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Is Yag Laser Effective for Correcting Dark Lips?

I'm Asian with very dark lips. I was thinking of doing Yag laser to correct this. Is it effective? How much would it cost?

Doctor Answers 2

Yag Laser for dark lips

August 3rd, 2009
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Hello Ammala,

Although we have never performed a treatment like this, it may be possible for a q-switched Nd:Yg laser to lighten the color of the lips. With that said, we would NEVER, EVER recommend that you move forward with this treatment as we believe the risk of having uneven tone or even burn scars after the treatments is greater than the potential benefits. The q-switched laser can remove pigment from the skin when used at high enough energies, but it is not recommended on an area as sensitive as the lips and even if it were not the lips, it would be very difficult to get the color of the skin uniform after treatment.

Harold J. Kaplan, MD


Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon
4.5 out of 5 stars 8 reviews

Dark discoloration on the lips

November 9th, 2009
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Treatment of lip discoloration is a viable concern, but laser treatment may render the lip pigmentation spotty and uneven.Topical skin lighteners can work such as Melarase and some dark spots can be reduced with Q switch laser. 

Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian 
Los Angeles

Web reference: https://www.kareskin.com/product-detail/21/melarase-am--melarase-pm--free-cosmetic-bag.aspx

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
4.8 out of 5 stars 90 reviews

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