Recently I tried the new ‘carbon facial’ treatment using the 1064nm wavelength of the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. My wife was keen to try it!
I painted a little black carbon ink solution (which I made myself) onto my wife’s face. After about 20 minutes, or so, to allow it to dry, I applied the laser energy.
Using a fluence of only 2 J/cm2 it is clear that the ink ‘explodes’ off the skin surface, taking any surface material with it – dead stratum corneum cells, bacteria etc. During the treatment my wife held a small fan to blow the airborne carbon particles away from both our noses! This treatment should be carried out in a well-ventilated room as the air will fill rapidly with carbon particles.
My wife reported a slight nipping sensation, but it was not uncomfortable. I removed most of the ink from her skin, then repeated the treatment again with no ink.
The first part of this process removes ink and surface materials. This is purely a ‘surface’ process.
The second part allows the infrared energy to penetrate deep into the skin, thereby stimulating fibroblasts. Over time this will result in a neocollageneisis, which can last for a few months.
The above picture shows the bright flash of light which accompanies each laser pulse.
After the treatment my wife reported that her skin felt ‘smooth’ and ‘clean’. She later reported that her skin just felt “much nicer” – not very scientific, but who am I to query her?!?!
This is a very simple and quick treatment. While it does not necessarily remove any skin blemishes, I have it on good authority, that it is a good treatment! With such low fluences there is very little chance of unwanted side-effects, so I think this treatment could be done a weekly basis, without any real potential for skin damage.
If you have any comments on this treatment I’d love to hear them.
Ciao for now,
Mike.
Mike Murphy's Blog 
We do the carbon mask treatments with Spectra from Lutronic. It is capable of 1 joule @500 ms and 1 joule @5ns. That enhances the effect by warming the carbon without vaporizing it (impossible w a NS pulse). Tha advantage of warming the carbon is that it binds to the skin and liquifies the contents of the pores. (Kills Acne and reduces pore size.).
Hi Chris. This is a very interesting point you have raised. I was not aware that this approach existed! I’ve not seen anything in the scientific literature so it may be that you are ‘pioneering’ this treatment. I’d like to see some of your results please. Thanks for pointing this out.
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