Understanding Your Skin Type

Several factors go into making someone a good candidate for laser hair removal. To understand these factors, it’s important to understand how lasers work when targeting hair. Lasers are a type of pulsing light that is very intense. This light targets the melanin in the hair, which is what gives the hair its colour. By targeting the melanin, the laser is able to break down the hair follicle at the end of the hair under the skin without damaging the skin. With that in mind, your specific hair and skin types make a difference in the effectiveness of laser hair removal.

Type 1 – Usually, people with this skin type have blonde or red hair.

Type 2 – People tend to have blonde or light brown hair.

Type 3 – Often people with this skin type have darker hair.

Type 4 – People will have darker hair.

Type 5 – Usually, people of this skin tone will have very dark to black hair.

Type 6 –  People will have black hair.

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For skin types 1-4, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a good laser option. However, for darker skin types (5 & 6) the Nd: YAG laser is a more effective and safer option. Another factor for darker skin types is the number of sessions required. Up to 8 treatments may be needed for skin types 4, 5, and 6, whereas 4-6 treatment sessions may be sufficient for lighter skin types.