Burned by laser hair removal

An ideal laser candidate has light-colored skin and dark-colored hair. That’s because lasers work by heating up the pigment in hair.

Lasers do not work well (or often at all) on blonde, red, or gray hairs because there is not enough pigment to heat up.

Lasers do not work well on dark or tanned skin, because the laser heats up the pigment in the skin, which can cause skin damage.

Below are examples of the injuries that can happen to non-ideal laser candidates.

This is why choosing a laser hair removal practitioner is so critical.

Dark skin and dark hair burns

I got these photos from a reader in April 2008.

Light skin and light hair burns

I got this note and photo from a reader in September 2005:

I took a picture of my face today, this is the third day after laser.  It is so deep, I can’t imagine that it will not scar and it is all over my face.  I am not heavy, but it is so swollen now that I look huge.
 
Thank you for the help and your informative web site.  I had no idea this could happen with laser.  I had beautiful skin, just a few hairs that I didn’t like…  I just can’t believe that this happened to me.

If you have been injured in a hair removal procedure, please contact me through my feedback form.