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Ruby laser hair removal: evaluation of long-term efficacy and side effects
V B Campos1, C C Dierickx, W A Farinelli
1Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine, Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Background And Objective:
Although several studies on laser-assisted hair removal have been published, data on long-term follow-up are few. The present study investigated the long-term efficacy and safety of normal-mode ruby laser pulses on hair removal.
Study Design/Materials And Methods:
The normal-mode ruby laser (Epilaser; 694 nm, 3 msec) was used to treat a wide range of body sites in 51 volunteers. The mean follow-up after the last treatment was 8.37 months.
Results:
Sixty-three percent of the patients had sparse regrowth. The mean fluence used was 46.5 J/cm(2) in patients who had sparse hair regrowth and 39.3 J/cm(2) in patients who had moderate hair regrowth (P = 0.0127). Transient pigmentary changes occurred most frequently in patients with skin type 4.
Conclusion:
The normal-mode ruby laser is an efficient and safe method for long-term hair reduction, especially in fair-skinned individuals with dark hair. Higher fluences produce greater long-term efficacy. Adverse effects are minimal and transient.