Hair Removal Business

Hair Removal Market 
Hair removal by laser, fact or fiction? Despite the lack of long-term study results and the limitations placed on the technology by skin type variability, the light-based hair removal market is booming. And if corporate sales projections are to be believed, there's no bust in sight.

Hair Removal Treatments 
At least 10 laser companies now vie for the attention of users and the reasons are clear: A significant segment of the populace seems eager to part with large amounts of discretionary income for hair removal treatments (despite scant proof of long-term efficacy), and physicians are happy to oblige.

EpiLaser 
Air compaines like Coherent Medical now holds the exclusive worldwide rights to market Palomar's EpiLaser - handling sales, service and clinical education. The EpiLaser is a long-pulse ruby system selling for up to $140,000. About 200 units are in place worldwide, according to Steve Duddy, manager of business development at Coherent.

Melanin Within The Hair Follicle
He said another 300 of these systems wild be sold this year. Equipped with a patented contact cooling handpiece to protect the epidermis and reduce thermal injury, the EpiLaser targets melanin within the hair follicle. Coherent emphasizes the fact that long-pulsed ruby lasers require no pre-procedure application of cleansers, waxes, gels or carbon-based suspensions.

Ruby Laser Hair Removal 
However, ruby laser users note that skin type screening is critical, and many recommend a pre-laser skin bleaching regimen. A small data series showed permanent hair removal in 25% of EpiLaser patients, according to the company. Critics point out that the study was too small for any definitive conclusions, and that the laser's 3 millisecond pulse length is a suboptimal treatment parameter. A larger study of ruby laser hair removal is currently under way.

YAGs
Hair removal Thermolase and Continuum Biomedical both are banking on Q-switched Nd:YAGs to capture physician favor. Q-switched YAGs must be used in conjunction with a topical carbon-based suspension, which is massaged into the area to be treated.

Collateral Damage Is Minimized
The 1064-nm laser energy selectively destroys carbon particles adjacent to the follicle, and subsequently damages the follicle itself. Published data from small studies show hair growth delays after three months. The highly targeted nature of this treatment means that collateral damage is minimized, according to proponents, because the deeply penetrating beam passes through the skin before vaporizing the carbon particles embedded in the follicles.

SoftLight Hair Removal System 
But, as is true of all laser hair-removal systems, the final verdict is not in. Physicians cannot purchase the Thermolase laser, They can, however, license the company's entire SoftLight Hair Removal System for a $10,000 advance fee and subsequent per-procedure royalties ranging from $5 to $150 for a two-treatment visit. 

Hair Removal Business: 
We think our approach helps physicians penetrate the market more than they could alone," says Charlie Wittenberg, vice president. "We've created a business proposition where we will only make money if we keep patients coming into the doctor's office, and that requires us to maintain strong marketing efforts

Less Risk
Hair removal by laser is the safest way contends Wiener , creating "appreciably less risk" of skin damage compared with ruby or alexandrite lasers. "These procedures have to be as safe as possible to be accepted," he said. "With the YAG, patients can return for additional treatments without any risk of hypo- or hyper-pigmentation. That's not the case with ruby lasers, where there is a risk of adverse effects.

Thermal Relaxation
Since December 1996, this company reportedly shipped more than 185 alexandrite units at an average price of $139,000. "What separates us from the group is that we can deliver high energy to the follicles without doing collateral damage," says Hubert. The pulse width of the alexandrite is shorter than the thermal relaxation time of the relatively large hair follicle and significantly longer than the relaxation time of smaller surrounding structures.

Pigment Changes 
Such versatility makes the system highly effective for a wide variety of hair and skin colors, according to Kathy Rada, product manager. Clinicians who conducted clinical trials with the EpiLight said that this modality is effective in removing hair after one treatment, though results vary with hair color; darker hair reacts more favorably. In addition, researchers reported that the likelihood of pigment changes to the skin was low.  
 
Note: Image(s) the courtesy of http://www.dreamstime.com.