Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate both laser Alexandrite and Nd:YAG used as single treatment and in simultaneous emission for axillary hair removal. Introduction: Alexandrite laser is more adapted for lighter hair but not for darker skin, while the Nd:YAG laser is more suitable for darker skin but not for lighter hair. Materials / method: Ten patients (18–40 years old) were selected for this study. The spot size and pulse time were kept constant for all patients, 14 mm and 5 ms, respectively. The fluences were 20 to 28 J/cm2, 16 to 25 J/cm2, and 14–8 J/cm2 to 25–13 J/cm2 for Nd:YAG, alexandrite and the combined alex/YAG, respectively. Three treatment sessions were performed at 6-week interval, and patients were reviewed 4 months after the last session. Results: The median number of hairs reduced from 46.00 to 33.00 (p = .022) for alexandrite, from 44.50 to 30.00 (p = .02) for Nd:YAG and from 56.00 to 19.50 (p = .005) for alexandrite-Nd:YAG, equivalent to 46.70%, 27.74% and 70.12% median hair reduction, respectively. Conclusion: The simultaneous emission of both 755 nm and 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser is significantly more effective than a single laser treatment.