Laser Hair Removal Cancer

There is a new cosmetic treatment in town and its name is laser hair removal treatment. Many people want to have their bodies, or areas of it, treated with the laser in order to get rid of their unwanted body hair. On TV and in the media, you mostly hear about the success stories and nothing of the horror stories where things have gone awfully wrong.

Many people are asking questions about laser hair removal side effects. What are the risks involved with this treatment? What are the dangers? Can it make you will or cause you serious bodily harm?

The truth is, back in the days when this treatment was still new, there were a lot of side effects associated with this treatment. Sometimes, unprofessional people would be the ones wielding the laser that's used to remove the hairs. In the hands of an unqualified surgeon, this laser can be quite devastating.

In the past, people have gotten blistered skin, burnt skin, crusted skin, darkening of tattoos, lightening of the skin, darkening of the skin, redness and irritated skin, and so on! Nowadays, this isn't so much a problem anymore. Most of the problems that have arised from laser hair removal surgery, were caused by the skin becoming too hot. These days, cooling tips or cooling gels are used during the treatment. This keeps the skin cool and drastically reduces the risk of any undesired side effects.

Okay, so laser treatment has caused some side effects to people in the past. But can it actually cause cancer?

In laser hair removal surgery, a non-ionizing radiation laser is used to get rid of your unwanted body hair. Non-ionizing radiation is composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that travel at the speed of light. This type of radiation produces intense heat. But it cannot produce mutation in the cells.

Your cells have molecular machinery in them. In order for a type of radiation to cause you cancer, it would have to be able to knock off electrons off your atoms. It would need to have interaction with the molecules in order to change them. These are the types of mutations that can cause cells to go haywire and start multiplying all over the place.

But the laser that is used in laser hair removal treatment, is simply not such a laser. It leaves molecules unharmed and intact. We are surrounded by non-ionizing radiation every single day of our lives. Sources of this type of radiation can be found in power lines, household appliances, cell phones, ultraviolet light and visible light. The laser that zaps your hair follicles produces the same kind of heat as a simple light bulb.

How Does Laser Hair Removal Work?

The laser is focussed on the hair follicles that produce your unwanted body hair. The laser goes right through your skin and is only absorbed once it comes into contact with colored tissue. Colored things naturally absorb light and turn it into heat. Since the hair follicles in your skin contain melanin, a colored organic substance, this is where the laser is aimed at.

Once the laser hits the melanin, it becomes intensely heated. It destroys the hair follicle in almost no time. Most follicles can be killed off with only one pulse of the laser. Sometimes, 2 or 3 pulses are required. But your hair follicle will eventually burn and be destroyed, that is for sure.

Laser Hair Removal Cancer

The heat stays concentrated in and around the hair follicle. This destroys the follicle but doesn't damage the surrounding tissue. And since it's only heat it might hurt a little bit, but you certainly won't get cancer!