Proper Laser Hair Removal Burn Treatment?

Thank you for your question. The treatment for burns is to apply Bacitracin ointment and clean the dressing daily. It is important to protect the wound from the sun to prevent pigment changes which rarely is permanent. It can take 1-2 weeks for the burn to heal. I recommend making your treating physician aware of this so the proper adjustments can be made for future treatments. Best of Luck!

A risk with laser hair removal is the potential of getting burns. This may happen when the laser being used is set to high. If you happen to notice burns after your appointment contact the doctor who performed the treatment. The steps to treat the burns are:

1. Use a skin healing ointment on the burns.

2. Keep the burns moistened and soothed with aloe vera gel. Apply a generous amount on the burns as needed during the healing process.

3. Treat discomfort with an ice pack. Wrap the ice with a towel and apply in intervals of 10 minutes.

4. Take an over the counter pain reliever like ibuprofen or acetaminophen every four to six hours as needed.

5. Stay out of the sun. You should keep the burned area covered with clothing or wraps when going outside. If sun exposure is unavoidable, make sure you apply sunscreen.

Burning from laser hair removal is an adverse event – not very common but still can occur, and the most important thing to know is the person who has done the procedure knows about skin, skin and wound care, and will address the problem in such a way as to minimize the clinical outcome. A burn from a laser procedure is usually a superficial process; therefore, the chance for scarring should not be great. A good topical antibiotic may be all that is needed or something similar. A board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon can guide you on the proper treatment course.Just beware of people not skilled or not trained using these medical devices. Bad things will happen.