im wondering if they have been able to find out this early if laser will increase the chance of skin cancer?
has anyone come across any articles or books discussing this?
It’s too early to tell much about long-term effects of laser hair removal.
Liew and others did an extensive workup on ruby lasers amd found that “694 nm red light does not induce oxidative stress in human skin in levels comparable either to t-butyl hydroperoxide or UV light.”
For details, please see:
Hairfacts: ruby laser medical data (refs 30-31)
Because the radiation produced by lasers is non-ionizing, it is much safer than gamma or x-rays as far as carcinogenesis; however it has been shown that ultraviolet radiation (the kind that gives you sunburn) can cause cellular change that can lead to cancer.
In fact, a recent study (Larko 2002) found that “both UVA1 and visible light can induce mutations in normal skin after repeated doses.”
Laser hair removal has been shown to affect other skin structures, such as sweat and oil glands, and the long-term effect of these changes has not yet been determined.
I am not aware of any studies involving other wavelengths and possible carcinogenic properties.