Which body areas can be treated?
Theoretically hair removal is possible on the whole body - eyebrows can be formed with a mini-treatment; more time consuming treatments are necessary in the removal of interfering hair at all other parts of the body. The most popular parts of the body are: "facial hair", legs, arms, bikini line / pubic area, underarms, men´s back and chest, shoulders, neck.
Is the treatment effective for all hair and skin colors?
The laser hair removal is most effective if the hair to be removed is dark and relatively thick. The present state of the art shows that blonde and gray hair cannot be treated successfully with the laser. Also, the therapy is more difficult when the hair is very dark, but very, very fine - the laser light has little surface to target in that case. Both, light and dark skin types can be treated - the energy of the laser light is being tailored to it.
What is there to consider with laser depilation?
You should refrain from plucking your hair right before the treatment: the laser then has less targeting surface. The area concerned is being shaved prior to treatment. Before the treatment, the treatment area is shaved. This prevents hair burning on the skin and causing discolorations. The skin should not be too tanned when being treated, and you neither should plan any summer holidays or even visit the solarium right after treatment. We know that some sun exposure cannot be avoided and we advise you to use a sunscreen with a high SPF if necessary. This is handled the same way in the U.S., making it still the place where most of these treatments are being carried out worldwide.
Is the laser hair removal truly permanent and how many sessions are needed? Laser depilation gives permanent relief from pesky hair - but you should not assume that treated areas will be hairless forever. In some cases, the hair cannot be removed completely, but becomes like downy hair in its structure. During life, people are always producing new hair - many former patients therefore come to us after completion of therapy after a few years to remove the few hairs that the body has built. Some parts of the body, for example the upper lip or the underarms are very easy to depilate, others more difficult. This is inter alia due to the thickness of hair and color in combination with the skin color.
Are the costs of a laser hair removal borne by the health insurance?
Permanent hair removal is usually not offered from either the statutory nor the private health insurance. In a few cases, for example for morbidly increased hair growth, the insurance can pay the cost of laser therapy. Whether it is worthwhile to get a medical assessment in your case is something the attending dermatologist can inform you about.
Is laser radiation dangerous or harmful?
Laser radiation is no X-ray or UV radiation, but concentrated light. It is not expected to be harmful to human health. However, during treatment, the wearing of laser safety glasses is the only precaution which is absolutely necessary - for both, the attending physician and for you as a patient.
What does "hypertrichosis" and "hirsutism" mean?
Hypertrichosis means excessive hair growth. The hair grows at for male and female rather untypical body parts, e.g. for the man reinforced on the back, for the woman reinforced on the lower legs. Hrisutismus in contrast, refers to the excessive hair growth according to a male pattern occurring in women; this means that the hair is growing on those body parts that are usually hairless in women (face, belly, even chest, thighs).
Responsible for this is the increased production of the male hormone testosterone, such as it occurs in the case of the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Therefore, a medical examination prior to treatment is of high important to make sure that no other disorder is the cause of the increased hair growth.