Laser Hair Removal Treatments

IPL or Intense Pulsed Light.

The energy from the light source is taken up by the pigments (Melanin and Haemoglobin) in the skin, hairs and blood vessels. Selective filtration makes the energy uptake specific for melanin (600 to 950 nanometres) or haemoglobin (530 to 950 nanometres); thus the system can be used for hair removal, vascular lesions and pigmented lesions.

Laser Hair Removal(we will call it this as this is what you have known it as) is accomplished by the generation of heat from light in the melanin, which is then transferred to the hair follicle (root). Pulse times of this applied light have been chosen to destroy the hair follicle by heating for at least 1millisecond (one thousandth of a second) to 70 degrees centigrade.

This stops the hair growing again. IPL doesn’t burn or frazzle the hair. It remains intact and is pushed out by the epidermis after 2 to 3 weeks. It is the latest technology for hair reduction and in a lot of cases it is permanent. The results are effective, long lasting, quick, virtually pain-free and clinically safe.

The light beam is different also because when it travels down the follicle it spreads like a wave of light as opposed to a beam of light with the laser. So IPL covers a wider area below the surface of the skin.

So laser hair removal treatments and IPL hair removal are both effective in their own way. What is really important when going for the session of hair removal is to check out the therapist as a lot of salons do offer this I did myself.

The reason for this is that the hair needs to be short on the surface as to allow the light from the laser or ipl machine to travel down the follicle, if it is tweezed or waxed you have no hair follicle as you will have removed it and will need to let it grow back in.

I guess though it doesn't work for everyone and you do need to be the right candidate for it, pale skin and dark hair is best. Blond, red and grey hair I feel is not suitable for the treatment, some people may disagree but that's what I saw. So if you want to go for some laser hair removal treatments do your homework first.
The other thing is that with IPL a cooling gel must go onto the skin after it has been cleaned and for it to go on quite thick, its the same type of gel that is used with an ultrasound machine. The skin needs to be cool otherwise you would get a burn on the area that is being treated.

Then both the therapist and client needs to wear the dark glasses again because of the light, you will feel a slight nip and some areas are more tender than others like the face and bikini and under arms.

Now with the lip sometimes hairs in the nose can get frazzled and you will smell a burning smell as they are long hairs, so that is something to be aware of. Now something else to be aware of is sometimes for example when you go for laser hair removal treatments you will find the hairs grow back after the first treatment.

Contrary to other treatments, hairs are not vaporised by the treatment and the hair follicles are killed by the heat but the hairs remain in the skin and often become attached to the epidermis.

They will fall out after 1 to 3 weeks as the epidermis is renewed. During this period it will seem that the hairs are growing as the epidermis pushes them out. A question a lot of people have about their laser hair removal treatments is:

How can you tell if for example that the treatment has worked when the hairs are not removed immediately?

After the laser hair removal treatments the hairs are often loose within the follicle and often can easily be pulled out with tweezers. A red ring around each follicle is often seen a few minutes after treatment.

As I said earlier we are all different. Also another question to have is :

How many laser hair removal treatments are necessary?

Only hair in the growth phase can be treated. The number of hairs in this phase varies from 10 to 70% depending on the body site. The lengths of the growth cycles also vary.

For most clients anything between 4 to 8 treatments is enough to remove virtually all hairs. Treatments are usually spaced either one or two months apart, depending on the area.

After the first laser hair removal treatments most patients get a significant reduction in hair density also new grown hairs tend to become finer.

It is important to know that the first treatment is believed to synchronise the anagen (growth) phase of the non-anagen hairs. This may cause what seems to be re-growth, but which is actually just the sleeping hairs starting to grow at the same time (new growth). This in turn makes your next treatment(s) more effective.

Things to be aware of when going for laser hair removal treatmentsare:

Some normal side effects may occur after laser hair removal treatments, including itching, redness and swelling around the treatment area. These side effects should not last more than three days.

Some level of pain should also be expected during treatments. Numbing creams are available at most clinics and salons, usually for an additional cost. Icing the area after the treatment helps relieve the side effects faster and also cold water.

Risks include the chance of burning the skin or discoloration of the skin, hypopigmentation (white spots), flare of acne, swelling around the follicle, scab forming, purpura, and infection.

These risks can be avoided when being treated with an appropriate laser type and at appropriate settings for the individual's skin type.

Some people may also show side effects from an allergy to either the hair removal gel used with certain laser types or to a numbing cream. A physician should be consulted if an allergic reaction presents itself after the treatment.

So I hope this information will help you when considering laser facial hair removal or any other area of the body, and also to let you see the difference between both tpyes of hair removal machines.

One last thing is the price of laser facial hair removal, this will vary from place to place but it is a more expensive way compared to waxing or shaving.

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