Single Method of Laser Hair Removal Safe and Effective

Combination treatments have more adverse effects for no additional benefit

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Both long-pulsed Nd:YAG and alexandrite lasers are efficacious for long-term leg hair reduction, but a combination of the two treatments causes more adverse effects for no additional benefit, according to a report published in the October issue of the Archives of Dermatology.

Seyyed Masoud Davoudi, M.D., of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, and colleagues conducted a study of 20 patients aged 16 to 50 with skin photoypes III and IV, who all underwent four sessions at eight-week intervals of four separate types of laser treatment, one each on the median and lateral sides of each leg. The legs were treated with long-pulsed 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser (12-mm spot size); long-pulsed 755-nm alexandrite laser (12-mm spot size); long-pulsed 755-nm alexandrite laser (18-mm spot size); and a combination of the first two treatments.

In all, there were 15 subjects who completed the trial and when hair reduction 18 months after treatment was assessed from digital photographs, the four treatments were found to reduce hair by 73.6 percent, 75.9 percent, 84.3 percent and 77.8 percent, respectively, the study showed. Hyperpigmentation and severity of pain were more prevalent on the areas treated with the combination therapy, the researchers found.

"We discovered that the combination treatment will not add any more significant benefit and, unfortunately, it will cause more adverse effects," the authors write.

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