I spent some time with Susan Van Dyke, MD, yesterday, a board certified dermatologist interested in PCOS, who will soon be in our network. She demonstrated a new laser hair removal technique, LightSheer DUET, which is quicker and less painful than older laser techniques.
I know virtually nothing about what dermatologists do; in fact, the only thing I knew about laser treatments before yesterday was that people I know who have had them hated them because they were so painful. So I was curious to find out what this new procedure offered to inCYSTERs.
The pain from laser treatments comes from the heat in the laser beams. The earlier machines apparently had small surface areas, meaning quite a few laser shots had to be applied in order to cover a skin area. The newer"gun" is quite a bit larger, meaning far fewer"shots" need to be applied in order to do the job. In addition, the older machines were not as precise at hitting their target (the hair follicle), so a lot of the laser heat didn't hit the target and was wasted on surrounding tissue. The newer, more precise technique zaps pretty much what only needs to be zapped, meaning less skin heat…therefore far less pain.
I actually observed a procedure (which happened to be a man's back), a large surface area. The patient was relaxed and talked to us throughout the entire treatment, and a half hour later, had hardly any red skin. A very different experience than what friends of mine have described with the old technique.
When I tweeted yesterday that I was going to observe this procedure, an inCYSTER responded that laser hair removal was a useless exercise, because the hair grows back. That's likely true, if that's all you do! Laser hair reduction is permanent hair removal for currently existing hair, but there is still a need to work to balance hormones in order to alter the environment that promotes hair growth. What Dr. Van Dyke and I would like to do, is work together in a way that hair that is already there is removed with her DUET procedure, and then help these women learn new lifestyle choices that help to discourage the appearance of future hair.
It's going to be fun to work together, as I know this is a very distressing aspect of PCOS that affects self esteem, mood, etc…and that can lead to binge eating, which can only worsen the hair growth. The possibility that a simple dermatological procedure can help break this vicious cycle and jump start PCOS management in a positive direction, is very exciting.
You can learn more about Dr. Van Dyke at this link.