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The Facts
About Laser Hair Removal
In order to remove hair permenantly the blood supply
to the hair must be eliminated thus restricting the nutrients
necessary for hair growth. Electrolysis exposes the hair follicle
with a burst of heat energy, which stops the nutirents to the
hair. The hair falls out and in many cases will not grow back.
The problem with electrolysis is that it is time consuming and
covers a very small area. Another problem with most electrolysis
machines is that the heat energy from the needle can affect the
surrounding skin causing hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation.
The one advantage with electrolysis is that it is the only effective
method in removing blond, white or light colored hair.
The Inferred Altus Coolglide
Laser penetrates deep, delivering higher focused energy
to deeper follicles associated with thicker hair, ie. armpits,
bikini, legs, chin and other facial hair chest and back. The discomfort
is similar in all laser or light systems and is more due to the
thickness of hair and or depth of the follicle in the area treated
as well as the energy level used during treatment.
The ESC intense pulse light is a non-laser
system for hair removal and has virtual the same effect as a laser
on the skin. This system is very versatile for different skin
types and can be very effective depending on the frequency and
the parameters used. One of the problems with this system is that
the light being emmitted is scattered, not focused as a laser.
This light does not penetrate deep enough to effect the deeper
follicles as with thicker coarse hair for long term or permanent
results. All of the frequencies used with this system are in the
visible light spectrum meaning they are more absorbed by visible
colors such as the color of your skin. This system has been proven
to work well on finer hair.
The Long Pulsed Ruby Laser
by Palamar is the first long-term laser hair removal system
on the market. The reason this was the first frequency used in
a long pulsed mode for hair removal is because the Ruby technology
has been around for a while and has been proven to safe. The Ruby
frequency has a strong melanin absorption characteristic which
limites the skin type it could be used on (fair skin only because
it would target the melanin in the skin as well as the hair. Using
it on darker skin often resulted in hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation.
Because of the low efficiency of ruby, it could not be pulsed
very quickly so larger areas to treat would take a long time.
They than increased the spot size of the beam for quicker treatment
and played with different pulse durations and chiller tips but
by that time the Alexandrite technology was quickly evolving.
To sum it up, if the skin to be treated was fair and the hair
dark, the ruby was and still is very effective, just not very
practical in many areas and for other skin types.
Long Pulsed Alexandrite
- The ESC 5100 Alexandrite solved the problem of efficiency as
it can be pumped quickly allowing swift treatment. It has less
of melanin absorption factor and uses a stager pulsed scanner
as a delivery system there fore eliminating the problem of thermal
overlap associated with quicker pulsation. This frequency also
can wander into midrange skin types with less of complications.
This is partly because of its ability to vary its pulse duration.
It is very effective for medium to fine hair that is dark in color.
It manifests itself quickly and is long term in many cases but
has more of a problem with thicker hair with deeper follicles.
Long Pulsed Neodymium
- The Altus Coolglide is the newest breakthrough in laser hair
removal technology. It is near inferred and has variable pulse
duration so it has less of a melanin absorption factor therefore
it penetrates deeper allowing it to effectively treat thicker
courser hair and on darker skin types. It is fast and uses a chilled
tip which minimizes the problem of thermal overlap. It is slower
that the visible light spectrum systems but has produced longer
term results.
Conclusion After each treatment the hair
will fall out, often remain clear for 6 weeks to 6 months. Less
will grow back each time. It is not effective on blond, gray or
white hair. Research the facility that is offering the service
extensively. A lot of unqualified people are performing laser
hair removal. Any laser system that is used incorrectly can cause
scars. Always get a test spot in the area you want to have treated
prior to proceeding.
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