The possible long term health risks of LHR

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi everybody. I haven’t been here for a while. I am finally closer to being able to get laser hair removal financially and I am thinking of getting my hands done this year.

Now, we all know about how effective this treatment can be especially if you’re a good candidate. However, one thing has been bothering me and that is the potential long term risks of this treatment. It’s a relatively new thing and you won’t find old people who can say they had laser treatments many decades ago.

And it’s not just the known factors like hyper-pigmentation or even burns. I’ve heard references to skin problems later on or even extreme cases like skin cancer(Which I don’t believe). The kind of radiation that you are being exposed to from the laser isn’t natural(And i’m thinking that this is especially more significant if you’re 1-Darker skinned and 2 treating large areas like the back, legs etc i.e. more and more radiation) and it has been admitted that scientists do not yet know about all the potential long term risks. Not enough is simply known to be 100% sure of every single potential risks involved. Atleast that’s my take on it and I do hope i’m wrong.

For myself, I’m hoping to get treatments on smaller areas first like my hands and then later on in the future very large area like my back/shoulders. Laser hair removal would be the ideal method for me because I would also be happy if there is atleast a very large reduction or thinning of the hair if permanent loss can’t be achieved. Plus I have pretty pale skin in winter and my hair is black.

Thanks for reading and I’m hoping to hear your thoughts on this as I’m sure you long timers have much more knowledge on this than me.

#2

Laser has been used for hair reduction for many years now. We are not hearing about patterns of skin problems from our medical community. If anything, we hear about people that are disappointed that more hair wasn’t affected for all the money they have paid or about laser stimulating more hair to grow in certain areas. I wouldn’t be concerned about all the hyperbole you read about assuming it could be harmful as we are well into this and millions of people are satisfied and healthy.

I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the areas you are thinking about are not so great for laser hair REDUCTION (it’s not removal like you said, small, point I know, but has a big meaning). Electrolysis would be much better for your hands, shoulders as LHR may cause hair to wake up on your shoulders especially.

Pictures would help us greatly. We could give you more accurate advice.

Dee

#3

I don’t know where you got any of that. None of that has been published or brought up by anyone with any credibility and appropriate scientific education.

There are numerous types of lasers. Hair removal lasers don’t emit any type of harmful (UV etc) radiation. So none of that applies.

It’s also been available and used by the public for almost 2 decades now without any types of issues you describe. And it’s been in use even longer before it was made available to the general public.

However, if you’ve been reading these forums carefully, you should know by now that some areas you want to get done are not good for laser. Laser only works on COARSE DENSE growth like. If you want to test a small area, do your underarms. Shoulders and hands are not necessarily a good idea. Post a photo if you want opinions from us on whether the hair is coarse enough because if it’s not, laser can stimulate MORE growth instead of removing the hair.

#4

Thanks for the quick replies.

I figured that there is no known dangers like that when no facts have ever supported these claims. I guess that is just my cautious nature taking over. Still would love to hear more views on this.

Now, I am surprised that you say the areas I mentioned may not be good for laser. Or perhaps you underestimated the amount of thickness I might have on these areas.
I know just by genetics that if I get treatments on my back and shoulders now, it won’t work because they are not thick enough yet. I’m only 20 now, and like several family members the hair will probably be very coarse later on. But if you say the treatment won’t be effective on these areas just because of the areas, then i’m confused.

Now, my hands are the tricky part. I’m doubting wether they are suitable. Most of the hair is coarse imo but some isn’t. And if i’m correct, induced hair growth because of laser only happens when the hair is too light, right? So would that mean the coarse hair will still be dealt with?

Anyway, I will try to post some pictures tommorow for better perspective.

#5

Pictures are appreciated more than you know.

Induced hair growth can happen if the hair is dark as well. Are you resisting the idea of getting electrolysis for some reason?

Waiting for more views on if LHR is harmful long term is useless. It probably is not. People have been exposing their skin to light-based treatments for years now and as I said before, there are not great numbers of physicians reporting to any national data base about odd skin cancers or any other untoward effect.

#6

Please post photos. Descriptions are subjective. Hair needs to be coarse and dense. Laser can stimulate growth on areas with light-colored hair, dark fine hair, or areas between patches of course growth. Anything that’s not dense and coarse (both) can become worse.

There is actual documented evidence of cancer caused by sun exposure, but I’m guessing you’re still going outside and to the beach. Same applies to all the genetically modified food you’re buying at your local grocery store.

On the other hand, laser doesn’t emit any harmful radiation. This is a fact. There is no evidence of any sort over the last 20+ years that specifically laser hair removal lasers have been around that any “light” they produce is harmful.

#7

Laser is safe (in this respect). Of all the reasons to worry if you are a candidate for laser treatments (burns, induced growth, hyperpigmentation, unsatisfactory results, etc…), this radiation concern is not one of them. If anything, lasers have been shown to improve your skin’s ability to repair itself and leave your marginally healthier. That is why it is commonly used during surgeries/lipo/cosmetic facials/etc.

Please post a photo of your hair. You say it is coarse, but I will be blunt: Everyone says that. We all think our hair is just soooo awful, it’s hard to be ojective. It needs to be like underarm hair or bikini-zone hair. The kind that leave a gray shadow even after it’s freshly shaved.

#8

I’ve seen a few people (technicians) that long term exposure to radio frequency caused pain in the arm.

#9

How do you know that it wasn’t something else causing the pain?

#10

That’s not a scientific study. For all we know, it was from holding the headpiece of the laser for extended hours.

#11

Wasn’t laser, was radio frequency machine for body contouring.
Only reason i mentioned this because i know some machines combine hair removal with RF.
It’s probably something that will be hard to prove but I’ve seen different places with the same coincidence.
When using that machine, when you fire, all the clocks in the room stop working, so it’s possible that what I’m saying is true.

#12

It’s not difficult to run a double blind study. Someone should.

RF is only in a few machines (diodes and IPLs) and we don’t recommend them anyway (mostly American Laser Center machines).

#13

Lagirl you don’t sound so sure of your case. It’s like you just want to brush off any possibilities. I’m looking for cold hearted facts, not probabilities. We’ll see how this unfolds though.

@dfahey i’m not too excited about electrosis. First off there aren’t any clinics close to my area that i know of(im in holland) it seems the treatments are much longer and painful. Plus i liked the idea of laser that not all the hair will be gone, so that there might be a more natural, better look at the end.

Anyway, here are some pics of my caveman hands. I hope this gives a better idea. I really think they’re suitable for laser but if I look closely, there are some hairs that are light/thinner. but they’re in the minorty like 10-20 %. As you can see my skin is light and the hair is dark. What do you all think?

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/9077/foto005z.jpg
and fingers
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/9567/foto006l.jpg

Btw wow. my phone has a better camera than i thought lol

#14

Not sure why you think she’s not sure about it. Sounds to me like she is certain.
Laser hair removal been around for about 20 years now, if there was even the slightest chance then the companies who make electrolysis would put a lot of money into proving that theory.

#15

Odi, that’s a good point. There are a lot of people who would be very excited to get lasers discredited. :stuck_out_tongue:

Johnson: She is as sure as is necessary in this scenario. Is there a small chance that laser can cause undocumented long-term harm? Well, of course. There is a small chance that ANYTHING can cause long-term harm. For all we know, cancer is caused by eating too many carrots over the course of one’s lifetime. There is a chance that there are flying unicorns in outer space hiding behind the planets and doing ballet. But it is SO unlikely given the information available to us, that we can reasonably conclude that there are NOT, in fact, unicorns in outerspace (and we also trust that carrots are not carcinogens). That doesn’t make us close-minded or ignorant (we would certainly be willing to chance our minds if we found evidence of either of these things). It just makes us reasonable. If we never made assumptions or came to conclusions based on limited evidence available (due to our lack of omniscience), we wouldn’t even exist as a species because we’d never be able to make a single decision (including what foods to eat, where to rest, whether to procreate, how to maintain hygiene, etc…)

In other words, caution is fine but at this point we have a lot of information that indicates laser is not dangerous in the long term, and NO information indicating the opposite. Therefore, for our purposes, it’s safe to assume that the minimal amount of laser exposure will not do us harm in our very short lifetimes. Perhaps if we were longer-lived and had laser regularly we would see signs of a problem (though I still doubt it), but so far so good.

Laser is riskier in the short term than the long term based on all available evidence, so if that risk doesn’t deter you then I see no reason why long-term risk should. There is still always a risk, I am not denying that. But is that risk even remotely large enough to impact your decision? For most people, nah.

#16

What was I unsure about? You want facts and facts don’t exist. After 20 years, there is nothing to go on. Whatever is mentioned above is just hearsay.

If you’re more comfortable waiting another 20, 40, 60 etc years to see if any potential side effects appear, that’s up to you. Fact is that nothing that is used in hair removal lasers that makes them work the way they do to remove hair has any indication of being harmful to the body. And what is your timeframe on something being considered not harmful? How many years without side effects is enough?

This is an endless discussion. You can’t prove a lack of something. For example, you can’t prove that a spaghetti monster doesn’t exist.

I’m all about being super protective and cynical, but if you’re looking for facts of things being harmful to your body, you may want to research what you’re eating and what you’re probably putting on your skin. Chemicals in most of our food and various toileteries that you’re likely using daily have been documented by studies to be harmful. I guess I’m curious why you’re not worried about using a deodorant or eating apples from a grocery store.

#17

LAgirl, are you a “member” of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster too? Hahaha.

If so, then I respect you even more now (if that’s possible). If not, then your random spaghetti monster reference was surprisingly relevant in a number of ways. :stuck_out_tongue:

#18

It’s not possible for her to be certain since not even scientists know for sure what the effects of laser are in the long term. You can compare it to all kinds of other stuff like food all you want, i’m talking about laser. All of you agree with me anyway, however, don’t act like it is 100% safe. My point of view was strictly about science. It’s about questioning. Not DOUIBTING the safety of this method but questioning. I never said it is harmful for sure. I just put it out there hoping I might get answers on this forum. I guess we can’t even discuss things on a forum of all places? Without having people acting like i’m a religious nutcase and implying i’m all sorts of things without knowing me. I’m done with this discussion.

Anyway, I guess i’ll open a seperate thread for my pictures since I would still like to hear some knowledgable opinions on wether I’d be suitable for laser hair removal(Oh wait, don’t shoot me, I meant reduction).

#19

What? Nobody thinks you are a nutcase. You wanted a discussion and we were discussing it. Sounds like you only wanted people posting actual facts/studies (of which there aren’t any). Are we not allowed to justify our confidence? You are more than allowed to justify your skepticism. That’s kind of how these “conversation” thingies work, you know? :stuck_out_tongue:

PS- Personally I think the reduction/removal debate is stupid. Hairs ARE removed, thus “removal” is still totally appropriate in my opinion.

#20

Oh, and one more thing: Please don’t be offended if you think we over-explain our reasoning that way. It’s not that we think you personally need that kind of explanation (we don’t know you), it’s just that we have to justify our opinions for all the thousands of anonymous visitors too who may not understand the concepts as well as you do.

They may not realize that low risks exist everywhere and that there is no evidence to suggest there is danger. The response “There are no official studies that last longer than a couple decades, so nobody really knows” would be MUCH more terrifying to those visitors than it really should be.

So yeah, we aren’t trying to reply to you specifically, but anyone who may wander in here and be unfamiliar with statistics/logic/risk and assume the worst.

People are welcome to assume the worst anyway (it’s a personal choice how much risk to take in life, especially for cosmetic procedures like this), but we just don’t want people jumping to conclusions for the wrong reasons. Caution and knowledge are always encouraged here, but we try to avoid a blind-fear mentality that we sometimes get on this forum (usually related to other risks, not this particular one).

I hope that makes sense to you and that you won’t think we are attacking you or assuming the worst about you.