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Light treatments let you shed hair selectively
Tuesday, December 29, 1998 By Diana Block, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Robert Carola wasn't interested in razors, body sugars, depilatory creams, hot waxes, cold waxes, lasers or electrolysis. The Bridgeville resident just wanted to get the hair off his back.
When he heard about EpiLight, a treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year, he decided to investigate.
Unlike lasers, EpiLight uses a full spectrum of light to penetrate and damage the hair follicle. EpiLight's computer program asks for the color of the client's hair and skin, then automatically adjusts its wavelengths to target the pigment of the hair. The pigment absorbs the light, and as the light travels down the hair shaft it permanently destroys the follicle.
Carola, 43, has fairly light skin and dark brown hair, making him an ideal candidate, explained Cindy Hatfield, a technician at Enhanced Images in Scott. The greater the contrast between the skin and the hair, the smaller the chances are that the skin will burn.
To prepare Carola for treatment, Hatfield clipped back the hair on his back to about an eighth of an inch. She put a cold clear gel on a small patch of skin to cool it. Donning safety goggles, she lowered the wand-like device onto a corner of the gelled skin and hit the button. Carola didn't flinch when the light flashed.
"In the lighter areas, it's more of a tingling, but in the heavier areas, it's more of a burning," he said. "It's not real painful, but if you had to do it for a really long time, it could be irritating. Like a fly landing on the same spot over and over."
The EpiLight company suggests the pulse of light feels like a rubber band gently snapping on the skin.
I decided to go for a free consultation and test at another local vendor, Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery Center in Upper St. Clair.
The startling flash of light did not hurt, but repeated exposure makes the skin more sensitive. I had a good reaction, the technician told me: my skin turned pink, as though I had a light sunburn. (This kind of light exposure won't cause cancer, she assured me.) The hairs singed, and fell out about two weeks later. Unless new follicles grow, which is unusual, I had taken the first step toward achieving three square inches of permanent hair loss on my upper right thigh.
The main drawbacks to EpiLight procedures are time and money.
For example, it took more than an hour to treat Carola's back, even though each pulse takes just a fraction of a second. Poor placement of the device's head can result in missed spots, so finding an experienced technician is important.
Clients usually need three to five treatments, at least six weeks apart, to treat an area's full cycle of hair growth, since many follicles remain inactive for long periods.
The procedure costs anywhere from $300 to $400 an hour, usually to be paid in full at the time of the treatment. In spite of the costs, a wide variety of people have had hair removed with EpiLight, most of them treating fairly small areas such as the chin, upper lip, armpits and bikini area. Some centers, such as Enhanced Images, have seen more male clients than females, most interested in removing the hair on their backs. Men also often treat their ear and nose hair.
EpiLight is not for everyone, said Dr Mike Dugan, oral and maxillofacial surgeon from Image Enhancements in Ross.
"It works best when you have a contrast of skin and hair," he said. "We're not able to treat African-Americans at this point. Black skin obviously is too dark for the machine to be able to discern between dark skin and dark hair. People with very fine hair or blond hair can also be difficult to treat.
Many skin centers that offer EpiLight have a list of clients you can call if you have any questions or concerns. They also suggest that people avoid caffeine the night before and the day of a procedure to minimize any pain. Tylenol or Advil can be taken 30 minutes before your appointment, and some technicians also may have doctors prescribe stronger pain relievers.
After the treatment, the area will be sensitive for a few days.
Carola said he was happy with his results.
"I'm really surprised how well it went." Although he mainly treated his back, he joked about taking care of his ears, too. "As I get older, I'm getting hair where I never thought I'd have hair," he laughed. "I'm not ashamed of having it done. It's there, and I'm removing it the best I can."
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