Laser hair removal treatments can put you at an increased cancer risk

Using laser treatments for hair removal can prove to be cancerous, warn researchers, who claim that it is the worst for those who are regularly exposed to smoke.

Using laser treatments for hair removal can prove to be cancerous, warn researchers, who claim that it is the worst for those who are regularly exposed to smoke.

According to experts, the smoke from burning hair contains chemicals that contaminate the air and is known to cause cancer, the Daily Mail reported.

Dr Gary Chuang of the University of California said: “Laser hair removal performed by improperly trained personnel or in an inadequately equipped facility will put both the healthcare workers and patients at risk.”

He added that the procedures should only be performed in spaces with “an adequate air filtration system and a smoke evacuator.”

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The team collected hair samples from two volunteers, sealed the samples in glass jars, treated them with a laser and captured 30 seconds of laser “plume”.

The researchers conclude that the burning-hair plume released during laser hair treatment should be considered a “biohazard, warranting the use of smoke evacuators, good ventilation, and respiratory protection.”

The study is published in JAMA Dermatology.

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