FASHION : Just Say Zap : Lasers Take Unwanted Hair Right Off--but Not in Time for Summer

Excess body hair is a year-round nuisance. But summer’s the season the hirsute really dream about a magic wand to zap all that overgrowth.

Now their “Star Wars” fantasy is close to reality. ThermoLase, a laser-based hair-removal system, got Food and Drug Administration approval for marketing last month. It’s meant for use on delicate skin, such as that on the face and bikini area, as well as the legs.

But the system probably won’t be generally available until the tail end of this beach season. By September or October, the first ThermoLase hair-removal salon is slated to open in La Jolla, says Joanne Kern, spokeswoman for ThermoLase Corp. of San Diego.

The two-step technology relies on a special laser and a proprietary lotion. The lotion is applied to the area being treated and penetrates the hair follicle. Then the laser is passed over. The lotion absorbs the laser wavelength, which destroys the hair without affecting surrounding tissue.

ThermoLase is expected to give stiff competition to electrolysis, in which fine sterile or stainless steel needles are inserted into the hair follicles and a small amount of electrical current is discharged to destroy the hair.

Soon after getting FDA approval, ThermoLase got a telephone call from the agency, asking it not to use the words painless, permanent or long-term to describe the procedure, says Sharon Snider, an FDA spokeswoman, noting that the FDA did not see scientific data to that effect.

Studies submitted to the FDA did track the results of ThermoLase treatments in 62 patients (and about 114 hair-growth sites) for three months, says Dr. David Goldberg, a Westwood, N.J., dermatologist and chief of dermatologic surgery at the New Jersey Medical School in Newark. He and a San Diego dermatologist, both working as independent investigators, conducted the clinical studies.

“At four weeks, 90% had significant improvement,” says Goldberg, who presented the study findings recently at an American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery meeting. “At 12 weeks, 60 to 70% had significant improvement. “It’s three to four times as fast as electrolysis,” he says, “and the discomfort levels cannot be compared.” There was a mean hair reduction of 50% at the three-month mark, ThermoLase says.

“Whether it’s permanent or not, we’re starting to look at [that issue] now,” Goldberg says. “I personally don’t think it has to be permanent to be a big seller.”

Electrologists, not surprisingly, are not impressed. “Electrolysis is the only scientifically proven permanent system of hair removal,” says Teresa Petricca, an electrologist and president of the American Electrology Assn.

But local dermatologists familiar with the ThermoLase technique give it a qualified thumbs-up. “I think it’s going to be better than electrolysis,” says Dr. Bernard Raskin, a Valencia dermatologist.

“Laser is probably a little bit faster and will produce less scarring [than electrolysis],” says Dr. Rhonda Rand, a Beverly Hills dermatologist. But ThermoLase is “not the be-all, end-all,” she says. “It will require multiple treatments. It’s not clear how permanent this will be.”

A physician, not a technician, should perform the laser technique, Rand says.