What if I have coloured skin?
Providing treatment to a person with dark skin is 1 of the most challenging tasks for any laser specialist. The laser’s light is absorbed by the melanin in the skin and hairs. as the light energy is absorbed it heats it up. Therefore, if the skin has a lot of melanin (as dark skin has) then the skin will heat up. This can result in the skin blistering and scarring. The specialist has to be very careful in choosing the most appropriate laser and settings when treating patients with dark skin. The specialist will also protect the skin by cooling the surface prior to, and after treatment. This can be done using lotions or cooling plates. The specialist will use lasers with the longest wavelength. They do this because melanin is designed to absorb short wavelengths of light such as UV Light, and the ability of melanin to absorb light decreases as the wavelength increases, thereby decreasing the risk to darker skin. There are a number of variables that a laser operator can manipulate when p
