Laser platform

The GentleMax Pro Plus, two wavelengths in one platform

Candela's GentleMax Pro Plus pairs a 755 nm alexandrite laser with a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser and cools the skin with a burst of cryogen before every pulse. Having both wavelengths on one machine means the treatment can be matched to your skin and to the target, rather than the other way around. Dr. Paul Kuzel uses it for hair removal, vascular lesions, pigmented lesions and skin rejuvenation.

Book a consultation Call (403) 286-6888

What it is

One device, two lasers, chosen by target and by skin

A laser works by putting energy into one specific thing in the skin and heating it faster than the surrounding tissue can carry the heat away. The thing it heats is called the chromophore. For hair and for brown spots the chromophore is melanin. For a broken capillary or a leg vein it is the haemoglobin inside the vessel. Different wavelengths of light are absorbed by those targets to very different degrees, and they reach different depths.

755 and 1064Two wavelengths, in nanometres
6 to 8Typical hair removal sessions
Every pulseCryogen cooling before the laser fires
755 nm Alexandrite

Strong melanin absorption, shallower reach

Melanin absorbs 755 nm light strongly. That makes the alexandrite efficient and comparatively comfortable when there is a clear contrast between a dark target and pale surrounding skin.

  • Fine, light or sparse hair that a longer wavelength struggles to grip
  • Sun spots, freckling and other superficial pigmented lesions
  • Fitzpatrick skin types I to III, where background melanin is low
  • Small superficial facial vessels in lighter skin
1064 nm Nd:YAG

Weak melanin absorption, deeper reach

At 1064 nm, melanin absorbs far less of the light, so the pigment in the epidermis is largely bypassed and the energy travels deeper. That is the whole reason this wavelength exists on the platform.

  • Laser hair removal in Fitzpatrick types IV to VI, where 755 nm carries real risk
  • Deeper and larger vessels, including leg veins and thicker facial vessels
  • Coarse, deeply rooted hair on the beard, back and bikini
  • Non-ablative rejuvenation, warming the dermis without breaking the surface
Why having both matters. A clinic with only a 755 nm device has to either turn patients with darker skin away or push settings that are not safe for them. A clinic with only a 1064 nm device gives up efficiency on fine hair and on superficial pigment. With both in one platform the wavelength becomes a clinical decision made at the chair, and on some patients both are used in the same visit on different areas.

Who it suits

What we treat on it, and where it is the wrong tool

Reasonable reasons to be booked on this platform

  • Unwanted hair on the face, neck, underarms, chest, back, bikini or legs. See the full laser hair removal page for how that course is planned.
  • Darker skin tones seeking hair removal, treated on the Nd:YAG rather than being told the treatment is not available.
  • Broken capillaries, cherry angiomas, facial redness and some leg veins. More detail on the vascular and pigmented lesions page.
  • Sun-induced brown spots on the face, chest, forearms and hands, once they have been examined and found to be benign.
  • Diffuse redness and mild textural change where a gentle non-ablative approach is appropriate.
  • Pseudofolliculitis, the ingrown hair and razor bump problem, where reducing the hair reduces the cause.

When we will say no, or send you elsewhere first

  • White, grey, red or very blonde hair. There is no melanin to absorb the light, so neither wavelength will work.
  • A recent tan, a sunbed session, or self-tanner still on the skin. This is a burn risk, not a preference.
  • Any pigmented lesion that has not been diagnosed. A brown spot gets looked at before it gets lasered.
  • Active infection, open skin, or a cold sore in the treatment area on the day.
  • Isotretinoin taken recently, photosensitizing medication, or a history of keloid scarring, all of which change the plan.
  • Pregnancy. There is no evidence of harm, but we defer elective laser rather than treat without need.
  • Melasma, which can be worsened by heat. Read the melasma page, and expect a different approach, often PicoWay.
Pigmented lesions are a medical question before they are a cosmetic one. Dr. Kuzel is a Royal College certified dermatologist who also does skin cancer surgery. A laser will remove the visible pigment from a lesion without removing the lesion itself. If that lesion was an early melanoma, its appearance has been destroyed and the diagnosis has been delayed, sometimes by years. Every brown spot proposed for laser treatment here is examined first, and anything that does not read as a straightforward benign lentigo is biopsied rather than treated.

What happens

Skin typing, a test patch, then the course

The safety of this treatment is decided before the laser is switched on. Most laser injuries are not equipment failures. They are the result of settings that did not match the skin in front of the operator.

  1. Skin typing, done properly

    Fitzpatrick typing asks how your skin behaves in the sun, and it is a starting point rather than an answer. Two people can both call themselves type IV and have very different amounts of melanin sitting in the epidermis on the day of treatment. We assess your baseline colour, your recent sun exposure, your ethnic background, your tendency to darken after any injury to the skin, and whether you have ever had a pigment change after a burn, a spot or a previous laser. That last question predicts trouble better than the questionnaire does.

  2. History and medication review

    Photosensitizing medication, recent isotretinoin, gold-containing drugs, a history of cold sores in the area, keloid tendency, current pregnancy, previous laser reactions and any recent tan all change the settings or delay the treatment. Tattoos and permanent makeup in the field are covered or avoided, because ink absorbs the light violently.

  3. A test patch, and then a wait

    A small area is treated at the intended settings, usually somewhere inconspicuous within or near the treatment zone. The point is not the immediate reaction. The point is what the skin does over the following days. Redness and swelling around the follicles settle quickly, but post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation takes several days to declare itself, and a blister may not be obvious for a day. Waiting roughly a week before treating a full area is how a small, contained problem is prevented from becoming a large one. In darker skin types this step is not optional here.

  4. The treatment itself

    Everyone in the room wears wavelength-specific eye protection, including you. The area is shaved for hair removal, cleaned, and mapped. The handpiece is placed against the skin, and each pulse begins with a millisecond burst of cryogen delivered by the dynamic cooling device, then the laser fires, then the handpiece moves on. Sessions run from about ten minutes for an upper lip to an hour or more for a full back or both legs.

  5. What it feels like

    The usual description is a cold flick followed by a hot snap, like an elastic band against the skin. The cryogen makes the surface briefly, sharply cold, which both protects the epidermis and takes the edge off the sting. The 1064 nm Nd:YAG at hair removal settings feels deeper and hotter than the 755 nm alexandrite, more of a dull hot pinch than a sharp one. Most people manage without any numbing cream. Bony areas, the upper lip and the bikini line are the ones people find sharpest.

  6. The course

    Hair removal usually takes six to eight sessions, spaced four to six weeks apart on the face and six to eight weeks apart on the body, because only follicles in the active growth phase can be destroyed and only a fraction are in that phase at any moment. Vascular and pigmented lesions often respond in one to three sessions. Rejuvenation is generally a series of three to five. Maintenance sessions are common after a hair removal course finishes, particularly on hormonally driven facial hair.

Afterwards and risks

What is normal, and what is not

There is no meaningful downtime from a correctly performed treatment. Most people go back to work the same day. The honest part of this page is the section below it.

Expected, and settles

  • Redness and warmth for a few hours to a day.
  • Small raised bumps around each follicle after hair removal, which look like goosebumps and settle within a day or two. This is a sign the follicles absorbed energy.
  • Treated brown spots darkening, going almost coffee coloured, then flaking off over one to two weeks. Do not pick them.
  • Treated vessels turning grey, darker or briefly bruised before clearing over two to six weeks.
  • Hairs appearing to grow out over the following one to three weeks. They are being shed, not growing.

Real risks, stated plainly

  • Burns and blistering. The most common serious complication, and almost always the result of too much energy for the amount of melanin present, a tanned patient treated anyway, cooling that was not working, or overlapping pulses. A burn on the neck or face can scar.
  • Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Darkening of the treated skin, more common in types IV to VI and after any burn. It usually fades over months, but months is a long time on a face.
  • Hypopigmentation. Loss of pigment leaving pale patches. Less common, slower to recover, and sometimes permanent.
  • Scarring. Uncommon, and normally follows a blister that became infected or was picked.
  • Paradoxical hypertrichosis. Rare, but real. Hair becomes coarser rather than finer, most often on the face, neck and jawline, most often in women with darker skin or an underlying hormonal driver. It is treated by changing wavelength and settings rather than by continuing the same course.
  • Cryogen injury. The cooling itself can cause a cold burn if the spray duration or the delay to the pulse is set wrongly.
  • Eye injury. Both wavelengths will damage a retina. Eye protection is worn for the whole session by everyone in the room, without exception.
  • Cold sore reactivation after treatment around the mouth, which is why antiviral cover is prescribed to people with a history.
Aftercare is short and it matters. Cool the area if it feels hot, use a bland moisturiser, no hot showers, saunas, hot yoga or gym for 24 to 48 hours, no scrubbing or exfoliating acids for a few days, and broad spectrum sunscreen on any exposed treated skin every day for the whole course. Sun exposure between sessions is the single most common reason a course has to be paused or the settings dropped. If a blister forms, do not open it, and call the clinic.

Questions

What patients actually ask

Can I have laser hair removal if I have dark skin?
Usually yes, on the 1064 nm Nd:YAG rather than the 755 nm alexandrite. At 1064 nm the light is absorbed far less by the melanin in the epidermis, so the energy reaches the follicle without cooking the surface on the way. It is still a treatment that requires careful skin assessment, conservative starting settings and a test patch, and it is not appropriate if you are currently tanned. Being told by another clinic that your skin type cannot be treated usually means that clinic only owns one wavelength.
How many sessions will I need?
For hair removal, plan on six to eight sessions, spaced four to six weeks apart on the face and six to eight weeks apart on the body. The spacing exists because only hairs in the active growth phase can be destroyed and only some of your follicles are in that phase at any given time. Vascular and pigmented lesions often clear in one to three sessions. Rejuvenation is generally a series of three to five. Hormonally driven facial hair frequently needs maintenance sessions after the initial course.
Does it hurt?
Most people describe a cold flick followed by a hot snap, like an elastic band against the skin. The cryogen burst that fires immediately before each pulse takes a noticeable amount of the sting away. The 1064 nm Nd:YAG feels deeper and hotter than the 755 nm alexandrite. Numbing cream is rarely needed, though the upper lip, the bikini line and bony areas are the ones people find sharpest. If a pulse feels genuinely painful rather than sharp, say so during the session, because that is information about the settings.
Why do you insist on a test patch when other clinics do not?
Because the reaction that matters is not the one you can see in the treatment room. Redness and follicular swelling appear immediately and mean very little. A blister can take a day to show, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation takes several days to declare itself. Treating a small patch and waiting about a week means that if your skin reacts badly, the problem is the size of a coin instead of the size of your back. In darker skin types and in anyone with a history of pigment change after injury, this step is not optional here.
What does it cost?
Cost depends on the area treated, how many areas are treated in the same visit, and how many sessions your case realistically needs, so it is quoted at consultation rather than published as a single figure. A small facial area and a full back are not comparable treatments. Laser for cosmetic concerns is not covered by Alberta Health Care. You will be given the per session cost and an estimate of the full course before anything is booked.
Is laser hair removal permanent?
The accurate term is permanent hair reduction. Follicles that are destroyed do not come back, and most people see a large and lasting drop in density and in the coarseness of what remains. What laser cannot do is prevent follicles that were dormant from becoming active later, which is why hormonal changes, pregnancy, polycystic ovary syndrome and some medications can produce new hair after a successful course. Occasional maintenance sessions handle that. Anyone promising total permanent removal is overselling.
I have just been on holiday. Can I still be treated?
Not while you are tanned. A tan means extra melanin sitting in the epidermis, and melanin is exactly what the laser is aimed at, so the same energy that was safe on your untanned skin will now be absorbed at the surface and can burn you. That applies to sunbed tans and to self-tanner residue as well, which is why we ask you to stop self-tanning two weeks before a session and to scrub off any remaining product. Depending on how deep the tan is, expect to wait two to four weeks.
How likely is a burn, and what happens if I get one?
A burn is uncommon when skin typing, settings and cooling are handled properly, and it is the most common serious complication when they are not. If a blister or a burn does occur, contact the clinic rather than managing it yourself. It is kept clean and covered, not opened and not picked, and you are seen. Most heal without a mark. The ones that scar are usually the ones that got infected or were picked. Being a dermatology practice, the follow-up for a skin injury happens here rather than being referred out.

Next step

Start with a consultation

The consultation is where your skin gets typed, your history gets taken, the right wavelength gets chosen and a test patch gets booked. Bring a list of your medications and tell us about any previous laser treatment, including anything that did not go well.

Dr. Paul Kuzel, MD FRCPC
Rejuvenation Dermatology Calgary South
10201 Southport Rd SW #102, Calgary AB T2W 4X9
(403) 286-6888

Book a consultation Call (403) 286-6888

Related pages: laser hair removal, vascular and pigmented lesions, PicoWay, cryotherapy, RF microneedling.

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