Am I at Risk for a Burn From a Laser Hair Removal Procedure?

Anyone who undergoes a laser hair removal procedure is inherently at risk for a burn injury. I think it's important for every patient to understand the mechanism of treatment. And the way that laser hair treatment is performed is to direct a super heated beam of light through the hair shaft into the follicle and damage the stem cells in the follicle through introduction of heat. Once you realize that heat is the primary source of treatment it's easy to see that any of the surrounding skin can also be burned and therefore injured. If you feel you may have been injured as a result of a laser hair procedure you should contact a qualified personal injury attorney.

Can the Risk of a Laser Burn Injury be Reduced in Any Way?

The risk of a laser burn injury can be greatly reduced by preparation, education, and evaluation. Preparation in the patient, there are steps that the patient, or the individual who's going to undergo the procedure can take before they present to make sure that they put themselves in the position to greatly prevent the possibility of a burn injury. Education both of the patient as well as of the individual providing the treatment is of utmost importance. Training of the practitioner on how to use the laser as well as how to evaluate the skin. From a standpoint of the individual presenting for the procedure, I think, they need to be informed. They need to be informed of the risks of the procedure, as well as clearly the benefits. Evaluation is of great importance. Everybody's skin tone fits into one of six different categories, and the higher the number that's assigned to your skin type the more of a likelihood you are to sustain a burn. If you believe you've been injured as a result of a laser hair treatment procedure you should contact a personal injury attorney who can answer your questions.

Why are People with Dark Skin More Likely to Burn During Laser Hair Removal?

The reason why people with dark skin, or ethnic skin, are more likely to sustain a burn during a laser hair procedure is because the skin itself has a higher content of melanin. Selective photo thermolysis describes the manner in which the laser works. Photo being light, and thermo being heat, describes how the laser works. Selective in this case means that the laser is trying to focus on the hair itself, so that the light beam, which focuses on the hair which has more melanin will travel through the hair shaft, and into the follicle itself. If there's more melanin in the skin surrounding the hair, the laser is more likely to get absorbed into the skin, whereby causing a burn. If you believe you may have been injured as a result of a laser hair procedure, you should contact an attorney who's qualified to represent you in that type of a claim.