Serenity machine makes hair removal virtually painless

By Jamie Durant
Morning News Health/Environmental Reporter
Published: May 1, 2008

Emily Stewart of Florence, had grown up with severe ingrown hairs on her legs, leading her to consider laser hair removal. “It was really embarrassing,” she said. “It just got to the point where for several years I didn’t wear shorts, even in South Carolina weather. I never went swimming or did anything during the summer because it was so embarrassing.”
She turned to Susan Zavell, a registered nurse and licensed esthetician, and her staff at Heavenly Skin, a local skin care salon and spa. But despite all the pampering Stewart received, the process was still incredibly painful.
“I cried the whole time and made my mom hold my hand,” Stewart said.
Zavell said it actually got a little worse than just crying, though.
“Emily was one — out of all the people I have done this on — of the people who required Xanax and Percocet before and during the procedure.”
She said gradually the process had gotten better, but it was still pretty painful.
Zavell told Stewart that a new development in hair removal technology would make the procedure virtually pain-free.
Serenity, a machine produced by Candela, uses suction to pull the skin into a rectangular nozzle which forces the blood from the area and by doing so, turns off pain receptors going to the brain from the area.
“Candela has a patent on this new device,” Zavell said. “It holds the skin up into this sapphire plate. It pushes the blood out of the area, removing the color the laser is looking for to make it easier for the laser to hit the target.”
Zavell said the best thing about it is that it interrupts the nerve impulse that goes to the brain to tell a person they are in pain.
It also makes the process go faster, she said. The previous day, Zavell had performed the new painless laser hair removal on a man’s back.
“We did most of it with the new device,” she said. “I had a few areas left over that I needed to touch up.”
She said the man told her that, pain-wise, there was a big difference between the new process and the old one.
Zavell said that people who previously had thought of laser hair removal as too painful, are now reconsidering the procedure.
“I love it, love it, love it,” Zavell said.
The new device, combined with the two different wavelength lasers being used at Heavenly Skin, likewise allows people of color to utilize hair removal processes. In the past, anyone with darker skin tones potentially could suffer from severe scarring if they attempted laser hair removal. But Zavell said those days are gone thanks to the new technology.
“Both lasers (we use here) are FDA approved for all skin types,” Zavell said. “But they are not equally effective on all skins types.”
And with Serenity, there is less bumpiness left behind on the skin, making the results virtually instantaneous. Zavell said the only potential side effect, which does not occur in every patient, is some slight bruising at the hair removal site. The bruises begin to dissipate within days of the procedure.
After Stewart had the remaining hair on her legs removed via Serenity, she said the difference was amazing. Each time a hair was “zapped,” there was a pulsing noise combined with a beep, followed by the slight scent of singed hair to let Zavell know she was hitting her target.
“I wanted her to experience the difference,” Zavell said. “She knows what it feels like without the Serenity; I wanted her to know how it feels with it.”
Stewart said she really couldn’t feel much of anything at all with the new machine.
“I can feel the suction, but that’s about it,” she said. “The first time it felt like someone was taking a rubber band and snapping it repeatedly on my leg. But with (Serenity) I can’t feel anything but the suction.”
For Stewart and others like her, the new painless removal system offers a new lease on life.
“I wear skirts and dresses and shorts now all the time,” Stewart said. “It really did change my lifestyle a lot.”