While medical spa procedures are generally safe, it is important to perform them correctly in order to avoid mistakes. Because the medical spa market has exploded in recent years, it’s important to find a qualified provider. Here, Dr. Brian Hurley, who runs Illumination MedSpa in Irmo, South Carolina, explains cases when a laser burning could be a potential hazard for patients with darker skin.
During a medical spa procedure, a laser could burn a patient for two reasons:
- The technology could be unsafe to use n a patient’s darker skin, which is more sensitive to laser treatment. Some of the older laser hair removal technology, for example, used Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) instead of a true laser. Even though there has been improvement in the IPL technology which has allowed the treatment of some darker skin shades, it still can’t be used on very dark skin without causing burns. So, a medical spa must have a laser capable of treating darker skin types.
- Even if a medical spa does have a laser capable of treating darker skin, a physician has to know how to set the appropriate treatment parameters and strategies to treat this type of skin. It is important to deliver the pulse of laser energy over a longer period of time when treating darker skin. So if a medical spa has a laser capable of treating darker skin, but the physician does not have experience doing so, serious problems can arise. For example, when a patient gets further along in the laser hair removal process, the hair that does re-grow is finer and thinner. In fairer skin types, one can be more aggressive with the amount of energy used, which shortens the duration of time over which the pulse is delivered (pulse width) to treat the finer hair. But shortening the duration and applying more energy can lead to burns in darker skin. So it may be necessary to extend the number of sessions for darker-skinned individuals to avoid this problem.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
