Effect of Different Pulse Durations on the Efficacy of Long-Pulsed Alexandrite-Assisted Hair Removal; A Split-Face Comparison Study

Pedram Noormohammadpour; Amir Hooshang Ehsani; Farshad Farnaghi; Hassan Seirafi; Seyed Alamdar Bagherinia; Parvaneh Hatami; Azadeh Goodarzi; Zeinab Aryanian

doi:10.34172/jlms.2021.21

Effect of Different Pulse Durations on the Efficacy of Long-Pulsed Alexandrite-Assisted Hair Removal; A Split-Face Comparison Study

J Lasers Med Sci. 2021 May 20:12:e21. doi: 10.34172/jlms.2021.21. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Pedram Noormohammadpour^{1

2}, Amir Hooshang Ehsani^{1

2}, Farshad Farnaghi^{1

2}, Hassan Seirafi^{1

2}, Seyed Alamdar Bagherinia^{1

2}, Parvaneh Hatami^{1

2}, Azadeh Goodarzi³, Zeinab Aryanian^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Autoimmune Bullous Diseases Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine Razi Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Rasoul Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Dermatology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Laser-assisted hair removal is widely used by a large number of patients complaining of unwanted hair. However, little is known about the effect of varying the pulse duration on clinical results and side effects. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of hair removal using an alexandrite laser with different pulse durations. Methods: Fifty female patients with facial hirsutism were subjected to a hair removal procedure with an alexandrite laser, using 3 and 10 milliseconds pulse durations on each side of the face every 5 weeks for three sessions. Photographs were taken and hair counts were checked before the treatment and one month postoperatively. Results: one month after the laser treatment, the clearance rate was 56% with both 3 and 10 milliseconds pulse durations. There was not any significant difference in clinical efficacy or the side effect profile. Conclusion: Using a 755 nm alexandrite laser for hair removal is an effective and safe method for delaying hair regrowth and this delay is not markedly different by increasing the pulse duration from 3 to 10 milliseconds.

Keywords: Alexandrite laser; Hair removal; Pulse duration; Pulse width.