All hair is made of keratin, a hard protein that's also found in your fingernails and toenails. Hair growth begins beneath the surface of your skin at a hair root inside a hair follicle, a small tube in the skin.You have two types of hair on your body. Vellus hair is soft, fine, and short. Most women have vellus hair on the chest, back, and face. It can be darker and more noticeable in some women than others - especially women with darker complexions.
Terminal hair is coarser, darker, and longer than vellus hair and is the type of hair that grows on your head. When a teen reaches puberty, terminal hair starts to grow in the armpits and pubic region. On guys, terminal hair begins to grow on the face and other parts of the body such as the chest, legs, and back.
In some cases, excess hair growth, called hirsutism.Hirsutism is defined as a male pattern of hair distribution in a female with the hair being transformed from fine vellus to visible, coarse terminal medullated hair under the influence of androgens.1 Hirsutism must be distinguished from hypertrichosis, which is the growth of vellus hair that is non-androgen dependent and is prominent in sexual and non-sexual areas, and lanugo which is very soft, vellus, unpigmented hair that covers the body.
If you're tired of shaving, waxing or plucking body hair only to have it return days later, you may be interested in laser hair removal. Laser hair removal systems use laser light — an intense, pulsating beam of light — to remove unwanted hair. Whether it's on your face, arms, legs or other areas, laser hair removal may be an option if you seek long-term results.Both men and women seek laser hair removal services to have superfluous or unwanted hair removed. Hair removal is commonly done on lip, chin, ear lobe, shoulders, back, underarm, abdomen, buttocks, pubic area, bikini lines, thighs, face, neck, chest, arms, legs, hands, and toes.
Laser uses an infrared light beam that can selectively target microstructures such as hair follicles. It is very effective for lighter skin types and, because of the relatively low absorption of this light by melanin.The area of your skin that is to be treated will be scanned with laser light from the Profile system. Some procedures will require the patient to bring a responsible adult driver. Treatment time will depend upon the area to be treated. A system for cooling your skin will be used to remove heat as it leaves the follicles and should ensure a comfortable treatment. However, since the sensation varies from individual to individual, a topical anesthesia can be provided.
There are several types of lasers, including the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser, the YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser, and the pulsed dye laser. Each laser has specific uses. The color of the light beam used is directly related to the type of surgery being performed and the color of the tissue being treated.
Laser surgery can be used to:
* Remove tumors (brain, liver)
# With minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue
# With minimal scarring
* Seal small blood vessels to reduce blood loss
* Seal lymph vessels to reduce swelling and decrease the spread of tumor cells
* Seal nerve endings to reduce postoperative pain
* Remove warts , moles , and tattoos
* Reduce the appearance of skin wrinkles, scars, and other skin blemishes
* Remove hair
Laser damages the follicle and causes it to fall out.The pulses of light target the melanin in the hair shaft and travel to the follicle, heating and destroying it. The hair production cells themselves are damaged or destroyed making permanent hair removal, well, possibly permanent.But sometimes,hair grows in cycles and some follicles lie dormant and begin to grow again after a time.
Not everyone is a candidate for laser resurfacing. If you are prone to keloids, hyper or hypo pigmentation or do not react well to burns or excessive scarring due to minor cuts and abrasion, laser resurfacing is not such a good idea. The laser is a type of burn as it literally evaporates the top layers of skin to reveal younger, tighter skin beneath. If you scar badly when you are burned, the results of laser resurfacing could be disastrous. Also, if you have ethnicity (like Greek, Italian or African American, etc.) in your biological family, you may be prone to hyper or hypo pigmentation resulting from the procedure. An ideal patient would be of white European descent with elastic, non-oily skin.
Root surface irregularities found more pronounced after irradiation with laser. Studies have not shown the laser to be of great value in removal of calculus on root surfaces as compared to ultrasonic or manual instruments.Studies show that for suitable candidates, hair removal lasers can reduce hair counts by 40 percent to 80 percent. Results vary from person to person, however, and some people respond better to treatment than others.Multiple treatments can prolong the duration of hair loss, but hair regrowth is possible. Also as you age, unwanted hair growth inevitably continues, and you may need repeat treatments in the future.
The only way to permanently eliminate unwanted hair is a process called electrolysis. Electrolysis is performed by inserting a tiny needle into the hair follicle and using an electric current to kill the hair root. Electrolysis can be expensive, painful, and even time consuming: Removing upper lip hair may take a total of 4 to 10 hours over several visits.
In some cases, electrolysis can cause dry skin, scabs, scarring, and swelling. If you decide to try it, it's best to have the procedure done at a dermatologist's or other doctor's office to make sure it's done properly and safely.
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