Yes. Laser hair removal is safe on dark, black and brown skin, types V and VI included, when it is done on a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser set to reach the root. The burns people hear about come from a laser made for lighter skin, from treating over a tan, or from a session without cooling. At Muse we treat darker skin on the Nd:YAG side of the Candela GentleMax Pro, with cold air on the skin through the whole session, and we set it to reach the root, because a hair stops growing only when its root takes enough heat.
A hair removal laser heats melanin, the pigment that makes hair dark, and the heat runs down the hair to the root. Skin has melanin too, and darker skin has more of it near the surface. On a laser built for lighter skin, such as a 755 nm alexandrite, the skin's melanin takes the light along with the hair's, and that heat in the skin is the burn: a blister, or a patch that heals darker or lighter than the skin around it.
Three things make it likely:
The Candela GentleMax Pro is two lasers in one. Its 755 nm alexandrite is for lighter skin. Its 1064 nm Nd:YAG is for darker skin: the longer wavelength reaches deeper and leaves the melanin at the surface alone, so the heat goes to the root, where the hair is. It is FDA-cleared, and it is the laser we use for hair removal at all three clinics.
A special cooling system blows cold air on the skin through the session, on every skin tone. Most clients say a session feels like a light tingling. One client wrote in her review: "safe for women of color and PCOS! ... The laser has cooling attached which makes the entire session less painful for those w/ sensitive skin like mine."
The usual advice for darker skin is to keep the laser low. On a laser made for lighter skin that is the right call, because the skin is taking the heat too. It has a cost: a setting low enough to spare the skin may not heat the root enough to stop the hair, so the sessions add up and the hair grows back as it was. If you had laser somewhere else and your hair came back the same, ask which laser and which setting you were on.
On the Nd:YAG the melanin at the surface is out of the light's way, so the setting does not have to come down to spare the skin. We treat darker skin, types V and VI included, at the setting the hair needs, and on the Nd:YAG we can take it higher than most clinics do.
Ask the clinic which laser and which wavelength they will use on your skin. The answer you want is a 1064 nm Nd:YAG. A clinic with only an alexandrite, or only IPL, is the risk this page is about.
See a dermatologist before you book if you scar into raised scars (keloids), or have a rash, a wound or a skin condition on the area. Laser is not done during pregnancy; after a birth it can start from 3 to 4 months, and while breastfeeding we never treat the breast or areola.
On darker skin the first rule is the one that prevents a burn:
The full list for every treatment is on how to prepare for laser hair removal.
Normal is redness for 4 to 6 hours. A brown spot on the area may darken or crust lightly for a few days. Keep the area out of the sun and away from heat, and leave any crusting alone to come off by itself. Some hair sheds in the first week: that is the treated hair coming out.
Not normal is a blister, pain that grows instead of fading, open skin, or skin turning darker or lighter where there was no spot before. See a doctor or dermatologist the same day, or urgent care after hours, and call us on (312) 600-0705.
Most clients need 6 to 12 sessions, 4 to 6 weeks apart. The laser only reaches hair in its growth phase, and not every hair is growing at once, so each session catches the next set. Skin tone, hair color, genetics and hormones decide where in that range you land; hormonal hair on the chin, jaw and upper lip, as with PCOS, keeps starting new hairs, so face laser hair removal usually runs the full course.
After the second session the hair grows back slower and finer, so there is less to shave and fewer hairs growing back into the skin as ingrown hairs. A small area, such as the chin or upper lip, is a 30 minute session, and full body laser hair removal takes 60 to 90 minutes. Expect a long-lasting reduction, not permanent removal, kept with one maintenance session a year.
The consultation is free, and it includes a free trial, so you feel the Nd:YAG on your own skin and see how it settles before you plan a course. There we plan your areas and sessions with you. Every area, package and member price is on our laser hair removal prices, and laser hair removal cost in Chicago sets a single session against a package. Areas, results and the team are on laser hair removal in Chicago.
Every visit is by appointment, evenings and weekends included, on one number, (312) 600-0705, and all our aestheticians are licensed. Book a free consultation.