Laser hair removal and braces don't mix!

A warning to those who are considering laser hair removal on their upper lip and/or chin: Braces and laser hair removal don't get along! I went for a laser hair removal treatment today to get rid of dark hair on my upper lip and chin (what woman wants to have a mustache and beard? haha) and things didn't turn out exactly as planned. This was my third treatment and I never had any problems before with my braces, but this time was different. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but somehow the energy from the laser caused the metal to heat up and burn the inside of my lower lip. Maybe the new surgical hooks and wire ties concentrated and reflected the laser's energy, or created more surface area to heat up, or the technician went closer to my lip than she had before. Who knows, but I knew immediately that something wasn't right because it hurt a lot more that usual, and when I felt the inside of my lip it was all blistered!

This could have easily been prevented by using some thick wax on the brackets, or rolling up a piece of paper towel or cotton balls and putting that inside my lip. This incident makes me wonder how safe laser hair removal is after jaw surgery. Would the laser interact with the plates and screws in your face and singe the tissue internally? This makes me cringe just thinking about it. 

In other news, I've discovered an awesome alternative to wax: Gishy Goo! I got a tube of it at my last ortho appointment in case the surgical hooks bothered me, but now I'll be using a lot more of it on this burn until it heals. It's wonderful because your teeth don't have to be dry before applying it, and it hardens onto the bracket so that it's very resistant to falling off. I've even had success eating with it. Maybe it will be useful after surgery to prevent mouth sores?