Remember, if you can see light at all, then yes, it is reflecting off of whatever surface you see it on. If the light did not reflect off of the match, then you simply would not see it. The match would just be a black shadow; you wouldnt be able to see it.
Always wear safety goggles when performing dangerous activities with a laser capable of outputting >5mW.
If you are burning ANYTHING, no matter what it is, even if the light doesn't seem too bright, wear the goggles.
If the light reflects into your eye, it WILL cause damage to your retina, and it WILL cause damage faster than the human eye can blink.
Once your eye is hit, there is no going back. Even if you are hit for the shortest of time, and you blink instantly, your eye will still be damaged. Although it is possible that the human eye can slightly heal itself after being damaged by light, it can't fix itself that much. If hit by a laser beam, the retina of your eye is damaged. This can cause partial blindness of the eye, often times characterized by having blind spots in your vision. Sometimes, you can't even tell that they are there. A good way to tell if you have blind spots is to look at a piece of paper with lots of words on it (like a newspaper) up close. You can sometimes see that you have a blind spot(s) if there are spots that you can not see that there is text on the paper.
In worse cases, a hit to the eye by a laser can cause total blindness.
A laser is very dangerous, and should be treated as if it were a loaded gun. Treat it as so. When using a laser, you should be aware of your surroundings; what is particularly shiny/reflective, what is not. When using a laser in close-quarters conditions, all persons in the room need to be wearing goggles. Yes, that means the operator, as well as all other people in the area.
At the moment, I would not suggest purchasing a laser. You need to educate yourself first. I had multiple years worth of laser knowledge before I ever actually bought one myself. My first high powered laser was a 100mW 532nm. Before I bought it, I knew exactly what it could do, and how easy it was to cause physical harm to myself or others. I knew about the physics behind the light of the laser itself. I knew all of the components within the laser, what they do and how it was set up. I knew the danger of direct hits, as well as reflections. The point is, I made sure that I was well educated before I put a laser into my own hands. You should do the same. I'm not saying you need to wait YEARS before buying a laser. But, give it time.
Also, just saying. I know a person that caused eye damage to himself after a direct hit with a 5mW laser, after long exposure to the eye. That is only 5mW. Imagine 200mW, 40 times stronger than a 5mW laser. That is some serious power, and is not to be toyed with.
Trust me, education is a must before handling a high powered laser, no matter how old you are. I have seen grown adults treat lasers like fools, all because they simply were not educated about them. And, for the record, I'm only 16. Proud hobbyist in the world of building and firing lasers. I could not have gotten to this point without the information that I had learned prior to purchasing my first laser. And, I learn new things about lasers just about every day.
Enjoy the hobby, my friend. Just make sure you enjoy it in the presence of a nice set of goggles.
