Laser hair removal is an increasingly popular treatment touted as virtually pain-free and permanent. It represents an evolution of an age-old beauty tradition.
In 1960, Theodore Maiman pioneered the use of laser technology to eradicate hair follicles with his ruby laser, which caused extreme pain and often led to severe burns.
1963
Women have long sought to remove unwanted hair. Though hair removal procedures have been available since the late nineteenth century, permanent removal remains a holy grail of beauty industry.
Laser hair removal has quickly become one of the most sought-after beauty treatments, with an undisputed record for safety, effectiveness and enduring results. But creating effective yet cost-effective hair removal technologies was no simple task.
Early attempts were made at designing lasers to effectively target hair follicles almost as soon as the first laser was invented, yet these early lasers often caused serious skin damage and were not practical solutions. It would take nearly forty years after its invention for an effective method to be developed.
Richard Rox Anderson and Melanie Grossman found that targeting the chromophore of hair follicles with laser light to damage basal stem cells resulted in their destruction and prevented future hair growth; they would patent and secure clearance by the United States Food and Drug Administration between 1996-1997 for this technique.
Laser hair removal technologies today are much more sophisticated and safe. In fact, this type of technology is being utilized for numerous other aesthetic treatments besides simply hair removal, such as tattoo removal or pigmented lesions removal or birthmarks removal. Lasers of various kinds have become an indispensable part of the aesthetic industry and remain an invaluable component for various treatments such as tattoo removal. While many clinics closed due to COVID-19 pandemic vaccination programs and New Normal procedures implementation – beauty industry still thrives!
1964
Laser hair removal uses a light beam that penetrates the skin to destroy hair follicles. Now a popular cosmetic treatment, laser hair removal has quickly and permanently eliminated unwanted hair since its introduction by ancient Egyptians using wax and sugar-based waxes, as well as seashell-tipped tweezers and pumice stones to achieve hair removal.
In the 1960s, physicist Theodor H. Maiman developed the first laser designed specifically for hair removal using a ruby gemstone as its chromophore. Although his ruby laser could effectively reduce hair growth, its low heat density caused severe damage and burns due to severe overexposure to its beam.
By the 1980s, scientists had made great advances in laser hair removal technology by optimizing wavelength and pulse duration to target melanin pigment without damaging nearby tissues – this process became known as selective photothermolysis.
However, this treatment cannot be applied to every hair follicle due to discoloration caused by dark skin tones absorbing laser heat and discoloring the surrounding tissue. Harvard dermatologist Dr Thomas B Fitzpatrick developed a scale which classifies human skin pigmentation levels, providing guidance as to which types of laser treatment would best fit each person.
Early lasers emitted continuous waves of radiation, making them unsuitable for hair removal due to damage they caused surrounding tissue. But Dr. Richard Rox Anderson and his team eventually were able to develop the Q-switched laser, with an internal shutter similar to what camera flashes use for protecting themselves, which pulsed at a set rate while protecting surrounding tissue from harm – eventually becoming the basis for clinical laser hair removal lasers used today.
1975
Laser hair removal represents the latest evolution of an ancient beauty practice dating back millennia. Early humans utilized beeswax- and sugar-based waxes, seashell-tipped tweezers, and pumice stones to remove unwanted hair. Although electrolysis has been around since at least the late 1800s and can produce long-term results, treatments must be performed on every hair follicle individually which makes treatment time consuming and costly.
Theodor H. Maiman developed the first laser designed to destroy hair follicles back in the 1960s; however, its ruby laser proved inefficient and slow, leading to serious skin damage while decreasing hair growth. Not until 1970s when alexandrite laser technology was created was there any viable means of using laser technology safely for hair removal purposes.
But even this failed to produce any lasting results. As technology advanced, dermatologists and scientists realized that finding an effective laser that worked on all skin tones while permanently decreasing hair growth by targeting melanin–another pigment-enhancing chemical present in skin–was very complex. After years of experimentation and trial-and-error sessions with various laser types aimed at permanently eliminating hair was eventually found – targeting melanin directly instead.
In 1983, scientists created a system capable of targeting melanin in both skin and hair to safely destroy follicles without harming nearby skin follicles or damaging adjacent follicles. Over time, technology was further refined to increase efficiency while decreasing injury risks to surrounding tissue. Today’s laser hair removal devices offer cooling systems which protect skin during treatment as well as faster treatment times than previous devices.
1983
Today, laser hair removal has become an indispensable beauty treatment that is virtually pain free and long-term, but its history can be long and turbulent.
Laser hair removal technology was first attempted soon after its creation; however, early lasers were often ineffective and caused skin damage due to poor targeting capabilities or unregulated power levels. Scientists and dermatologists would need decades to perfect laser hair removal technology.
Theodore H Maiman created the world’s first laser designed specifically to destroy hair follicles in 1960 with his ruby laser. While this tedious device was effective at temporarily diminishing hair growth, its effectiveness wasn’t permanent and was frequently interrupted by severe burns resulting in frequent interruptions from severe burns. While successful at temporarily curbing it’s growth it didn’t offer a permanent solution for removal.
Ten years later, alexandrite laser was created. While significantly less painful than ruby laser, its lack of heat led to imperfect results that often required multiple sessions before becoming visible.
After the late 1970s, new laser variations started providing more effective hair reduction treatments. Harvard dermatologist Thomas Fitzpatrick developed a scale for classifying different skin tones to determine which individuals were suitable candidates for laser therapy treatment (earlier lasers often failed on darker skin tones because the laser’s heat absorbed by their bodies instead of dissolving hair follicles).
Researchers discovered in 1983 that using specific wavelength and pulse duration values allowed them to target individual hair follicles without damaging nearby skin – this technique became known as selective photothermolysis and forms the foundation for modern laser hair removal technology.
1998
Today’s laser hair removal methods are considered painless, efficient, and mostly permanent; but this was not always the case. From 1957 when lasers were first invented to FDA’s approval of practical and effective laser hair removal systems in 1997 – scientists and dermatologists took over four decades to devise an effective means for eliminating unwanted hair.
Early attempts at laser hair removal were ineffective and frequently resulted in severe skin damage, yet the promise of permanent solutions remained. Theodore H Maiman created the first laser designed to destroy hair follicles with a ruby gemstone in 1960; while his prototype could help minimize hair growth, it was slow, ineffective, prone to painful burns, and could only target few follicles at a time, making the entire process tediously slow.
In the 1970’s, two laser technologies, known as YAG and alexandrite lasers, were developed. While these were significantly safer than their counterparts, they still lacked enough heat to fully eradicate hair follicles. A breakthrough occurred when Harvard Dermatologist Thomas Fitzpatrick created a scale to measure pigment of skin pigment. This allowed doctors to better identify whether individual’s hair follicles could be effectively destroyed using laser therapy.
Drs. Richard Rox Anderson and Melanie Grossman used laser chromophores to successfully damage basal stem cells inside hair follicles, thus permanently disabling future hair growth and stopping future follicle encasements from sprouting again. This technology became the basis of laser hair removal methods used by doctors worldwide and eventually approved for consumer use in 1997.
