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Laser Hair
Removal
at 5 convenient New
Jersey and New York offices!
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Patient
Testimonial |
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I had my underarms
done and now I don’t have to shave anymore.
Dr. Miller and the staff were great and I would recommend
them to anyone.
J.M. |
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Welcome to Associates in Plastic Surgery's Laser Hair Removal page. We have one of the most comprehensive treatment programs for removing
hair. Unwanted hair growth used
to be a difficult problem to treat that involved the use of messy creams,
plucking, painful waxing, or electric current (electrolysis).
However, the laser has now revolutionized the process of hair removal
by eliminating hair in a safe, quick, and effective manner.
Laser
Hair removal works by selectively targeting the hair follicle.
The hair follicles in the active growth phase are destroyed and the
skin is left unaffected. On the
average 5 treatments are needed for the face, with four weeks between
treatments, and 3-4 sessions are needed for the body, with 6-8 weeks between
sessions. The multiple sessions
are needed to treat the different phases of hair growth because not all hairs
grow at the same time. After the
initial sessions, only an occasional touch-up procedure is necessary to treat
any remaining hairs.
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BEFORE |
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AFTER |
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The type of skin is an important factor
in laser hair removal.
The ideal candidate is someone with light skin and dark hair.
The highest settings can be used in these patients.
In patients with dark skin, we have additional machines in order to
treat them in a manner that protects the skin.
The type and presence of hair is important as well.
Hair that is light in color is difficult to treat consistently.
Various technologic advances have claimed to treat light colored hair,
but nothing has been consistent yet. The
hair must be present in a clipped or shaved form for treatment to be
effective. If the hair has been
waxed or plucked out, then no pigment will be available to concentrate the
heat and destroy the hair follicle.
Some of the machines
we have available for treatment are seen below:
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1.
The Palomar Medilux works well for patients of all skin types.
The treatment area is large so many hair follicles can be treated
at one time, making the procedure shorter.
The Palomar Medilux also has a handpiece that safely treats darker
skin.
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2.
The Medlite is an Nd:YAG laser that is even safer for dark skin.
Darker skin patients as well as patients prone to significant
pigment abnormalities can achieve a nice result with minimal risk of
complications.
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3.
The Gentlelase is an Alexandrite laser that gives excellent results
especially to people of lighter skin types
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The physicians at Associates in
Plastic Surgery have been involved with over 10,000 cases of laser
hair removal over the last 10 years. The
physician will start with a free consultation to examine you and discuss the
procedure in detail. A
specialized plan is formulated for each patient based on skin and hair type in
order to achieve the maximal benefit while incurring minimal risk.
The procedure is easy to go through – the skin is cooled, and the
machine goes over the desired area. A
slight amount of redness may be present for a couple hours, but the patient
can resume normal activity right away.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
How
does a laser get rid of hair?
The laser target is the dark
pigment in the hair. The pigment
absorbs the laser energy and the heat destroys the hair follicle.
Is
the result permanent?
Laser hair removal is FDA
approved for permanent hair reduction. On
the average 80% of people get an 80% reduction of the hair.
Some people do better than this, and some do not fare as well.
No one can guarantee the results of laser hair removal; otherwise they
are misleading you, but most people are extremely satisfied, which is why we
perform the procedure regularly. The
results are influenced by the skin and hair type.
Who
is the ideal candidate?
The best candidate is someone who
has light skin and dark hair. This
way the laser can be placed on its highest setting and the darker hair will
absorb the energy. With darker or
tanned skin, the energy has to be lowered, or a different laser should be
used, but results can still be excellent.
What
are the side effects?
The side effects are extremely
rare. Occasionally, a temporary
darkening of the skin can occur (hyperpigmentation), more commonly in a dark
skinned or tanned patient. This
can be avoided by using the special systems for darker skin that we have at
Associates in Plastic Surgery. Temporary
dark spots have occurred in less than 0.1% of patients at our office and in no
case has the spotting been permanent. Lightening
of skin (hypopigmentation) is even more rare.
In general, laser hair removal is extremely safe when performed in the
right setting.
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