When undergoing laser hair removal in Centurion at the NuSkinnovation clinic, you can have the utmost confidence that your treatment is being handled by trained specialists who understand your skin and hair needs. Laser hair removal has come a long way and its ability to help remove unwanted hair for a wider range of people has improved dramatically over the years. As a proudly South African company, we pride ourselves in being able to help a diverse range of clientele at NuSkinnovation.
If you have ever investigated laser hair removal in Centurion, you may have come across a very popular myth. The myth that those with darker skin tones may not be able to experience optimal hair removal results like those with fairer skin. Although this myth may reflect some historical accuracy, today that is no longer the case.
Our team of trained professionals at NuSkinnovation offer all clients, no matter their skin tone, expert treatment and amazing hair removal results. Skin types are varied and unique and understanding the role this plays in laser treatments (not just laser hair removal) is an important concept to understand when considering treatment.
In this article, we want to highlight that importance by reviewing a few characteristics that vary between skin types and tones and investigate the role they play in altering laser hair removal treatments. We will also look to show the importance of investing in professional laser treatments to achieve the most optimal results. So, if you want to learn the truth about the relationship between laser hair removal and skin types, keep on reading.
The Role Of Melanin In Skin Treatments
To understand the different elements of skin types and tones and how this may impact laser hair removal in the rest of this article, it is critical to understand basic biology. Let’s take a quick look at the science behind melanin.
What is melanin? What does it do and what role does it play in laser hair removal treatments? In this section, we look to answer all these questions so that you have a better understanding of how your own skin works.
What Is Melanin?
Melanin is a naturally occurring pigment that is responsible for providing your skin, hair and eyes with its unique colour. The level at which melanin is produced by melanocytes (a unique cell that is responsible for making melanin in your body) directly impacts the darkness of your skin, hair and eye colour. The higher the level of melanin, the darker the colour will be.
Did you know that there are three different types of melanin pigmentation that each impacts a different part of the body? First is Eumelanin, which provides pigmentation to the skin, hair, and eyes and results in darker colour tones. Then, there is Pheomelanin, which provides a lighter colour tone and is typically found in people with red hair. Finally, we have Neuromelanin, which is found in the brain and creates darker regions of the brain.
How Does It Affect Laser Hair Removal Treatments?
Of course, for this article we are most interested in the melanin that impacts our hair and skin colour, as these two components will have the biggest impact on laser hair removal treatment. Essentially, how do higher or lower levels of melanin impact laser hair removal Centurion treatments? Let’s find out.
There is an incredible diversity in how the level of melanin you have an impact your treatment. Firstly, it will impact how quickly your treatment will occur. When laser hair treatment is done, the goal is for the hair to absorb the light energy from the laser. This energy is attracted to the melanin in your hair and the higher the level of melanin, the faster your hair will absorb the light energy, resulting in a speedier hair removal.
Another important facet of varying melanin levels is that it will help professionals choose what laser to use. If you have high Eumelanin pigmentation in your skin (meaning you have a darker skin tone), a trained NuSkinnovation technician would make use of an Nd:YAG laser. If you have lower Eumelanin levels or a higher Pheomelanin count, however, then laser professionals may choose to go with an Alexandrite or Diode laser instead.
Laser Hair Removal Centurion: The Fitzpatrick Skin Types
Above we have just reviewed the complexities of our skin and hair colours and how melanin is involved. We have also just looked at how the varying levels of melanin in our bodies can impact your laser hair removal Centurion treatment. While this may all seem very complex, it’s quite simple. Luckily, professionals have condensed all this information into an easy-to-understand scale called the Fitzpatrick skin type scale.
Below, we are going to review this chart and the different levels on the scale, which will help you better understand your own skin type and what professionals may look for before providing you with laser hair removal treatment.
Fitzpatrick Skin Type Characteristics
Before we assess the various skin types, it’s important to note that the Fitzpatrick skin types (FST) is a basic scale and in more recent times has shown to have some limitations when accurately describing all skin types around the globe. This is because the scale was originally designed in 1975 and since then modern science has shown even greater complexities in skin types exist. However, many professionals still use this scale to provide a basic understanding of skin types to their clients and will use it to perform a baseline assessment of your skin tone.
The current Fitzpatrick scale has six levels on it, each depending on the amount of melanin in your skin and, to some extent, the colour and tone of your skin. These include:
Type I: A skin type that never tans and always burns. It is extremely sensitive to UV exposure.
Type II: A skin type that shows only minimal tanning and burns very easily.
Type III: A skin type that can gradually tan to a light brown but will still burn to a moderate extent if not looked after correctly.
Type IV: This skin type will only burn minimally when exposed to extended UV rays. But it can tan to a moderate brown.
Type V: This is a much darker skin tone, which will rarely, if ever, burn and can turn a much darker brown after tanning.
Type VI: This is a skin type that does not burn. It is deeply pigmented (having the largest levels of melanin) and is also the least sensitive to UV exposure.
As you can see from this scale, level I is for those with fairer skin and those at level VI are for those with darker skin tones. These types are categorised by the level of melanin pigmentation found in the skin at every level.
Historic Challenges With Darker Skin Tones And Modern Advancements
Understanding these critical concepts allows us now to address the age-old myth that laser hair removal treatments do not work on those with dark skin tones. We want to address this myth by looking at its historical accuracy. Following this, we’ll focus on new developments in the field of lasers that have allowed specialists to help a wider range of people with laser hair removal Centurion offers.
Historic Risks Of Laser Treatments For Darker Skin Tones
Thankfully, due to modern laser improvements, the idea that those with darker skin tones would not be able to get the same experience and level of service from laser hair removal Centurion treatments can firmly be placed into the category of a myth. In the following section, we will look at why this is the case, but first it is important to understand its historical background.
Firstly, it is important to understand that even with our modern advancements today, most aesthetic laser technicians would still classify their ideal client as someone with fair or light skin and dark hair. This is due to the fundamental way that lasers work, when doing hair removal treatments. The laser energy is simply attracted to the regions with the highest levels of melanin (or the darkest regions), and when there is a high level of contrast between dark hair and light skin, it is easier for technicians to accurately target the hair. This, in turn, leaves the surrounding skin unaffected while still removing hair follicles.
Historically, this method of using contrast meant that it was extremely difficult for laser technicians to be able to reach the same levels of accuracy with clients that had dark skin tones and dark hair, due to a lack of contrast and similar melanin levels in the skin and hair. The laser energy could not be accurately targeted at just the hair follicles, but would impact the surrounding skin as well, leading to nasty laser burns and skin irritation for those with darker skin tones.
This problem was also compounded by the fact that older laser technology used Alexandrite and Diode lasers that had little to no adjustment features, meaning that the lasers could not be adapted to better pick up on contrast for those with darker skin tones. These mechanisms resulted in laser treatments being less effective on those with darker skin.
The Development Of New Laser Technology
In the last fifty years, there have been many additions to laser technology that have made treating people with darker skin tones a lot easier, allowing them to receive effective laser hair removal Centurion treatments. Although there are even newer advancements that have come out in the last few years that have made the process even easier, here are three of the most important changes to lasers:
Nd:YAG Lasers: This is probably the most important laser invention that has helped people with darker skin tones. These laser waves penetrate deep into the skin and are not absorbed by the top layer of skin, making it much safer for people with dark skin tones to use.
Adjustable Diode Lasers: Unlike Diode lasers of the past, new machines allow for the light wavelength of the Diode laser to be adjusted, meaning that it can be used to more accurately target hair on people with dark skin tones.
Fraction Laser Technology: This technology allows specialists to work on much smaller regions of the skin, meaning that even with darker skin tones the laser can focus on the hair follicle and avoid overheating melanin-rich skin. Currently, fractional laser technology is the most accurate for treating people of all skin tones.
Laser Hair Removal Centurion And NuSkinnovation
In conclusion, it is highly important to understand skin tone when conducting laser hair removal. We hope this article has helped you understand that when you visit NuSkinnovation, no matter your skin tone, our team of highly trained specialists can help you.
So, don’t hesitate to get in contact with our team and see how we can help you get the most out of our laser hair removal Centurion treatments today!