Laser hair removal uses a concentrated beam of light to destroy pigment in both your hair and skin, thus inhibiting or delaying future hair growth.
Development of the technology we now rely on was a long journey, with many scientists giving up hope that lasers could ever work as a reliable permanent hair removal method.
Theodore H Maiman
Laser hair removal is an efficient, painless and semi-permanent solution. Since its introduction in the early 90s, people have been demanding this procedure – not surprising given that science behind it took some time to develop. On July 7, 1960, Theodore H Maiman created his first ruby laser which could destroy hair follicles but often caused severe burns on occasion – although this solution did successfully minimize hair growth, it did not offer permanent or semi-permanent removal options.
Maiman recounts in his memoirs how his colleagues did not recognize the significance of his success with the ruby laser and instead dismissed him as a “lunatic”, while ultimately creating transformative technologies in commerce, industry, telecommunications, the Internet and all sciences.
In the 1970s, alexandrite lasers became available. While safer than ruby lasers, these could still effectively remove melanin from hair follicles but not deliver sufficient heat to kill them, taking years for laser hair removal to truly take off as we know it today.
Dr. Richard Rox Anderson of MIT and Harvard medical faculties would later hone laser treatments for both cosmetic and medical uses, creating the modern technique of laser hair removal by combining intensity and application duration of laser light beams. His method involves sending concentrated light beams directed at skin that travel to hair follicles that have become inactive from electrolysis treatments; damaging these follicles thus stopping future hair growth. This concept resembles electrolysis which also damage follicles to prevent future hair growth.
Dr. Richard Rox Anderson
Laser hair removal is a noninvasive beauty procedure that’s more affordable, faster, and convenient than waxing or tweezing. Although initially developed for medical use only, laser hair removal technology eventually became available as an aesthetic treatment courtesy of Boston dermatologist Dr. Richard Rox Anderson who later received recognition inducting into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (2020 inductee).
Laser treatments have become widely utilized in medical care to treat birthmarks, scars and other skin lesions. Anderson pioneered many of these laser solutions for permanent hair reduction as well as tattoo and port-wine stain removal; his work also contributed to our understanding of human skin photobiology.
Laser hair removal uses highly concentrated light waves generated by a laser that penetrate into hair follicles where pigment cells absorb light energy, heating up and disabling them from further producing hair growth. Anderson’s invention of a pulse duration laser was an outstanding advance which reduced skin damage caused by this treatment process.
Opportunistically, attempts at laser hair removal began almost as soon as their invention in 1957; however, initial laser models were impractical and often caused severe skin burns. Over four decades after that first laser’s creation in 1957 up until 1997 were scientists and dermatologists finally able to design an efficient laser system designed specifically for hair removal purposes that was safe, efficient, effective and efficient in performing its task.
YAG Laser
Laser hair removal has quickly become one of the most sought-after beauty treatments, touted for being painless, efficient and permanent. When first introduced into the market, however, laser technology was far less refined or engineered as it is today; early systems were impractical, harmful to patients, failed to remove unwanted hair completely and even resulted in itching, hyper- or hypopigmentation and burns as the surrounding skin wasn’t damaged at all.
In the 1960s, Theodore H Maiman developed the first laser designed to destroy hair follicles. Unfortunately, his ruby laser was painful for patients and often led to severe burns; while it did reduce hair growth it never offered a permanent solution. Although FDA-approved nD:YAG laser hair removal became available later, but even this method did not produce sufficient heat to permanently stop future growth; by the 1970s alexandrite laser had been developed as a safer and more effective device, yet still did not produce sufficient levels of heat required by previous devices; although they offered greater efficiency compared with previous devices but it still did not produce sufficient levels of heat to stop future hair growth permanently.
YAG lasers (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet lasers) use a specific crystal to produce a beam that targets hair follicles with melanin-absorbing light energy, damaging and destroying them in order to stop further hair growth; any existing hair that has grown will eventually shed off itself without needing waxing or other invasive treatments. While the YAG laser may work effectively against light colored, grey, or white hair it does not always perform optimally against such hair types.
Alexandrite Laser
Today’s laser hair removal is both pain-free and highly efficient; however, getting here required a great deal of testing, research, and perseverance from scientists and doctors over decades of use of lasers for hair removal. Although many early inventions were ineffective — the FDA approved YAG laser in 1964 was effective at temporarily decreasing growth but could not produce sufficient heat to permanently stop it; later scientists developed alexandrite lasers which were safer and more effective – though dark skin tones do absorb laser light more than lighter tones since melanin absorbs laser light thus burning tissue rather than growing new growths from underneath!
Soon, laser hair removal technology advanced enough for its creators to devise a device capable of targeting darker skin tones effectively by employing pulse duration; the period during which laser emits radiation. This helped target specific chromophores of basal stem cells inside hair follicles for partial damage without burning or damaging surrounding tissue.
Laser hair removal technology was not invented by its original founder, but its inventor nonetheless did an outstanding job creating something that helps millions worldwide overcome an uncomfortable condition that’s widely shared across society. After taking some time, this solution finally gained widespread usage across most nations and continues to evolve as scientists push its limits; making science such a fascinating field; engineers and researchers constantly push what can be accomplished technologically, which ensures it remains at the cutting-edge of innovation.
Pulsed Laser
Laser hair removal is a noninvasive treatment that uses highly concentrated light waves to penetrate your skin and destroy pigmented hair follicles, offering safe, quick, and nearly pain-free results. While its initial impracticality has led to significant technological progress over the years, modern systems provide safe, quick, and virtually pain-free procedures today.
Theodore H Maiman is widely acknowledged as being the pioneer of laser hair removal, having constructed his first prototype ruby laser device in 1960. While this initial device could reduce hair growth significantly, it also caused severe burns. After much research and engineering effort had gone into designing a safer laser device, Maiman developed the Q-switched alexandrite laser.
Laser hair removal treatment remains one of the primary uses for these devices, with most treatments still using this kind of laser to target melanin in your hair and avoid burning your skin – meaning this device works on all hair colors and skin types; even those with dark complexions.
Scientists and dermatologists continued to refine the technology behind laser hair removal over time, decreasing injury risks by increasing laser efficiency and power, as well as refining cooling systems. Finally, in 1997 the FDA approved a device capable of targeting melanin in your hair follicles to permanently block their ability to grow new hair follicles – finally unlocking permanent solutions.
Since then, laser hair removal technology has not changed much; however, its results have vastly improved. Today, it is considered one of the most effective permanent hair reduction methods and can produce impressive results quickly. While initial laser hair removal sessions may involve some form of learning curve for newcomers to the method, most find that its benefits more than outweigh its challenges.
