How do hair removal lasers work?
Lasers are optical devices which produce intense coherent, collimated and mono-chromatic beams of light. A laser consists of an active medium such as a crystal, gas or liquid that amplifies light when excited by an external energy source (a flash amp or electric discharge, for example). When the appropriate medium is employed, the laser can be fine-tuned to generate a very narrow band of light wavelengths (such as the individual colors of the visible spectrum). Lasers designed for permanent hair reduction emit wavelengths of light designed to be absorbed by the pigment in the hair (melanin). If the surrounding skin is relatively light compared to the color of the hair, then the entire energy of the laser will be concentrated in the hair shaft, effectively destroying it without affecting the skin or follicle. Hair removal lasers target the dark pigment in the hair. That’s why laser hair removal works best on light skin and dark coarse (most pigment) hair. The ability of the laser to pro
