Uploaded December 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Learn more about treating Skin of Color @ quantausa.com/treatments/laser-treatment-for-dark-skin
Approximately 35% of the US population is non-white, a consideration that should be taken into account when purchasing aesthetic equipment. According to the Skin of Color Society, “Individuals with skin of color are defined by the Society as those individuals of Asian, Hispanic/Latino, African, Native American and Pacific Island descent.” It’s necessary to look at the demographics of your potential clients, and if a large percent of your patients will fall into these categories, it is vital to have a laser that performs well on Skin of Color.
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Follow us online:
Instagram: instagram.com/quantalasers
Facebook: facebook.com/QuantaAestheticLasers
Twitter: twitter.com/quantalaser
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/quanta-usa
Website: quantausa.com
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In your laser manual there are settings for laser hair removal for thick hair or thin hair and brown hair versus black hair. Usually with a person’s first laser treatment for hair removal you want to start with the settings for thick hair and as you move on to subsequent treatments the hairs that you’ll be treating get thinner and thinner, so, you’ll change your settings to thinner hair settings.
With the thick hair settings because the thick hair has a larger diameter, you want to use a longer pulse duration so that the energy is delivered over longer period of time versus a short energy or short pulse duration where you’re delivering the energy too quickly.
With laser hair removal treatments, you always want to use some kind of cooling. We have the Zimmer cold air blower connected to our handpiece so at the same time of the treatment there’s also cold air blowing onto the skin and the cooling is for two reasons. One reason is for patient comfort but two more importantly is to protect the surrounding tissue in other words the skin or the epidermis that surrounds the hair follicles that we’re treating.
As we do the treatment, I’m going to cover the entire surface area of the skin that we want to treat. A little bit of overlapping is ok but generally speaking, overlapping in not necessary.
The clinical endpoint to look for with laser hair removal is a little bit of erythema which we see here as well as some peri follicular edema, which is just a little bit of swelling directly around the hair follicles and that’s very normal and shows a great result. Also, laser hair removal for Fitzpatrick types four five and six can actually be more painful than laser removal for Fitzpatrick types one two or three and that’s just due to the amount of pigment that’s in darker skin colors and that’s very normal as well.
"Grant, How does your skin feel after the treatment”?
“It feels good”
“Does it feel warm at all”?
“Little bit but not much”
Okay so a little bit of heat sensation like a mild sunburn is natural and normal that usually lasts about two or three hours and that should dissipate. If it’s bothersome or uncomfortable you can take some Tylenol or some ibuprofen to help with that, you can also put ice packs on your skin to help with that as well. Your next treatment should be in roughly six weeks or so and then you can also use any of your regular product. For instance, when you shower or wash your face with soap that’s fine and any aftershaves or lotions that you normally put on your face they’re totally ok to use as well but you do want to use a good SPF on your skin anytime you’re in the sun for good sun protection after having a laser treatment.
Learn more about treating Skin of Color @ quantausa.com/treatments/laser-treatment-for-dark-skin
Approximately 35% of the US population is non-white, a consideration that should be taken into account when purchasing aesthetic equipment. According to the Skin of Color Society, “Individuals with skin of color are defined by the Society as those individuals of Asian, Hispanic/Latino, African, Native American and Pacific Island descent.” It’s necessary to look at the demographics of your potential clients, and if a large percent of your patients will fall into these categories, it is vital to have a laser that performs well on Skin of Color.
—
Follow us online:
Instagram: instagram.com/quantalasers
Facebook: facebook.com/QuantaAestheticLasers
Twitter: twitter.com/quantalaser
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/quanta-usa
Website: quantausa.com
—
In your laser manual there are settings for laser hair removal for thick hair or thin hair and brown hair versus black hair. Usually with a person’s first laser treatment for hair removal you want to start with the settings for thick hair and as you move on to subsequent treatments the hairs that you’ll be treating get thinner and thinner, so, you’ll change your settings to thinner hair settings.
With the thick hair settings because the thick hair has a larger diameter, you want to use a longer pulse duration so that the energy is delivered over longer period of time versus a short energy or short pulse duration where you’re delivering the energy too quickly.
With laser hair removal treatments, you always want to use some kind of cooling. We have the Zimmer cold air blower connected to our handpiece so at the same time of the treatment there’s also cold air blowing onto the skin and the cooling is for two reasons. One reason is for patient comfort but two more importantly is to protect the surrounding tissue in other words the skin or the epidermis that surrounds the hair follicles that we’re treating.
As we do the treatment, I’m going to cover the entire surface area of the skin that we want to treat. A little bit of overlapping is ok but generally speaking, overlapping in not necessary.
The clinical endpoint to look for with laser hair removal is a little bit of erythema which we see here as well as some peri follicular edema, which is just a little bit of swelling directly around the hair follicles and that’s very normal and shows a great result. Also, laser hair removal for Fitzpatrick types four five and six can actually be more painful than laser removal for Fitzpatrick types one two or three and that’s just due to the amount of pigment that’s in darker skin colors and that’s very normal as well.
"Grant, How does your skin feel after the treatment”?
“It feels good”
“Does it feel warm at all”?
“Little bit but not much”
Okay so a little bit of heat sensation like a mild sunburn is natural and normal that usually lasts about two or three hours and that should dissipate. If it’s bothersome or uncomfortable you can take some Tylenol or some ibuprofen to help with that, you can also put ice packs on your skin to help with that as well. Your next treatment should be in roughly six weeks or so and then you can also use any of your regular product. For instance, when you shower or wash your face with soap that’s fine and any aftershaves or lotions that you normally put on your face they’re totally ok to use as well but you do want to use a good SPF on your skin anytime you’re in the sun for good sun protection after having a laser treatment.
