ANSES notes the increasingly frequent undesirable effects during the professional or home use of hair removal and lipolysis devices.
Permanent hair removal and lipolysis devices are not without danger, alert a report from the National Agency for Health, Food, Environment and Work Safety (ANSES). These devices using lasers or pulsed light to remove hair or cellulite can cause burns, pain or eye damage. Adverse effects all the more important to take into account as these acts are constantly increasing both at home and in medical offices and beauty institutes, notes the agency.
Strong growth stimulated by the variety of devices and technologies deployed on the market (laser, ultrasound, radiofrequency, refrigeration, etc.). “However, except for certain laser devices reserved for professional use, the marketing of devices for aesthetic purposes is not regulated with regard to their potential effects on health,” indicates ANSES.
Sometimes severe burns
And yet, mild undesirable effects are systematically reported in the studies analyzed within the framework of this expert appraisal. Regarding hair removal devices, immediate and localized inflammatory reactions are observed. These inflammations are of low intensity and disappear quickly. Burning sensations during the session are also reported. More serious, deep skin burns and eye burns are reported in the event of improper use of the devices. Eye damage can be explained by not wearing specific protective glasses.
For lipolysis devices aimed at eliminating cellulite, severe inflammation and pain are the most cited side effects. More rarely, users report the appearance of pigmentation, acne or crusts when using a laser diode, mechanical massages or cryolipolysis (destruction of fat cells by cold). With regard to the latter technique, redness, inflammation with edema and pain are immediately observed. But these effects regress rapidly, underlines ANSES, specifying in passing that “the principles of operation and efficiency of some of these devices have not been demonstrated”.
Better inform users
Faced with these undesirable effects, ANSES “recommends reviewing the regulatory framework associated with these cosmetic devices, in particular by applying to them the obligations currently associated with medical devices”. These requirements should make it possible to guarantee users “satisfactory levels of efficacy and safety”. The approval of these products must also be accompanied by prior information concerning these risks of undesirable effects.
ANSES also recommends evaluating the long-term effects of these technologies on the professionals who perform these acts. To date, the safety of dermatologists or beauticians has not yet been the subject of any published evaluation.
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