A two-stage hair region localization method for guided laser hair removal

Abstract

Removal of hair using laser is a widely used method, where our goal is to permanently remove hair by using laser to cause heat in order to thermally damage the hair follicle. However, currently available laser hair removal systems affect the outer skin layers besides hair follicles. This is a disadvantage of classical methods with major health risks. We propose a method to overcome these health risks by guiding the laser beam only to automatically localized hair regions. This study aims to develop an automated feature-based hair region localization method as an integral part of the proposed hair removal system utilizing laser, a first attempt in this area. The quantitative analysis and visual evaluation of the results obtained with the proposed technique shows that it is possible to automatically localize hair regions for guided laser hair removal. We believe this study, a first in this area, will open the way to researchers interested to attack this problem.