Ruby laser hair removal: evaluation of long-term efficacy and side effects.
OBJECTIVE
Although several studies on laser-assisted hair removal have been published, data on long-term follow-up are few. The present study investigated the long-term efficacy and safety of normal-mode ruby laser pulses on hair removal.


METHODS
The normal-mode ruby laser (Epilaser; 694 nm, 3 msec) was used to treat a wide range of body sites in 51 volunteers. The mean follow-up after the last treatment was 8.37 months.


RESULTS
Sixty-three percent of the patients had sparse regrowth. The mean fluence used was 46.5 J/cm(2) in patients who had sparse hair regrowth and 39.3 J/cm(2) in patients who had moderate hair regrowth (P = 0.0127). Transient pigmentary changes occurred most frequently in patients with skin type 4.


CONCLUSIONS
The normal-mode ruby laser is an efficient and safe method for long-term hair reduction, especially in fair-skinned individuals with dark hair. Higher fluences produce greater long-term efficacy. Adverse effects are minimal and transient.
Campos
V B
VB
Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine, Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Dierickx
C C
CC
Farinelli
W A
WA
Lin
T Y
TY
Manuskiatti
W
W
Anderson
R R
RR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002921:Cicatrix; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006204:Hair Removal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012880:Skin Pigmentation; D016896:Treatment Outcome