Effectiveness of short-pulse width Nd:YAG in laser hair reduction.

Introduction: Laser hair reduction (LHR) is a safe and effective way of reducing unwanted hairs over body. Long-pulse Nd:YAG laser has over the years, been proven to be particularly safe and effective in darker skin types. While conventionally, long-pulse Nd:YAG laser has been used, recently short-pulse width Nd:YAG laser of 0.6-1.6 ms which is 10-50 times less than the standard method (long-pulse) of Nd:YAG LHR, has become available.

Objectives: To study the effectiveness of short-pulse width Nd:YAG laser in LHR in Indian patients.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted over a period of 1 year. Fifty female patients with fitzpatrick skin type 3-5 were included. Patients underwent four sessions of LHR, with an interval of 6 weeks and then follow up was done for 6 months after the last session.

Results: The mean age of patient was 29.92 years ranging from 17 to 48 years. After finishing four sessions of LHR procedure 58%, 34%, 6%, and 2% of the patients showed excellent, good, moderate, and poor improvement respectively. No complications were seen during the treatment and after follow-up. Statistical analysis by paired t test showed the results to be statistically significant.

Conclusion: Hair reduction using unique short-pulse width Nd:YAG laser is easy to use, safe, and effective in Indian skin.