Permanent Complications
Very rarely a laser treatment can result in permanent complications such as scarring or discoloration of the skin. Of course in this case a qualified dermatologist must be consulted and cosmetic surgery might be necesaary to undo the damage. This is very rare however and most laser hair removal procedures are absolutely safe.
How can damage occur?
A specialist in laser hair removal will assess your skin type and hair color before treatment to minimise the chance of side effects when removing the unwanted hair. Darker skinned people are harder to treat as the lasers target the dark pigment in the hair, so if you have darker skin then make absolutely sure before treatment that the practioner is fully qualified and knows what they are talking about. Damage to surrounding tissue can occur if the laser light pulses find dark pigment in the skin and heat that instead of just the hair follicle.
Pain
Most people do not experience pain during the laser treatment, at most it will feel like a small pinching sensation and of there is any pain the laser operator will reduce the settings so that the sensation goes. Sometimes during the treatment you will smell a burning smell, this is just caused by the laser heating the hair shaft and charring it, you can ask the operator to turn down the settings if you feel that any burning is occuring, but the operator should have established prior to treatment the sfa esettings for your skin and you should not experience problems.
Side effects of other hair removal methods
All hair removal methods have some side effects. Shaving can stimulate hair growth and sometimes ingrown hairs can result. The same with waxing and waxing is quite painful. People with sensitive skin may not be able to tolerate harsh depilatory creams. Laser light treatments are actually alot gentler and result in far fewer side effects than most methods. However with any cosmetic procedure great care should be taken to ensure safety.
