Best Laser For Your Face

Depending on the area being treated, some people may experience redness, swelling or irritation after laser hair removal. You can minimize these side effects by using cooling gels immediately after treatment and protecting your skin from sun exposure for several days after each session.

Laser hair removal is a fast and effective way to eliminate unwanted hair from your face, neck, arms, or legs. It’s a safe and painless alternative to waxing, shaving, or tweezing. The laser beams target your hair follicles and destroy them with heat energy. After treatment, you’ll see results within a few weeks. The number of treatments you need depends on your skin tone and hair color.

Read on to learn more about Best Laser For Your Face, Broad-band Light or Intense Pulsed Light AND Hair Removal For Indian Skin

Best Laser For Your Face

What’s highly effective, misunderstood, and sounds like a fun middle school birthday party activity? Laser—but not of the schoolyard tag variety, nor the type that removes hair. We’re talking about the kind of laser treatments that correct skincare concerns faster than your average face wash and moisturizer duo do. Since skin laser treatments are legally considered medical treatments, we decided to go straight to the professionals to gain some insight into the different types, what they do (how well they do them), and who they are for. 

What Are Laser Treatments?

Laser treatments direct short, concentrated, pulsating light beams at skin irregularities to promote collagen growth and remove skin layers. They’re used on everything from acne scars and tattoos, to hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and wrinkles.

But before we get into the distinctions, let’s go over the basics. As Dr. Adam Kolker, MD, FACS, summarizes, “All laser light treatments target various colors within the skin to achieve their results. When the laser energy finds these targets, they super-heat them to create a very controlled ‘injury’ to the skin that stimulates the body’s natural healing processes.”

MEET THE EXPERT

Dr. Adam Kolker, MD, FACS, is a board-certified plastic surgeon working out of NYC as well as an Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He has been featured as a top Plastic Surgeon in New York Magazine’s Best Doctors list for nine years and has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in surgery and plastic surgery.

So if you’ve been considering a skin laser treatment but want to evaluate some objective background information first, or you’re curious to explore more options to treat your skincare concerns, consider this doctor-approved breakdown your personal glossary. 

Broad-band Light or Intense Pulsed Light

What It Targets: Kolker tells us “they are very good for improving color balance within the skin by reducing areas of redness or hyperpigmentation.” These treatments are meant to restore a youthful, glowing complexion. 

What to Expect: These types of laser treatments “are associated with minimal downtime.” It’s basically just a round of short blasts of light. 

Effectiveness: Though “minimal downtime is associated with this treatment, several treatments are often required,” Kolker explains. 

other energy modalities (radio frequency, ultrasound, and thermal energy treatments

What They Target: Firmness, elasticity, and plumpness 

What to Expect: This is “another spectrum of energy treatment modalities that are not laser light based that are also effective in rejuvenating skin, including radio frequency micro-needling, ultrasound, and thermal based technologies,” explains Dr. Kolker.

Effectiveness: “While these have some temporary or long-term effect on skin tightness, they have little effect on color,” Kokler clarifies. So if you are looking to treat issues like hyperpigmentation, one of the other treatments will be better suited to you.

Hair Removal For Indian Skin

Being smooth and hairless is a universal beauty standard that can easily be achieved through laser hair removal. However, Indians and other people of color have a difficult time finding a laser hair removal device that can work safely and effectively for their darker skin tones.

So which laser hair removal option is best suited for Indian skin? The most appropriate laser type Indian patients should use is an Nd:YAG laser. As one of the latest lasers available in the market today, the Nd:YAG can work on a wide range of skin types and remove very thick, unwanted hairs. 

What Makes Laser Hair Removal Risky For People of Color 

In the past, laser hair removal was inaccessible for men and women of color because of how laser removal technology worked. The earliest laser types like ruby and alexandrite lasers were ineffective and harmful when used on patients with darker skin. 

Laser hair removal works by targeting the melanin in hair. Melanin is what gives hair its pigment; the darker the hair, the more melanin it contains. When the lasers beam light on the hair follicle, the melanin absorbs the light and transforms it into heat. This heat is responsible for destroying the hair growth center in the follicle. 

Older laser models could focus on the “bullseye” and remove unwanted hairs more accurately only when there is a contrast between dark skin and light hair. However, this made laser hair removal dangerous for tanned or darker-skinned patients, as their skin contained a high concentration of melanin as well.

Because outdated laser models could not distinguish between pigment in skin and hair, they presented a risk to dark skinned patients. These risks include hyperpigmentation, burns, blisters, scarring, and spots in the skin around the follicle. 

As Indian patients have medium to darker colored skin and dark, thick hair, they would need to find a clinic that has invested in the right type of equipment. The laser their provider uses should be able to differentiate between the hair and skin. As darker skin requires cooling in between beams, the laser should come with a cooling function as well. These factors would make the procedure more comfortable for Indian patients. 

Which Type of Laser Hair Removal Tool Is Best For Indian Skin? 

Patients with darker skin tones have very sensitive skin. As Indian skin tones range from lighter olive to darker shades, it’s especially crucial to identify the specific laser that can work safely and effectively for each patient. There are two types of laser that work for darker skin and dark hair: diode and Nd:YAG. 

The diode laser is good at treating thicker, coarser hair compared to the Nd:YAG. Most diode lasers are less painful because they have an instant cooling function that protects the skin from overheating. However, the Nd:YAG is the safest option for Indian patients because it can bypass the melanin in your skin.

The Nd:YAG works at a higher wavelength than other lasers so it can pass through the epidermis and target the follicle directly. Since it no longer targets the color, the Nd:YAG is great at targeting resistant hairs and treating darker-skinned patients. 

Do keep in mind that the Nd:YAG may be more painful than other lasers because it penetrates more deeply.  It also hasn’t been around as long as other FDA-approved lasers so you may have trouble finding a provider who uses this type of laser. 

Should You Try At-Home Laser Removal Devices? 

There are a lot of at-home devices and laser kits available in the market but they are not recommended for Indian patients. Most of these products are safer for lighter skin types as they have shorter wavelengths. For Indian skin and hair, these short wavelengths are neither safe nor effective. 

Many home laser kits also include screening questionnaires to check if the device can be used on particular hair and skin types — but most Indian patients will not be able to pass this test. For patients who do meet the criteria, they may find that the results are not satisfactory as the power of a home laser won’t be strong enough to remove thicker hairs. 

Although laser hair removal can be costly, letting an experienced, certified provider will save you money and time in the long run. 

The Ideal Candidate For Laser Hair Removal 

Historically, people with dark hair and fair skin were ideal choices for professional laser hair removal. Advancements in technology have challenged this standard and many people with various skin and hair types can now undergo laser hair removal treatments. Patients who have met the following criteria are most likely suitable candidates for laser hair removal: