Posted: lazer hair removal
In our previous post on IPL treatment, we looked at IPL laser hair removal. We also noted that IPL, or Intense Pulse Laser, can be used for more than hair removal. Lets take a look at some of those treatments.
Hair Removal / Permanent Hair reduction
Using filters (to adjust the laser wave lengths) of 650nm (nano meters), this targets the hair follicles at zaps them to kingdom come. Though ‘permanent’, it does not remove all hairs, with effectiveness range in the 50% to 70% range.
Treatment of lesions / pigmentation
By simply changing the filter to a different wave length, the same IPL device can be used to treat various skin conditions. The filter is 510nm to treat vascular lesions as well as pigmented lesions. It damages the blood vessels which in turn causes the body’s own defenses to remove the damaged pigments / vessels, resulting in a fresher look.
Acne treatments
If you make the wavelength shorter still to 450nm, you can treat ’surface’ skin conditions like acne. It now targets hemoglobin in the blood. In this way, it disrupts the blood flow to the glands that produce the oil found in the acne. Overall effect: less acne.
Skin Rejuvenation
Aging and continued exposure to the sun’s UV rays causes our skin to loose its luster. Come IPL to the rescue. It focuses the laser on the melanin in the upper layer of skin that causes the visible effect. By destroying this, the skin has the opportunity for rejuvenate itself after removing the unappealing parts.
So while IPL treatment is considered mostly in the context of hair removal, there are other cosmetic treatments that uses the IPL’s unique properties of selective thermolysis to achieve various effects on the skin.
