Are You Wrong Candidate For Home Laser Hair Removal?

Posted on by

Wrong Candidates Risks When Doing Laser Hair Removal

Laser hair removal can be an effective way to remove unwanted body hair, as long as you are the right candidate. When the wrong candidate does a home laser hair removal, then they might be at higher risks for side effects, or to end up disappointed with the results.

In this post when we refer to laser hair removal it applies to IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) hair removal too. The two technologies work the same way by heating the melanin inside the hair with light energy.

Laser Hair Removal Hair Color – Wrong Candidates

Pin this

Wrong Hair Color Candidate For Laser Hair RemovalThose who plan to do laser hair removal at home, need to make sure they are not the wrong candidates for such a procedure. The wrong candidates for laser hair removal at home, would be those with low melanin in the hair. In plain English it means:

  • White hair (no melanin at all)
  • Grey hair (very little melanin)
  • Red hair (not dark enough to turn light into heat)
  • Light blond (very little melanin)

For these people the light emitted from the home hair removal device would not have any melanin to heat. So no effect will take place deep at the hair bulb. Laser or IPL will be effective only on candidates with these hair colors:

  • Dark blond
  • Light brown
  • Dark brown
  • Black

Skin Color – Wrong Candidates

Wrong Candidate For Laser Hair RemovalPin her to Pintrest

The wrong candidates for laser or IPL hair removal at home, would be those who have dark skin tone. Having a dark skin tone means there is too much melanin in the skin tissue surrounding the hair. So instead of the light getting attracted to the hair and heating it, the light would spread over the skin and be heating the epidermis layer.

This may cause severe side effects such as pain, skin sores, skin burns and scarring.

In the long term side effects, hyper pigmentation or hypo pigmentation may appear on wrong candidates doing laser hair removal due to melanin production disorders.

These might be wrong candidates for laser hair removal at home:

  • Hispanic skin types
  • Native American skin types
  • African skin types
  • African Americans skin types (dark brown and black)
  • Indian
  • Dark Middle Eastern/ Arab skin types

Some of the advanced systems have a skin tone sensor, which will beep and lock the system from doing a treatment over dark skin. The TRIA laser, Silk’n Flash & Go, Silk’n SensEpil and Remington IPL will warn you or lock the device from emitting on dark skin. So there is no use buying them as they will not work.

Dark Skin Tone Laser Hair Removal Chart

There Is Only One System Approved For Black Skin Treatments

The only device which can do hair removal over dark skin is the Me my ELOS, which works on a slightly different technology. The Me my ELOS works by emitting light (IPL) and Radio Frequency waves (RF).

Because the RF does not heat the hair by light energy, the Me my ELOS is safer for dark skin hair removal. It is the ONLY system which has FDA approval to treat dark and black skin, which are forebidden for any other device.

Me my ELOS skin tone safety chart, dark skin and black skin allowed

 

Me my ELOS Pro Ultra Skin Type

 

 

If you have any of the dark skin types mentioned above, only the Me my ELOS would be safe and effective.

Order Your Me my ELOS – HERE

 

Temporary Wrong Candidates For Laser

Some times a wrong candidate might be a person who fits all the correct parameters but has some kind of temporary factor forbidding them to under go a laser hair removal treatment. For example if you have been tanning in the sun for a few days, than you should refrain from laser treatments. Tanning booths, tanning creams and tanning beds apply too.

People with temporary skin blemish, skin injuries, bruises and other skin disorders should not do laser hair removal at home. Women with hormonal disorder or PCOS symptoms should not do laser hair removal until stable (ask your doctor before you begin!).

Permanent Medical Conditions Who Should Not Do Laser

You should read the safety leaflet for each machine you purchase to learn about other medical conditions which forbid treatments. You will see there medical conditions like:

  • Over tattoos or permanent makeup.
  • If you have a pacemaker or internal defibrillator.
  • If you have a history of any type of cancer, or pre-malignant moles.

  • If you are pregnant or nursing.

  • If you have varicose veins in the treatment area.