♥ Monday, July 21, 2008
IPL hair reduction treatment.
IPL (Intens Pulsed Light) Treatment is quick, safe and virtually without pain. It put an end to slow, messy and painful methods of hair removal. Shaving, waxing, tweezing, depilation and smelly hair removal creams have been replaced by hair removal in a flash of light by our IPL machine.
How Does IPL Work in Hair Removal?
IPL treatments can remove unwanted hair from any part of your body. The pigment in your hair's follicle absorbs the light energy from the IPL. This destroys the follicle so that it cannot grow. However, your hair grows in cycles, and only the hair that is visible can be treated. As a result, multiple treatments will be required for optimal results. IPL system direct light energy through a crystal piece placed on the skin. The area to be treated is covered with a thin layer of clear gel to cool the top of the skin layer and to focus the light energy. Hair follicle is heated and damaged by this light energy and falls out of the follicle. IPL system treatment parameters can be selected by the beautician according to an individual's specific skin color, hair color and hair density. This allows the beautician to customize each individual treatment based on the uniqueness of the patient's hair follicles. In addition, IPL system technology enables the beautician to efficiently remove hair from any part of the body, no matter how deep the follicles are. Treatment of sensitive areas like the lips, ears, nose, underarms and bikini line can usually be well tolerated with minimal discomfort. Another advantage that IPL offers is its wide treatment area, enabling the device to treat patients rapidly.
How Does Hair Grow?
The image below illustrates the hair growth cycle, showing the changes from the growing of a new hair (anagen) to its shedding (telogen): notice how in a nagen the hair bulb lies deep inside the scalp and then rises towards the surface before the hair is shed, then moves down again as the new hair grows.

Hair is in one of 3 stages of growth at any given time: Anagen (lasting 1000 days or more), Catagen (lasting roughly 10 days), Telogen (lasting roughly 100 days) or Early Anagen. Hair's active growth phase is called Anagen. During Anagen, the hair contains an abundance of melanin. Catagen is the regression phase when the lower part of the hair stops growing but is not shed, and the follicle is reabsorbed. The resting phase is called Telogen, during which the old hair falls out in preparation for the development of new hair. The pulsed-light treatments are most effective when hair is in the active or Anagen phase when melanin is abundant. 10- 60% of hairs are in this Anagen stage at any given time, so each time you receive a treatment 10 to 60 % will be destroyed.
How Many IPL Treatments Do I Need For Permanent Hair Reduction?
The number of treatments required depends on several factors related to specific skin types and color, thickness and density of hair. Usually between 5 to 8 treatments is needed for permanent hair reduction. If you are not looking for full removal and would like to thin an area, fewer treatments are necessary. Hair will grow less and less with each treatment until your desired result is achieved. Men sometimes require additional sessions due to having thicker skin, therefore the IPL takes longer to pass into the desired hair.
Since your hair grows in intervals of 3 cycles, we recommend waiting 3-6 weeks in between treatments until your desired result is achieved. Our goal is to target hair growth in the Anagen phase where hair growth is active and contains the most melanin.
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