FYI Cosmetics

There has been much discussion over which hair removal treatments work more efficiently, intense pulsed light (IPL) or laser. IPL is often confused as a laser, however it is not. It is a non coherent light source which uses every wavelength of light in the visible spectrum and a little into the infrared spectrum, from 550nm to up to 1200nm. Laser light is coherent and uses a specific wavelength depending on the medium used (for example an Alexandrite laser has a wavelength of 755nm). The differences between IPL and Laser for hair removal are specific to the kind of light used and the size and shape of the spot.

The IPL is sometimes also called flash lamp therapy. The light emitted is filtered to settings for its indicated use, in this case hair removal. This filtered light is flashed from a rectangular hand piece onto the skin, targeting the pigment in the hair. The light is intended to cause thermal and mechanical damage to the hair follicles without affecting the surrounding tissue. The filtered light of the IPL cannot always successfully block out the wavelengths of light. Inconsistent energies emitted can cause the IPL to become confused and attracted to numerous targets at the same time. This includes pigmented lesions, skin color, and hair follicles. Deeper wavelengths within this broad spectrum are attracted to water in the skin and increase the chances of hyper pigmentation (brown or dark spots). While IPL is used for permanent hair reduction, its main function is to treat sun damage, poilkerderma, rosacea, broken capillaries, and vascular pigmented birth marks. For this reason the learning curve is very high when using an IPL, increasing the chances of untoward side effects and unhappy clients.

Laser light uses a specific wavelength of light enabling it to emit consistent reproducible energy every time. In the case of hair removal, it causes thermal and mechanical damage to the hair cells and it is attracted to the pigment. The Alexandrite lasers, often considered to be the “gold standard” for permanent hair reduction for skin types I-III use wavelength of 755nm. Darker skin types ranging in the Fitzpatrick scale of IV-V benefit from ND:Yag at 1064nm. This wavelength goes below the surface of the skin to the skin pigment and attracts to the chromospheres in the hair. The spot sizes for lasers are generally round and can be adjusted for custom treatments. Using smaller of larger spot sizes depending on the area of the body being treated.