Does Laser Hair Removal Work With Tanned Skin?

If you have naturally tanned skin (and not from sunbathing) laser hair removal is the easiest way to remove unwanted hair on your body.

Tanned skin ranges in tone from a light tan to a deep and dark bronze tan. Two different wavelengths may be used for your laser hair removal depending on how tanned your skin is.

The two wavelengths to treat your skin would be the Alexandrite 755nm or Nd:YAG 1064nm wavelength. Your practitioner at your consultation will decide which is most suitable for you.

On the other hand suntanned skin from sunbathing can not have laser hair removal on until the suntan fades.

Below are some factors to consider before undergoing treatment for those people with tanned skin and suntanned skin

tanned skin and laser hair removal

There are certain requirements before undergoing laser which your consultant will discuss with you. Those with lighter skin and dark hair will be the easiest type of skin to undergo laser hair removal as fewer treatments are required because you can obtain better results.

This does NOT mean that if you are tanned you can’t be treated.

Developments to this treatment and technology mean that many clinics can treat tanned skin. Each case is different, and levels of effectiveness also differ.

Clients with tanned skin were traditionally not eligible to undergo LHR treatment as they are likely to absorb the light energy which could burn them. This would require treatment with the use of a specialised laser and the cost of this treatment would have been slightly higher.

However, this is no longer always the case so speaking to the clinic, you may discover your tanned skin can be treated for the same price as everyone else- although you may need more treatments over a course of more months.

suntanned skin and sunbeds

One person who had LHR treatments said,

“I always liked to use the sun beds to make my skin darker but when I knew I wanted laser hair removal I decided to stop on the beds for a while, so I could get the best results out of my hair removal treatments. I left it a few months after having the treatment before going on the beds again. This meant my treatment was successful with no side effects.”

It is generally advised that those with tanned skin allow the tan to fade before having LHR and avoid any interaction with sunbathing . If you can avoid tanning and burning your skin, you should.

With developments with laser hair removal technology and techniques constantly improving, it allows those with problematic or unsightly hair to get this removed once and for all.

For those with tanned skin, treatment may take longer but you can generally still see some effective results.