BURLINGTON, Mass., May 25 -- According to the US Food and Drug Administration, people with dark skin can now safely use Palomar Medical Technologies' new dermatological laser. The Palomar super-long-pulse diode laser (SLP1000) is a new-generation laser system capable of removing unwanted hair from the human body. The SLP1000 was previously thought to be unsafe, ineffective, or both for people with dark skin tones; including Asian, Latino, African American and other skin types. Leading the study on the effects that very-long and super-long-pulses have on dark skin was Elliot F. Battle Jr. MD, a research fellow at Wellman Labs and a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical school. Battle concluded that: The combination of long and very long laser pulses and aggressive cooling of the skin has finally made laser hair removal of all skin types safe and efficacious, regardless of skin color or ethnicity. We can now offer the same level of treatment to all our patients. In addition to receiving clearance for hair removal, the SLP1000 was deemed safe for use in the treatment of other dermatological conditions such as; vascular and pigmented lesions, as well as facial, spider and leg veins. This type of laser dermatology is the result of research done by Palomar in conjunction with Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.