Recently, I have been looking further into laser/IPL hair removal. I have learned that we need to attack the follicles when they are in “early anagen”. So, what precisely is “early anagen”? The anagen growth phase in follicles can be broken down into six stages: Anagen I : chemical signals from the DP trigger stem… Continue reading This is weird!!! We don’t need to see the hairs we are treating…

Many diode lasers and IPL systems come with ‘ice cold’ cooling tips these days. They tell us that these will chill the skin to give us ‘pain free’ treatments. The fact is, it’s not true! The cooling systems inside handpieces (usually water cooling and Peltier elements) are designed, by engineers, to keep the handpiece cooled.… Continue reading How good are laser/IPL handpiece cooling tips?

I have seen many reports, though the years, from laser/IPL hair removal techs asking why they see ‘all the hair growing back’ usually after four, five or six sessions. This keeps cropping up, again and again. I was puzzled by this phenomenon so I thought about whether my hair growth model might be able to… Continue reading “My hair has all come back!!” they say. Synchronised hair growth – why does this happen?

I was recently asked about calibration – what is it and why does it matter? It’s really quite simple. When you are driving in your car, or bike, or truck, or aircraft, you may need to know your speed, at any given time. So, you look at the speedometer and it gives you a number.… Continue reading Calibration – how important is this?

I have compiled a bunch of little booklets along with Lisa McMahon. These are freely available online. We are thinking about printing some of these depending if there is a demand. Let us know please.

At the recent BMLA meeting in Liverpool, there was a rather worrying presentation on plume. A study by the University of Loughborough looked at the risks associated with the plume (smoke) generated during laser hair removal procedures.  An air suction system was used to collect the smoke particles arising from patients undergoing laser hair removal.… Continue reading Laser hair removal plume – How to minimise the risks

I’ve just completed my “Introduction to Laser Safety for lasers and IPLs” in the medical/aesthetic setting, booklet. You can find it here – Laser Safety booklet. It’s a free downloadable 24-page pdf, which discusses the various aspects of laser and IPL safety under current UK and EU regulations. It includes a description of the ‘Core… Continue reading My ‘Introduction to Laser/IPL Safety’ booklet

We often hear about ‘paradoxical hypertrichosis’ – unexpected hair growth – after laser treatments. No one seems to know why this happens. There is very little research on this topic too. So, what is going on? Well, I don’t think it is actually paradoxical hair growth at all. I think that, in many cases, we… Continue reading Paradoxical hair growth – is it?

I have been advocating the use of ice pre-cooling and post-cooling for a few years, with great success. Not only does the ice reduce pain, blistering and pigmentary changes, it also allows for higher fluences to be applied, safely. Higher fluences will always result in better success rates. It’s a ‘win-win’ situation! This talk discusses… Continue reading BMLA talk 2024 – Pre- and post-cooling is important in photo-thermal treatments in improving results and reducing pain and unwanted tissue damage