A study which evaluated the efficacy and safety of a 1060 nm diode laser system for permanent hair reduction showed this method is safe and effective for hair removal and long-term hair reduction in all skin types including darkly pigmented individuals.

The study, conducted by Edward V. Ross, MD, Omar A. Ibrahimi MD, PhD, and Suzanne Kilmer MD, is titled “Long?term clinical evaluation of hair clearance in darkly pigmented individuals using a novel diode1060 nm wavelength with multiple treatment handpieces: A prospective analysis with modeling and histological findings” and was published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (LSM), the official journal of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery Inc (ASLMS).

In the study, 16 subjects were treated with the chilled sapphire tip, with a mean of 68%, 82%, and 76% skin type?independent hair reduction in axillae, shin, and arm, respectively, at 6 month follow up visit as compared to baseline. Treatment with the large spot size vacuum?assisted handpiece (26 subjects), was most effective in axillae and calves, with a 77.9% and 78.5% hair count reduction, respectively, at the 6 month follow up visit. Treatments with both handpieces were not associated with intolerable pain levels and common post procedural responses included mild to moderate erythema and/or edema.

“Large-spot lasers with suction can provide comfortable hair removal in darker skinned patients,” Ross says, in a media release from ASLMS.

[Source: American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery Inc]