Some medications may interfere with laser treatments and increase your risk of skin damage, so it’s essential that all the medicines you’re taking with a licensed medical laser technician.
Antibiotics and acne drugs like Accutane or Retin-A may increase sensitivity to light and the risk of sunburns on skin, making it more vulnerable. Dietary supplements also can increase this vulnerability.
Antibiotics
Antihistamines taken to ease allergy symptoms could interfere with laser hair removal treatments, increasing skin sensitivity and increasing heat damage risks following treatments. Therefore, it’s essential that any medications you are taking be made known to your practitioner so they can use their experience and judgment to ensure a safe experience for you.
Certain antibiotics can negatively impact laser treatments due to being blood thinners, potentially leading to internal bleeding in blood vessels and intense bruising after laser procedures. Therefore, if taking these medicines it’s crucial to discontinue them a week prior to any laser procedure.
Other medications can also impede laser hair removal treatment. Accutane, a popular acne medication, should be stopped six months prior to any laser hair removal session as it can make skin hyper-sensitive to light and potentially lead to serious burns.
Anti-aging medicines like Retin A and retinol products may increase the risk of burns after laser treatment due to increasing cell turnover rate, making your skin more sensitive to light.
Cold sores and herpes simplex virus infections may also inhibit laser hair removal treatments, leading to breakouts, exacerbating cold sores, hypertrophic scarring, or keliod formation if left untreated. For these reasons it may be wiser to opt for alternative methods of hair removal than laser procedures.
Antihistamines
Antihistamines, antibiotics, mood stabilizers or acne medication may interact negatively with light treatments like laser hair removal. Therefore it is a good idea to be upfront with your laser hair removal salon or clinic regarding all medications taken so they are aware of potential side effects that could arise and tailor the procedure appropriately.
As well, it’s crucial that you are completely honest about the type of hair and medical conditions you have, because laser treatments don’t always work for everyone and there may be an underlying cause. People with fine or light hair typically don’t make good candidates for laser treatments as their pigmentation makes targeting these hairs with laser difficult; dark-haired individuals typically experience better results, especially those who fall within Fitzpatrick skin types I or II.
Before your laser treatment, it is advisable to avoid tanning in the sun or tanning beds as this will make hair harder for the laser to target. Since lasers work by targeting pigments found within hair follicles, tanning exposes your skin cells to these pigments as well, making it harder for lasers to target hair follicles directly. If necessary, self-tanners containing low DHA content may provide natural-looking tans instead. Waxing and plucking should also be avoided as this could result in hairs being pulled out by laser instead of destroyed by its light source.
Blood-thinning medications
Today’s society makes it commonplace to take numerous medications. From antibiotics, cold and flu tablets and mood regulators to antibiotics and cold/flu remedies, it is always advisable to speak to your physician prior to scheduling laser treatments as certain of these might interfere with certain laser treatment wavelengths or may interfere with dietary supplements you are currently using or plan to take before scheduling laser procedures.
Laser hair removal uses thermal energy to cauterize blood vessels that feed hair follicles with fuel, killing them. Most patients experience only mild side effects like slight discomfort and slight redness – though this could change if taking medications that could trigger photosensitivity, such as red-tinged medication.
Antibiotics are among the most frequently prescribed drugs that increase photosensitivity. This occurs as antibiotics are absorbed into the bloodstream and then deposited onto skin surface where they’re activated by light beam of laser treatment, leading to severe reactions resembling sunburn, known as phototoxic reactions which may include pain, swelling and redness of skin.
Sunless skin creams that darken the skin may also trigger photosensitivity reactions; other hair bleaching products include bleaches. To avoid an adverse photosensitive reaction, it’s a good idea to avoid any type of tanning or hair removal product use prior to scheduling laser treatment for at least several weeks prior to any laser appointment.
Acne medications
Laser treatments use thermal energy to cauterize blood vessels that feed hair follicles on the surface of the skin, cutting off their supply of nutrients and ultimately leading them to die off, leaving no new hair growth behind. Once a hair follicle dies off it no longer produces new hair!
However, certain medications can hinder this process and compromise its success. This is particularly evident with acne medication like Roaccutane and Retin-A; those taking these should wait to receive laser treatments until their full course has been taken and stop using Retin-A at least a few days prior to an appointment.
Retinols and alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA) may interfere with laser treatments by causing skin irritation; for this reason they should not be applied two weeks prior to having laser treatment done on them. Furthermore, it’s best to refrain from waxing or shaving the area being treated since any hair in that region absorbs heat from laser light treatment and causes redness and swelling as a result.
Herpes simplex or cold sore sufferers should use caution when considering laser treatment as it could potentially reactivate these conditions. Before receiving laser treatments, these individuals should begin taking antiviral medication a few days in advance of therapy and continue until treatment has completed. In addition, those who suffer from open wounds such as keloid scarring and severe histamine reactions such as urticaria should not get laser treatments but should instead conduct a patch test on a less visible part of their bodies to see how their bodies react before proceeding with treatments.
Dietary supplements
Laser hair removal is an increasingly popular cosmetic procedure that helps people eliminate unwanted body hair. While generally safe for most individuals, certain medications and dietary supplements may affect its effects or increase side effect risks; it’s essential to be aware of these potential issues so you can make an informed decision for yourself when considering laser hair removal treatments.
Antibiotics like tetracycline may make the skin more sensitive to light, increasing its risk during laser hair removal treatments and potentially leading to injury. Accutane, which reduces oil production in your skin, may also increase this risk; so if taking either of these drugs it would be wise to put off laser treatments until after taking all your prescribed dose.
However, some dietary supplements and herbal remedies may impede laser hair removal results. Multivitamins may interfere with laser treatments; however, evidence does not support their impact on pigmented follicles or generated heat by thermal energy from lasers.
At laser treatments, it is also wise to avoid medications and supplements which could cause adverse side effects or skin reactions – these include oral contraceptives, niacin, glycerol, salicylic acid, hydroquinone creams or bleaching products, as well as any retinol products like Accutane, isotretinoin or Retin-A.
Most medications do not interfere with laser hair removal treatments and most individuals can safely undergo this form of hair removal by adhering to some pre- and post-treatment guidelines. It’s wise to consult your dermatologist prior to embarking on any laser hair removal sessions to make sure it will be safe.
