Acne of all forms has responded to EpiLight treatment of associated hairs. Just as we noted with PhotoDerm treatment of blood vessels that the areas’ hairs responded to pulsed light treatment, patients frequently report that Epilight treatment of unwanted hair produces an improvement or clearing of ACNE present in the treated areas. A possible mechanism behind this acne response is the reported ability of visible light to destroy bacteria that are usually associated with acne, and by the probability that miniaturization of standard terminal hair follicles includes the smaller oil glands that are involved with acne, and are attached to, and drain into the hair follicles.

My over 7 years of experience using EpiLight, and my over 5 years of successful and safe treatment of the most difficult to treat type 6 Black skin has convinced me that EpiLight is at present, the most effective and safe means of long term hair removal. Although the term permanent hair reduction has been allowed by the FDA for the description of EpiLight and several other laser modalities, I feel that even though EpiLight’s results will probably be permanent or forever - it is still too soon to say for certain that any form of hair removal will last forever.

Electrolysis was grand fathered by the FDA and allowed to claim permanent hair reduction without the need to produce studies documenting this claim as was required for pulsed light or laser machines.

My patients strongly prefer Epilight to electrolysis for the following reasons:

• EpiLight is much less painful.
  
  
• EpiLight is much quicker – approximately 50 to 150 hairs are treated each approximately 2 seconds in contrast to electrolysis’ treating approximately 6 hairs per minute.
  
  
• No anesthetic has ever been needed by my EpiLight patients.
  
  
• EpiLight is producing a 50% average hair reduction after 1-2 treatments. This is much better than the probably realistic 20% hair reduction by electrolysis.
  
  
• In the eyes of my many satisfied EpiLight patients, this speed and effectiveness of EpiLight translates into more cost effective hair removal than electrolysis.
  
  
• EpiLight, in my hands, produces fewer side effects such as pigmentary changes, scarring, ingrown hairs, or folliculitis (inflammation of the hair follicles), than electrolysis - especially in darker skinned patients.
  
  
• However, since white hairs have not as yet been shown to respond to pulsed light or laser treatment; electrolysis at present has the advantage in treating purely white hairs.

Waxing is painful, temporary hair removal and frequently produces ingrown hairs, folliculitis (or inflammation of the hair follicle), skin darkening and or scarring. Its low cost is the only positive statement that my patients report about all forms of waxing. Plucking, tweezing, ripping, or pulling out hairs with any device or substance are similar to waxing in that they are painful, temporary, and produce frequent side effects.

In my opinion, which is shared by most of my Dermatology colleagues, there is NO convincing scientific evidence that microwaves, or any of the many over the counter hair removal devices work effectively to produce satisfactory long-term hair removal.

Depilatories can be an effective short-term method of hair removal. Their application, however frequently produces irritation and burning. The hairs quickly regrow. Very few of my patients have utilized depilatories. The strong odor produced during depilatory treatment is often cited by many patients as the reason for not using these products. Those patients that try depilatories frequently use them for a very short time, before replacing them with an alternative method of hair removal.

Shaving is the method that is most commonly used by my patients before EpiLight and for the hairs that remain after EpiLight treatment. Contrary to the widespread belief, there is NO scientific evidence in humans that shaving hairs produces an increase in hair density, coarseness, or rate of growth. Shaving is an effective and economical method of short-term hair removal.

Some patients report that shaving produces an irritation of their skin which may be accompanied by darkening of the skin with or without ingrown hairs.

Many of my patients, however, find that they must shave twice daily or that their dense beard appears unshaven immediately after shaving. These patients want a longer-term method, such as EpiLight for hair reduction. As I mentioned earlier, EpiLight treatment of these patients’ denser hair results in a dramatic improvement in their appearance.

Patients with physical disabilities may find it difficult to shave themselves. Certain areas of the body are difficult to shave for many people. EpiLight’s long-term hair removal can make a significant improvement in the quality of life of these patients.

There are 4 types of lasers available for hair removal. Since many manufacturers produce and name each type, I will give you their generic names. However, the issue is also complicated by the fact that although these 4 types are distinguished by their wavelength of light, each manufacturer may vary the cooling device, duration (length) of the pulse of light, or the energy produced by their machine. My outline will assist you, but you really need to find an Expert Physician to treat you and advise you if you decide on having laser hair removal.