Laser and IPL Hair Removal background information

Using light as a medical treatment has grown significantly in recent years. Now, there are a number of devices which use light for a variety of medical treatments.

Ultra - Violet light, for example, has been used to treat psoriasis (a chronic skin disease) for a number of years, and many people use light boxes during the winter to reduce the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Simply, regular exposure to such light is said to make people feel better.

The use of laser light for medical procedures began in the 1960s when lasers were first used in operations as cutting tools by some surgeons.

Laser technology has developed over the last few decades to treat patients with a variety of different skin problems including the effects of sun damage, hair removal, thread and varicose veins and, recently, the treatment of psoriasis and acne. In fact, laser treatment for hair removal was developed after they had been used to treat skin problems.

Scientific studies in the early 1990s proved that lasers were an effective method of removing unwanted hair, and the first machine approved for use in America was in 1996. Since then, many different types of laser and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) machines or Light Heat Energy (LHE) devices have been developed and improved to remove hair in all areas of the body (including beards).

This hair removal procedure has proved very popular in a short space of time in the U.S., where figures from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (A.S.A.P.S.) indicate that laser hair removal was the third most common cosmetic treatment in 2010 with just over 936,000 treatments, down 26.9% on 2009.

There has been similar rapid adoption of this technology by many clinics in the United Kingdom.

For those interested in laser hair removal treatment, it is important to note that no manufacturer has been given permission to claim that they can cause "permanent removal" of hair, as this has not yet been proven.

However, they are allowed to claim "permanent reduction" of hair when advertising this option for hair removal. That means that whilst hair may not be removed entirely, it will certainly be removed to a significant degree.

If you are considering hair removal using light the following information will give you a basic understanding of the procedure. It can't answer all your questions, since a lot depends on the individual and the practitioner. Please ask a practitioner about anything you don't understand.

What Are Lasers / IPL / LHE Machines and How Do They Work?

Lasers

A laser is a high-energy beam of light that can transfer its energy through the skin to a specific part of the body. These beams of light can vary in terms of their strength and the type of tissue that they can target. In the case of hair removal, pigment contained in the hair shaft can be targeted as can the hair follicle or root with a single specific wavelength (or colour) of light generated by the laser.

This energy heats up the base of the hair follicle, which causes damage to the cells that produce hair growth. If enough damage is done, this will prevent the hair from growing any further (please see diagram below).

The effect is most productive during what is known as the anagen or 'active' phase of hair growth, (other phases include times when the hair is simply resting and no longer growing, or is naturally shedding ready for a new one to form). The anagen phase is when new hairs start to grow. The amount of time that a hair follicle stays in the anagen phase is genetically predetermined and will vary slightly within the population (especially with ethnicity) and on different areas of the body.

During this period of growth, the hair follicle has increased pigmentation and growth of new cells that makes it more open to damage from light treatment.

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)

Intense Pulsed Light systems are different from lasers in that they can deliver hundreds of wavelengths (or colours) in each burst of light. Certain filters are used that target these flashes of light so that they can work in as precise a way as lasers. Simply, the burst of light to the hair causes damage to the follicle in the same way as a laser.

Light, Heat Energy (LHE)

LHE is a variation on the above, this time delivering both controlled levels of low level light and heat that can be used for hair removal.

The device which is compact, hand-held and rechargeable offers 3 settings (high, medium and low) for the level of energy delivered, which can be chosen by the user based on their own comfort levels, although the higher setting is likely to produce the better results. There is no requirement for gels or chilling components.

So far TRIA™ is only available in the European countries of Italy, Spain and the UK, plus in Japan where it has sold over 12,000 units in the last year under the brand name i-epi™.

A recent clinical trial showed that the device was not only safe and effective for home use, but that users experienced both excellent short-term, single-treatment hair removal and excellent sustained hair removal with periodic treatments. The only observed side effect was mild-to-moderate redness, which typically resolved in less than 30 minutes, and slight pain during treatment.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

What is it?

PCOS is a condition of the ovaries associated with excessive egg-production and affects between 10-15% of women of reproductive age. It is a familial condition – that is, there is a raised chance that if there is a history of PCOS in the family, you will also suffer from it. PCOS is a condition characterised by many minute cysts in the ovaries and excess production of androgens (male-type hormones).

Associated Symptoms

PCOS is frequently associated with the following symptoms:

It is important that a proper diagnosis of PCOS is made and this will require discussion with your GP, who may have access to diagnostics or might refer you to an endocrine specialist.

Treatment

Treatment may involve hormone medication or rarely, surgical techniques but in any case, treatment is aimed at normalising hormone balance and reducing associated symptoms, including excessive hair growth.

Hair Removal for Women with PCOS

Hair over-growth is a common side effect of PCOS and because light based treatments do not interfere with medication or surgery, excessive hair growth can be treated at any stage of the medical treatment (with the exception of immediate post-operation where surgery is required).

Hair Removal treatment using laser and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) devices is effective for women with PCOS but, because unwanted hair growth in women is hormonally driven, until hormonal imbalances are resolved, increased hair growth may continue in spite of hair removal treatments.

Where for most women, hair removal may be a permanent depilation technique, for women with PCOS, hair removal is an on-going management technique. However, treatment will significantly reduce the amount of hair present and slow down re-growth. For example, women shaving on a daily basis may find that they only require laser treatment every few weeks with no shaving in between.

Otherwise, the situation in terms of how the treatment is carried out and works is precisely the same in PCOS and non PCOS treatment.

Where PCOS people differ from others is that the underlying hormone imbalance in PCOS causes new hair follicles to be created at a much faster rate than in non-PCOS people such that treatment may be a recurrent course of regular laser sessions unless and until hormone levels are rebalanced through medical treatment.