Another thing that is keeping manufacturers afloat is the consumable element of every purchase. The system was once all about the capital purchase, but now the system carries both a capital and consumable component, meaning the laser is associated with a specific price, and certain components of the laser, such as disposable tips or fibers, need to be replaced on an ongoing basis.

Don't let the past get under your skin


There are a variety of lasers on the market for surgical and cosmetic purposes. Some of these include the carbon dioxide laser, the neodymium and erbium YAG lasers, and a range of lasers using holmium, argon, alexandrite, diode and pulsed dye technology. Surgical and cosmetic lasers such as the C02 and erbium YAG lasers can be aggressively ablative or non-ablative. An ablative laser utilizes a brief burst of energy at the skin. The energy heats water within the skin's cells, vaporizing the tissue and water contained within it. Some popular uses for this technology help people to erase past mistakes - literally.

In the cosmetic industry, removing the lapse in judgment tattooed on that left buttock or zapping the fuzzy to outright hirsute, are two of the great procedural mainstays. Tattoo removal requires an ablative laser. In medi-spas, aggressively ablative lasers are employed in acne treatments and the removal of everything from relatively innocuous warts to precancerous lesions. In recent years, fractional laser treatments have become a popular choice because while they involve ablative technology, the tissue damage is limited to a finely focused area. These lasers are often used to treat vascular lesions like spider veins and birthmarks.

Almost everyone surveyed in the industry remarked that a lot of what was previously conducted with a laser is now being done with intense pulsed light (IPL) systems, which are minimally invasive and offer a far more comfortable experience.

The way of the minimally invasive

Russell says that one of the main reasons, if not the main reason, why patients don't return for more treatment is due to the pain associated with cosmetic procedures. That is the primary reason why technology is moving toward the more subtle and less painful.

"We're seeing an overall trend toward minimally invasive procedures," says Russell. "A lot of these are almost giving invasive-type results. Those $2,000 to $3,000 fractional procedures are now gone. It was the hottest thing a year ago, but people are not spending that kind of money anymore."

More Industry Reports