Naturally dark skin is suited to laser hair removal: there is a long part of the spectrum for it, diode and neodymium, the specialist sets the power, and the result is the same as on light skin. A fresh tan is a different story: you need to wait two weeks for it to fade, and only then have a session. The difference between these two cases is fundamental, and it is worth understanding before the first visit!
Why skin colour matters at all
The laser looks for pigment, melanin. There is a lot of it in dark hair, and that is exactly why the hair heats up and the follicle is destroyed. But there is melanin in the skin too. The darker the skin, the more light it takes for itself instead of the hair. The skin heats up more, the hair gets less, and the risk of burns and pigment spots appears.
Dermatologists divide skin into six phototypes: from type one, very light, which burns in 10 minutes in the sun, to type six, very dark. The first three types are the simplest for laser. From type four you need a long wavelength, lower power and good cooling. Types five and six call for special care, more on them below.
Sources: StatPearls (NCBI), 2023
Dark skin: what changes in the treatment
The main thing is the wavelength. The alexandrite range, 755 nm, is absorbed by pigmented skin far too readily. Diode, 808-810 nm, goes deeper and touches the skin less, and neodymium, 1064 nm, hardly notices skin pigment at all. A hybrid laser emits the whole spectrum at once, from alexandrite to neodymium, and in the dark-skin mode most of the energy goes into its long part.
Second: power and pulse length. The specialist sets them for your phototype and hair. On dark skin the energy is delivered more gently and spread out over time, so the hair has time to heat up but the skin does not. Contact cooling keeps the skin surface cold at the same time, and the flash feels calmer.
Third: observation. At the first visit the specialist examines the skin and starts with a cautious setting, checks the reaction after a few minutes or, if needed, the next day, and adjusts the power at every following visit.
Will the result be worse
No, if the hair is dark. The contrast between dark hair and dark skin is smaller than on light skin, so the power is lower, and sometimes the course ends up 1-2 sessions longer. But the end result is the same: the hair stays away for a long time, and maintenance sessions are needed 1-2 times a year.
A different combination works worse: light or red hair on dark skin. There is little pigment in the hair and a lot in the skin, and the laser has nothing to grab. A good specialist will tell you this at the consultation, not after the fifth session.
Very dark skin: phototypes five and six
For the darkest skin dermatologists consider the neodymium range, 1064 nm, the standard: skin pigment hardly absorbs it. A hybrid laser has this range, but on its own it is no guarantee. Phototypes five and six are handled very carefully: minimum power, the skin reaction after 24 hours and only then a decision about the course. Every following session is monitored, and if the skin reacts with spots, the course is stopped. A burn and spots across a whole area are worse than one wasted visit, which is why some salons do not work with phototype six at all, and that is normal practice.
Sources: Skin of Color Society, StatPearls (NCBI), 2023
A tan: why it is something else entirely
Dark skin is dark all the time, and its melanin is spread evenly. A tan is fresh melanin the skin has produced in response to ultraviolet. It lies unevenly, and the skin itself is already irritated after the sun: some cells are damaged, the vessels are dilated. A flash on such skin causes a burn, and then spots, dark or, on the contrary, light, and they last for months.
So there is one rule for all phototypes: two weeks without active sun or sunbeds before a session and two after. A tan from a holiday in Egypt, three days at the cottage without sunscreen, a sunbed "for an even colour" before a bikini session: all of these postpone the visit. Self-tanner too: it colours the top layer of the skin, and the laser sees it as pigment. Wash it off and wait until the colour is completely gone, usually a week.
What happens if you come with a tan
The specialist will look at the skin and compare it with untreated areas. If the tan is light and even, the power will be lowered, but the effect drops with it: the session goes ahead, but less hair goes. If the tan is fresh and noticeable, the visit is moved two weeks on. No decent salon will flash sunburnt skin: pigment spots after a burn sometimes never go away, and the American Academy of Dermatology warns about this too.
Sources: American Academy of Dermatology
How to do a course in summer
Bikini and underarms work great in summer: the sun hardly reaches these areas, and a tan does not get in the way. Legs, arms, face, belly and cleavage in summer take discipline: SPF 50 on the treated area every day, and sessions between holidays.
If you want smooth legs for next summer, start the course in autumn. From September to May there is no tan, the gaps between sessions are regular, and by June you arrive with a finished result, leaving only sun protection for the summer.
What we advise
Before the first visit tell the specialist about holidays, sunbeds and self-tanner in the last two weeks, it affects the settings more than it seems. Ask which ranges the device has: dark skin needs diode and neodymium, and it is good if there is contact cooling.
Between sessions do not alternate the beach and the laser, otherwise the specialist has to set the power from scratch every time. And protect the treated area from the sun for two weeks after every session, with SPF 50 or clothing. Then dark skin gets the same result as light skin!
Reviewed by: MEDULLA team