- published: 23 Jun 2015
- views: 114847
Laser hair removal was performed experimentally for about 20 years before it became commercially available in the mid 1990s.[citation needed] One of the first published articles describing laser hair removal was authored by the group at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1998. The efficacy of laser hair removal is now generally accepted in the dermatology community,[citation needed] and laser hair removal is widely practiced in clinics, and even in homes use devices designed and priced for consumer self-treatment. Many reviews of laser hair removal methods, safety, and efficacy have been published in the dermatology literature.
The primary principle behind laser hair removal is selective photothermolysis (SPTL), the matching of a specific wavelength of light and pulse duration to obtain optimal effect on a targeted tissue with minimal effect on surrounding tissue. Lasers can cause localized damage by selectively heating dark target matter, melanin, in the area that causes hair growth, the follicle, while not heating the rest of the skin. Light is absorbed by dark objects, so laser energy can be absorbed by dark material in the skin, but with much more speed and intensity. This dark target matter, or chromophore, can be naturally-occurring or artificially introduced.
Hair removal, also known as epilation or depilation, is the removal of body hair, and describes the methods used to achieve that result.
Hair typically grows all over the human body during and after puberty. Men tend to have more body hair than women. Both men and women have hair on the head, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits, pubic region and legs; and men also have hair on their face, abdomen, back and chest. Hair does not generally grow on the palms of the hands, the lips, certain areas of the genital structure, or the soles of the feet.
Forms of hair removal are practised for a number of reasons, including cultural, sexual, medical and religious. Forms of hair removal have been practised in almost all human cultures. The methods used to remove hair have varied in different times and regions, but shaving is the most common method.
Each culture of human society has developed social norms relating to the presence or absence of body hair, which has changed from one time to another. Different standards can apply to males and females. People whose hair falls outside a culture's aesthetic standards may experience real or perceived social acceptance problems. For example, for women in several societies, exposure in public of body hair other than head hair, eyelashes and eyebrows is generally considered to be unaesthetic, undesirable and embarrassing.