Both men and women seek laser hair removal services to have unwanted hair removed. Hair removal is commonly done on the hairline, eyebrow, top of the nose, lip, chin, ear lobe, shoulders, back, underarm, abdomen, buttocks, pubic area, bikini lines, thighs, face, neck, breast, arms, legs, hands, and toes.

Laser works best on pale skin and dark coarse hair. The closer you are to this combination (i.e. the lighter the skin and the more coarse and dark the hair), the better the results will generally be. Nd:YAG long pulse lasers are better and safer on darker skin (skin types IV and darker). Since laser works by targeting the dark pigment, using a laser other than a Nd:YAG on darker skin can result in skin burning or loss of skin pigment (hypo-pigmentation). 

Your skin type is based on a your response to sun exposure in terms of the degree of burning and tanning. For successful removal of hair, wrinkles, veins, sun spots, and scars using LASER technology, it is necessary determine your correct skin type.

TYPE I: Highly sensitive, always burns, never tans.
Example: Red hair with freckles or Albino

TYPE II: Very sun sensitive, burns easily, tans minimally.
Example: Fair-skinned, fair-haired Caucasians

TYPE III: Sun sensitive skin, sometimes burns, slowly tans to light brown.
Example: Darker Caucasians, European mix

TYPE IV: Minimally sun sensitive, burns minimally, always tans to moderate brown.
Example: Mediterranian, European, Asian, Hispanic, American Indian

TYPE V: Sun-insensitive skin, rarely burns, tans well.
Example: Hispanics, Afro-American, Middle Eastern

TYPE VI: Sun-insensitive, never burns, deeply pigmented.
Example: Afro-American, African, Middle Eastern

Last updated on February 6, 2010 by Sarah Yousuff, MD