Hair Removal Guide Naomi Torres: Please tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Bob Grove: I am co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Tria Beauty. After receiving my Ph.D. in laser applications from MIT, I founded several companies, all involved with medical lasers. Prior to my position here, I was co-founder and CEO of Star Medical Technologies, the company that introduced the LightSheer diode laser system.
This laser rapidly became the "Gold Standard" for professional laser hair removal, against which all other systems are compared. The LightSheer contributed greatly in helping laser hair removal grow to its position as the number one use of lasers in medicine today.
Hair Removal Guide Naomi Torres: How many years of research and development did it take to release the Tria Laser to the public?
Bob Grove: We started Tria Beauty in 2003, and introduced our first laser hair removal system in 2005 in Japan. The Tria Laser Hair Removal System was launched in the US market in the Spring of 2008, following our FDA OTC clearance.
The Tria Laser was the first FDA-cleared laser for hair removal introduced to US consumers. Today it remains the only laser available over the counter, and is the only light-based hair removal system for consumers of any kind cleared to permanently eliminate unwanted hair.
Hair Removal Guide Naomi Torres: How would you compare using the Tria Laser system to getting professional laser hair removal treatments?
Bob Grove: Tria provides the same permanent results as professional laser hair removal. Both methods require a course of treatments over six to eight months, but with the Tria Laser these treatments can be done for a fraction of the cost, and in the privacy and convenience of your own home.
Hair Removal Guide Naomi Torres: Do you foresee the Tria laser being used for facial hair removal in the future?
Bob Grove: Facial hair, especially darker hair on a woman's upper lip, can be removed effectively and permanently with professional laser hair removal in a dermatologist's office. Since the Tria Laser uses the same technology as the best RX systems, and has comparable output parameters, we believe it will ultimately be cleared by the FDA for this important application as well. It is simply a matter of collecting sufficient clinical data and persevering through the lengthy FDA approval process.
Hair Removal Guide Naomi Torres: Are you going to be coming out with any other hair removal products?
Bob Grove: At the present time, the Tria Laser is not intended for use on individuals with dark skin. We would very much like to expand its use to this population as well so that they can permanently solve their unwanted hair problems like the tens of thousands of other women and men who have used our product. In the future, I have no doubt that people of color will be able to achieve safe, effective permanent hair removal at home, as people with white to light-brown skin do with the Tria Laser today.
