Several factors go into making someone a good candidate for laser hair removal. To understand these factors, it’s important to understand how lasers work when targeting hair. Lasers are a type of pulsing light that is very intense. This light targets the melanin in the hair, which is what gives the hair its color. By targeting the melanin, the laser is able to break down the hair follicle at the end of the hair under the skin without damaging the skin. With that in mind, your specific hair and skin types make a difference in the effectiveness of laser hair removal.
Since laser hair removal was FDA approved in 1997 laser techs and specialists have relied on the Fitzpatrick skin typing scale to determine a person’s skin color. Based on your Fitzpatrick skin type number, the corresponding laser is selected for your treatment.
The Fitzpatrick scale is numerically based from I-VI, with I being the lightest color skin type and VI the darkest.
Your skin type is determined mostly by your ethnicity and heredity, and can vary from person to person. Melanin is what gives your skin its color, and some people simply have more melanin in their skin than others. When considering laser treatments, your skin type will come into play because not all lasers work on all skin types.
Thomas B. Fitzpatrick is the famed doctor that worked on, and published the Fitzpatrick Skin Type Scale. This scale is the same scale we use today at BARRIS LASER, and is one of the key factors we use to help determine our patients’ skin type and ultimately, their candidacy for laser treatments.
Here are some basic characteristics due to skin type:
- Skin type 1: You cannot tan without burning if you are a Skin Type I. In North America, less than 5 percent of people fall into this category.
- Skin type 2: You will sunburn easily, but can develop a tan. The ability to tan differentiates this group from type 1.
- Skin type 3: You will tan easily, but still sunburn. This is the most common skin type in North America.
- Skin type 4: You will almost never sunburn, and tan very easily. This is a typical skin type to people from a Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or Asian descent.
- Skin type 5: You have brownish skin that darkens when exposed to sunlight. They rarely sunburn and tan very easily. This is the most common skin type of African-Americans.
- Skin type 6: You have dark brown or black skin that will still darken when exposed to intense sunlight. They almost never sunburn. This is typical to darker African-Americans.
At Barris Laser we can safely treat skin types 1-5 with our YAG laser
The full name is nd:YAG (Neodymium-Doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet) laser and its wavelength is 1064 nm, which is a safer wavelength [for performing] laser hair removal on skin of color. While YAG lasers can be used on all skin types, they are particularly good for those with darker skin types as it is considered both safe and effective. Thanks to its longer wavelengths that bypass surrounding melanin, YAG laser hair removal is particularly beneficial for those with darker skin, as it’s less likely to cause hyperpigmentation in the process.
For the safest laser hair removal treatments always answer these 3 questions about yourself and your skin with your laser specialist.
- Have you been in the sun in the last 6 weeks?
- What is your ethnic background?
- Do you tan easily or burn easily?