The word laser brings to mind images of science fiction spaceship fights, and other futuristic harmful uses. Lasers, however, are much more frequently used to help people rather than to harm them. The use of lasers in beauty treatments is a relatively new development, but their precise targeting and many different levels of strength make lasers an ideal tool in cosmetic procedures.

One of the first ways that lasers were used in beauty treatments was in laser hair removal. Performed even more frequently today. The laser is aimed at your skin and is pulsed at a point of dark pigment (the hair itself), which is meant to cause a thermal charge which destroys the hair follicle at the end of the hair. This causes the existing hair to fall out and also kills the hair follicle so that future hair cannot grow. Generally, light skinned individuals with dark hair tend to have the best results from laser hair removal, and the process is not as effective on blond, red or gray hair. If the laser hair removal is not done correctly, however, it can cause burns and other unwanted skin problems.

Lasers can also be used to remove unwanted skin decorations, as in tattoo removal. Tattoos have become more and more popular over the last few years, and people are also becoming more concerned with removing tattoos that were done in their youth. Laser tattoo removal is a process where a laser is aimed at the dark ink in the layers of your skin. The laser literally burns away this dark ink via a chemical reaction, causing the tattoo to disappear over several treatments. Tattoo removal generally works best on professional tattoos that were performed with dark colors of ink,

Lasers help doctors and cosmeticians everyday in their quest to make their patients look better. There are many other medical and scientific uses of lasers but the cosmetic industry definitely owes a big thank you to this technology.