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| Tanned Skin Laser Hair Removal |  Throughout its first years of popularity, laser hair removal rates of success were very restricted for patients with dark skin types. Nevertheless, the treatment process has been improved over time with the help of skin cooling devices and the use of longer wavelength lasers to afford safer, more effective treatment for those with darker skin. Moreover, risks of burning and hyper pigmentation have been diminished with these improvements. Lots of patients don’t actually realize that tanning also affects laser hair removal treatments.
Laser Light Energy and Tanned Skin
Patients with tanned skin have been generally discouraged from traditional laser hair removal treatments for the reason that tanning changes their natural skin pigmentation. For the duration of a laser hair removal procedure, light energy is aimed to the skin where the unwanted hair is placed. The skin takes up some of the laser energy before it gets the hair follicles.
The amount of absorbed energy will be determined by the skin color. As a rule tanned skin will absorb surplus amounts of light energy and can lead to burning or discoloration after treatment. Because of this, to treat a tanned patient, the laser energy must be turned down to prevent burning. This, in turn, reduces the efficiency of the light energy to destroy unwanted hair follicles.
Solutions for Patients with Tanned Skin
Fortunately, there are two possible solutions for those with tanned skin, as described below:
 The first solution is the following – a patient can wait until their tan fades before planning a laser hair removal treatment. Sure waiting can be annoying, but it's much better than wasting their money for a treatment that's not going to be successful. By having a treatment while the skin is still tan, you increase risk that the treatment will not remove all the unwanted hair, or the treatment can lead to uncomfortable side effects like burning or skin discoloration. Direct sun exposure can be avoided by wearing a sunscreen that has SPF 15 or higher while outdoors.
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