Laser hair removal treatment has been used as a cosmetic treatment very successfully for over a decade. It works very well for all body parts like face, chin, arms and the rest of the body. It is performed by plastic surgeons all across the globe and can effectively reduce unwanted hair permanently with minimal risk. This procedure gained a great deal of popularity as it means that the pains of the frequent parlour visits and untimely showing of unwanted hair is vastly removed. You no longer need to prepare for the summers or parties. No need to check for whiskers and no need to pull out those stray ones from the eye brow. No more picking a dress based on the state of your underarms. The pain of a bikini wax can be kissed good bye forever and ever. Yes! That right no more bikini waxes. It sounds heavenly doesn’t it? And this is why the laser treatment gained all this popularity.
While the procedure involved in the laser treatment is usually risk free, there might be some side effects of laser hair removal to consider:
1. The use of a laser to remove unwanted hair involves a lot of heat to burn the hair. This can lead to skin burns in some users. The laser hair removal burns occurs more frequently on patients with darker skin, as skin with darker pigments absorb the laser more readily. While in most instances the burns are mild, there have been a number of cases where severe burns have been reported.
2. Laser may cause hyper pigmentation and hypo pigmentation.
a. Hyperpigmentation is darkening of the skin that may occur after the laser hair removal. The laser treatment stimulates melanin production creating a reaction similar to suntan.
b. Hypopigmentation on the other hand refers to the lightening of skin that occurs after the laser treatment. The absorption of laser light can inhibit the melanin production, leading to a loss of pigment.
3. It might also lead to eye injuries, so it is important to protect your eyes during the process of laser treatment.
4. Itching is a normal side effect of laser hair removal during and after the treatment.
5. The skin turns red for a few days following the treatment and there is likely to be swelling around the follicle after the treatment.
6. Pain, tingling and numbness around the treated area by the laser are probably the most common side effects that can be considered normal.
7. Laser treatment can lead to crusting and formation of scab around the area treated. A mild bruising may also occur on sensitive skin. These side effects appear within the first few days of the treatment and disappears shortly afterwards
8. A very rare side effect of laser treatment is purple colouring of the skin on tanned areas.
9. Another rare but significant side effect of laser hair removal is infection. It is important to keep the area clean after the procedure or you could end up getting an infection after the treatment.
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