LAURA BEARD was flipping through a women's magazine when an advertisement caught her eye. It sounded simple enough: Aim a laser at individual blemishes -- in the privacy of one's home -- and the skin will clear up within a day or two.
The cost, $150, gave her only slight pause. If the device worked, it would save her the time and money she spent on acne treatments and dermatologist visits for herself and her daughter. "I have very dry skin, so I have to be careful about using acne remedies with benzoyl peroxide," says the 53-year-old Memphis woman. "This sounded so positive."
With the evolution of laser technology, do-it-yourself personal care has entered a new realm. Consumers can now calm acne flare-ups, plump facial wrinkles and restore thinning hair with a variety of hand-held devices. Others in development could treat superficial wounds, relieve pain and remove body hair.
"This field will grow because we have discovered how to channel the power of light and cause reactions in the skin and hair," says John Carullo, director of marketing for Sunetics, manufacturer of a hair-regrowth device. "It's quite an exciting industry, and it's on the verge of exploding."
Home hair and skin appliances using lasers or, in some cases, heat, can spare consumers from tiresome trips to the doctor's office and may be less costly, over time, than monthly in-office facials and hair treatments. But they won't work the same kind of magic that can be conjured up with more high-powered tools. And some may even be a waste of money.
"It's a matter of degree," says Dr. Harold Brody, a clinical professor of dermatology at Emory University in Atlanta. "If people are trying to treat mild conditions, it may help. But if it's something severe, they will need the help of a dermatologist."
The popularity of in-home treatments mirrors the use of medical devices by physicians, says Dr. Wendy E. Roberts, a Rancho Mirage dermatologist and assistant professor of medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center. "I think eventually these could be effective for home use," she says. "But right now, there are questions about the efficacy of some of these systems. There's a lot of hype."
Consumers may have especially high expectations for home lasers.
Lasers release a special form of light in a single wavelength; by contrast, normal daylight consists of varying wavelengths. Hot lasers, the kind used by health professionals in the treatment of skin resurfacing and tattoo removal, are high-energy devices that cause heat damage to the skin, triggering a healing response.
