat it.  If the fluence is too low, more hair can result (hypertrichosis) rather than hair loss-Proper wavelength- Diode and Nd:YAG are the two best lasers for Middle Eastern hair removal.  In my office, we prefer the diode as it requires less sessions and tends to be more effective in targeting and treating hair (more hair removed per session)-Appropriate cooling- All laser systems need cooling to provide safety and comfort.  Uncomfortable laser hair removal tends to result in lower laser hair settings and can cause actual more hair to occur rather than less hair.Hope that is helpful.

Mark A. Blair, MD · Answer

Hello, thank you for your question. First, it is called Laser Hair Reduction.  It cannot be guaranteed to be permanent. As you age and your hormones change, it is possible to experience re-growth of some of the follicles.  I don't know that the type of laser is specifically important, but the wave length of the laser is the most important. For darker skin types, it is safest with the Yag 1064 wave length. You should just be sure to go to a facility that is professionally supervised.Good Luck!

Steven F. Weiner, MD · Answer

It depends on exact skin type. The 2 work horses are the Alexandrite and Diode laser for types 1-3 plus. Darker skin types require a 1064 YAG laser. It is hard to make exact recommendations with seeing you in person. Middle eastern heritage might mean 1064 laser. My go to laser is the Lightsheer Duet which is a diode laser.

Manu B. Aggarwal, MD · Answer

It sounds like from your description that you have olive-skin tone, perhaps a Fitzpatrick IV. With this type of coloring of the skin, the best laser for hair reduction is the Nd:Yag (1064nm). You can try the Alexandrite, however, this would have to be decided by a skilled provider. I would also recommend adequate cooling to avoid extreme follicular edema (hair follicles become swollen from the treatment) or a burn.

Omeed Memar, MD, PhD (license suspended) · Answer

I would recommend a diode laser or a long pulsed Nd-Yag. I use the lights her with great success on middle eastern skin.

What is the best laser for permanently removing body hair?

Answers (5)