Upon first glance, most people seem to think that laser hair removal is new technology that has just recently emerged, but actually this could not be further from the truth! Laser body hair removal has actually been around in some way, shape, or form for nearly 50 years! Here I am going to share with you a brief history of laser body hair removal.
1960s. Wave 1 lasers were introduced, but were not an effective tool for removing body hair. The problem with these lasers is that they emitted light in a continuous wave form, which is much different from the pulsing form we have today. Since the wave of light was constant, it could not be controlled and was essentially useless.
1970s. In the 1970s Wave 2 lasers were introduced, and they were more advanced that Wave 1 Lasers because they could target individual hair follicles. However, this product was taken to market without adequate testing, and as such was removed by the FDA.
1980s. During this time period Wave 3 lasers were introduced, and these lasers were a lot more advanced than their previous versions. They were better at removing hair, but were still incredibly tedious to use. This time consuming approach to laser body hair removal caused them to be removed from the market.
1995. The Wave 4 Laser was cleared for use by the FDA, and was the first laser body hair removal invention to achieve this recognition. This laser would heat a carbon based lotion, which would emit a shock wave to kill follicles. However, this system also damaged other skin cells.
1997-2010. Wave 5 Lasers are now in use, and considered effective and safe by the variety of professionals that use them. The Wave 5 Lasers are easy to use, and incorporate an epidermal cooling agent which greatly reduces the risk of side effects.
As you can see it took quite a long time for the technology behind laser body hair removal to catch up with the ideas of people who wanted to make this technology available to the public. Now it is common place, and current technology is considered both safe and effective by the FDA.
