I often hear laser/IPL operators saying that they “don’t want to burn their patients/clients.” They are wrong!! They DO want to ‘burn’ them, but in a very controlled manner… Every photothermal treatment (the removal of hair, blood vessels, benign pigmentation etc) requires delivering light energy to generate a thermal (heat) response in the tissues. We… Continue reading “I’ve burnt my patient!!” With IPL treatments, that is precisely what we are tying to do…
How strongly do blood and melanin absorb light energy and how does this affect laser/IPL treatments?
WARNING – This post is a bit more scientific than my usual stuff. BUT, it is worth persevering because you will (hopefully) understand more about your laser/IPL treatments, if you do… When we fire light energy at the skin, to treat hair, blood vessel, pigmentation etc, we know that some of the energy is absorbed… Continue reading How strongly do blood and melanin absorb light energy and how does this affect laser/IPL treatments?
Thick and thin hair – how much light energy do they actually absorb during photothermal treatments?
How thick is a hair? Well, according to some research by physicist, Brian Ley (they do all the best research!!!), it ranges between 17 and 181 microns in diameter (see his results here). That is between 0.017 and 0.18 mm. So, that means that their cross-sectional areas [A = pi x (radius)2] are between 0.0000023 and 0.00026 square… Continue reading Thick and thin hair – how much light energy do they actually absorb during photothermal treatments?
“I’m scared to use my laser/IPL.” Why?
I’ve heard this comment many times from laser/IPL users, through the years. It is perfectly understandable – most people don’t want to hurt or injure their clients. For all sorts of reasons… In particular, they are scared of “burning” their clients. They are scared that they might not use their equipment correctly or use the… Continue reading “I’m scared to use my laser/IPL.” Why?
Laser/IPL hair removal. How long should we leave between treatments? It’s definitely NOT six weeks…
Laser/IPL Hair Removal – what are the best intervals between sessions? Laser/IPL hair removal has been around since the 1990s. We first noticed that a Q-switched ruby laser could remove surface hair in the mid 1980s when we were treating tattoos. But we didn’t consider it a ‘treatment’ since the hair always grew back (the… Continue reading Laser/IPL hair removal. How long should we leave between treatments? It’s definitely NOT six weeks…
Chapter 2 – Fundamentals of Laser Tattoo Removal
Our second chapter – Fundamentals of Laser Tattoo Removal – is now available… In this Chapter we discuss the basics of lasers and their application to scar-free tattoo removal. This Chapter covers the following topics: What is a tattoo? Tattoo Lasers Q-switched and picosecond pulsewidths Ink colours and wavelengths The ‘ideal’ treatment protocol Eye and… Continue reading Chapter 2 – Fundamentals of Laser Tattoo Removal
What exactly is ‘frosting’ in laser tattoo removal?
The whitening, or ‘frosting’, that we often see in laser tattoo removal treatments is often described as ‘steam bubble formation on the surface of ink particles’. While this is true, it is not the entire truth… When ink particles absorb laser energy their surfaces become very hot (potentially thousands of degrees C). All these ink… Continue reading What exactly is ‘frosting’ in laser tattoo removal?
Chasing the ‘crack’ in laser tattoo treatments! Is this right?
I often hear people talking about listening for the ‘crack’ sound during laser tattoo removal treatments. Apparently some people have been trained to do this and they believe it’s an essential part of the process. It’s not! There is absolutely no need for this cracking sound. In fact, it has nothing to do with the… Continue reading Chasing the ‘crack’ in laser tattoo treatments! Is this right?
De-mystifying the physics jargon behind light-based treatments
The world of lasers and IPL systems is full of physics terms and expressions. Many of these are quite daunting to non-physicists and we tend to forget that not everyone is a nerd!! So, here’s a breakdown of some of those terms…. You can download a pdf version of this post here. Wavelength – colour… Continue reading De-mystifying the physics jargon behind light-based treatments
The Fitzpatrick Skin Scale – What is wrong with this idea???
First things first – the melanin concentration (skin colour) is not related to the Fitzpatrick Scale… The ‘Fitzpatrick Skin Scale’ was designed by a Californian dermatologist, Dr Thomas B. Fitzpatrick in 1975. He was routinely treating patients with potential skin cancers and wanted a way of classifying their potential for developing cancer and subsequent treatments.… Continue reading The Fitzpatrick Skin Scale – What is wrong with this idea???
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