Syneron Comet

The Syneron Comet is a hair removal system built on Syneron's elos approach, which pairs optical energy with bipolar radiofrequency in the same pulse. In the Comet the optical source is an 810 nm diode laser. Syneron's annual reports date its introduction to the fourth quarter of 2004 in both the United States and other markets, and describe it as a platform for fast hair removal aimed at physicians, aestheticians and medical spas. The FDA cleared it with the Polaris DS under K041959 on November 8, 2004, for hair removal and permanent hair reduction on Fitzpatrick skin types I to VI, including tanned skin.

Syneron's 2005 specification sheet lists RF energy up to 50 J/cm3, laser fluence up to 50 J/cm2, a treated area of 12 by 15 mm, contact cooling at 5 degrees Celsius, a 30 kg platform measuring about 38 by 14 by 15 inches, and standard 110 volt power. Syneron released upgrades for the Comet in 2005.

Several Syneron systems from the same period combine a diode with RF, and sellers often mix them up. The Polaris uses a 900 nm diode for veins and wrinkles. The Galaxy, launched in May 2004, combines the Aurora light heads with the Polaris diode heads. The eLaser, introduced in 2006, has a DSL hair removal applicator with the same 810 nm wavelength and 12 by 15 mm treated area as the Comet, plus 900 nm vascular and wrinkle applicators. A unit whose label reads Comet and which takes one hair removal head is the Comet.

The Comet is a 2004-era design, so a buyer's questions center on whether it still runs and can be serviced. Expect to be asked whether the system boots and fires without error codes, the condition of the applicator's treatment surface, electrodes and cable, whether the cooling works, and when it was last serviced and by whom.