The Viability of Laser Hair Removal to a Medical-Aesthetic Practice

By HL Greenberg, MDThe hardest part of any business is getting people in the door. How are you going to turn your laser hair removal machine from a doorstop into a productivity powerhouse? There are few things that I find more frustrating than having a patient say something to me like, “I didn’t know you had laser hair removal here, I’ve been getting it done someplace else.” Or, “I had my laser hair removal procedure performed someplace else, but was wondering if you would be able to treat the complication (burn, folliculitis, hyper or hypopigmentation) I received from their machine?” Every patient who enters my practice should know that we offer laser hair removal.A VIABLE OPTION
Is laser hair removal viable in a medical-aesthetic practice? Absolutely, yes! Does having a laser hair removal machine mean that it is going to be instantly successful and pay for itself? Absolutely not! You need a strategy to feed your machine and generate revenue. Nothing makes me happier in my practice than when I want the laser aesthetician to join me in the room for a consult and she is unable to do so because she is busy firing the laser. My vision is for the lasers I own to be firing all day long; we are not yet at goal.What is a reasonable strategy for your laser hair removal business? First and foremost, you need excellent technology. At Las Vegas Dermatology, we have two lasers for hair removal—a 755nm Alexandrite Laser for light skinned patients and a 1064nm Nd:YAG laser for darker skinned patients—both by Cynosure. Some people like an 810nm diode machine and others like IPL devices for hair removal, but I don’t find them as effective as our machines.Read more at Modern Aesthetics.