Permanent hair removal lasers have come a long way since their introduction and FDA approval in the 1990's. First of all , "Laser Hair Removal" should really be called "laser hair reduction" and generally includes permanent hair reduction achieved by destroying hair follicles with specialized laser and light based devices (BBL/IPL). Older generation lasers and light based devices were slow, very painful and associated with a much larger incidence of side effects such as skin burns, scarring, pigment changes and so forth. This made it virtually impossible to treat darker skin types. An ideal laser hair removal treatment candidate used to be a very dark haired individual with very light skin, i.e Snow White. Today, newer light based devices (BBL/IPL) and lasers are much more safe and effective on most skin types and colors. The treatments are much faster and far more comfortable, virtually painless. Individual pain perception varies but most of our patients find the SHR system to be almost pain free. Laser hair removal with the right equipment performed by an experienced technician is safe and effective on any area of the body. We have several different types of permanent laser hair removal systems in our Southlake and Dallas offices.
Our Dallas office has the following two laser hair removal systems:

• Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Hair Removal- The SHR- In Motion Technology- (Compare to SHR
  
• The Diode Laser -810 nm wavelength

  SHR-IN MOTION TECHNOLOGY- IPL/BBL HAIR REMOVAL

    Our laser hair removal system in Dallas is SHR technology, comparable to the Alma Laser Harmony XL's SHR-AFT In Motion technology. Some of the major benefits of the SHR permanent hair removal system are:
SPEED:
    This system is ULTRA-FAST, our aestheticians can treat an extra extra large area such as full legs or full back in 20 minutes and that is with minimum of three passes per area. We like to compare this hair removal system to Ferrari of laser hair removals!
COMFORT:
    The SHR hand piece comes with an integrated cooling head which cools the skin surface during treatment for your comfort. Additionally, the revolutionary "in-motion" technology gradually and transiently heats up the targeted hair follicles, making this treatment virtually painless, especially appreciated by our patients with darker , thicker hair on sensitive areas like back.
 SAFETY:
    The SHR is FDA approved for use in most skin types including darker and tanned skin. We have treated a large number of patients of most skin types and colors, Fitzpatrick skin types I through V, without encountering any problems. For Fitzpatrick skin type V, we recommend a test spot before proceeding with full treatment as an extra precaution. We treat darker skin at much lower settings which usually requires a higher number of sessions for permanent hair reduction in dark skin individuals. To further protect darker skins from getting laser burn, we recommend NOT using a topical anesthetic creme to the area being treated.
EFFICACY:
    Since getting the SHR in our Dallas office in February 2014, we have treated countless patients of varying colors (Fitzpatrick I through V) with minimum side effects, pigment changes or other problems and have had excellent patient feedback regarding results and comfort of the treatment. Initially everyone treated is a little skeptical due to the lack of pain and the high speed of the procedure, but most of our patients have experienced better hair reduction with the SHR than many of the older traditional lasers. Individual results vary with so many factors, such as genetics, hormone status etc. but overall we have seen excellent results and can honestly say that the efficacy of the SHR permanent hair removal system is far better than the older systems.
 DOWNSIDE:
    The only downside is that the treatment tip is rather large which makes it a little challenging to treat smaller areas such as ears, knuckles, toes etc. We usually use our Diode laser for the smaller areas.

 MEDIOSTAR DIODE -810 NM LASER
    The Diode laser has a high power laser diode which emits infrared light at 800-810 nm. The longer wavelength makes it safer for darker skin types (Fitzpatrick IV and V) due to deeper penetration into the skin, but it tends to be a little less effective for lighter hair. Another downside of the diode laser is its smaller spot size leading to much longer treatment time for larger areas such as legs and back. Here are the advantages:
SAFER FOR DARK SKIN:
    Longer wavelength of light penetrates into the hair follicle without causing as much epidermal injury as the Ruby or the Alexandrite. This Diode laser can be used on darker skin colors (Fitzpatrick IV and V)  unlike traditional Ruby or Alexandrite which cannot be used on even tanned skin and leads to skin burns very easily.
EFFICACY:
    The Diode laser is more effective that the long pulse Nd:YAG laser which is also safe for dark skin (Fitzpatrick IV , V and VI).
TREATMENT OF SMALLER AREAS:
    With the smaller spot size, smaller areas such as ear lobes, between the eyebrows, knuckles and toes can be treated easily.
DOWNSIDE:
    The diode laser is much slower than the SHR system and is more painful. We have the Mediostar diode with integrated cooling, we use ice packs routinely and for sensitive areas we offer topical numbing creme if the patient is more responsive to the diode laser treatments. Honestly, since acquiring the SHR, we treat larger areas with the newer system on most patients.

    For more questions or to make an appointment for your laser hair removal, please call 888-210-9693