I often see comments online claiming things like ‘IPL doesn’t penetrate as deeply as laser’ or ‘IPL is ineffective in treating hair/blood/potatoes/whatever…’ These comments are usually never based on the science. So, here’s the science… Light is light! Hope this helps, Mike. Our next MasterClass will be held in Liverpool in June of this year.… Continue reading Comparing laser light with IPL light energy in the skin
Tag: Back-scattered light
Why does spot size affect penetration depth?
This is a little tricky because it’s not intuitive. We know, from both clinical tests and computer modelling, that larger spot sizes result in more energy/fluence reaching deeper into the dermis. But how does that happen? Well, it all comes down to scattering. The dermis is mostly composed of collagen fibres. These fibres are all… Continue reading Why does spot size affect penetration depth?
Laser tattoo treatments – how to treat ink colours – Part 2
I recently wrote a post about tattoo ink absorptions and how they vary across the wavelengths we use today (click here for that post). After that, I thought more about the relative fluences required to induce the desired reaction in ink colours. I used the graph which I nicked off the internet (see below) –… Continue reading Laser tattoo treatments – how to treat ink colours – Part 2
Here is a list of my blog posts covering laser/IPL hair removal, tattoos, blood vessels, physics, MasterClasses and other stuff… (updated June 2023)
Last update – 15.6.23 Below are links to my blog posts… Laser/IPL Manufacturer’s Settings – What is wrong with these? What are the main differences between lasers and IPLs? Laser/IPL Hair Removal Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal – online now! Laser Output Powers – How important is this? More About Laser Power Outputs. With… Continue reading Here is a list of my blog posts covering laser/IPL hair removal, tattoos, blood vessels, physics, MasterClasses and other stuff… (updated June 2023)
Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal – online now!
The latest chapter of our eBook is now available online for your perusal. We have ‘hidden’ some pages – the ‘best’ ones, in our opinion, because we don’t want to give away all the good stuff too cheaply… This is the online pdf version which is outlines most of the contents. It will… Continue reading Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal – online now!
Finally… Our laser/IPL book is in hardback, printed form…
After much gnashing of teeth and chasing of couriers, our eBook is now finally availabe in hardback format! All attendees of our MasterClasses will receive a copy automatically – the Birmingham peeps will be receiving theirs soon. We will soon announce a page where you can purchase these books, if you so desire… Mike. PS… Continue reading Finally… Our laser/IPL book is in hardback, printed form…
Where do photons go in the skin?
When photons (light) enter the skin they can undergo only two processes – absorption or scattering. Once a photon is absorbed, its energy is ‘gained’ by the absorbing site. This may be a melanosome in the epidermal basal layer (see figure 1 – ‘Epidermal absorption’). This absorption will transfer the photon’s energy into the melanin… Continue reading Where do photons go in the skin?
How can there be more fluence inside the skin than is applied at the surface???
Here’s a strange thing…. When we fire a laser or an IPL at the skin surface we usually know the fluence that is applied. So, we figure that a 10 J/cm2 will penetrate into the skin and diminish with depth. Well, bizarrely, it doesn’t!! This is entirely due to scattering. So, what is scattering? The… Continue reading How can there be more fluence inside the skin than is applied at the surface???
MasterClass – Birmingham – Sept 2022 – Details
The 1st DermaLase MasterClass wil be held in September this year in Birmingham. The detals of this event can be downloaded in a pdf format from here. Here is an outline of the topics which will be discussed – if you have a particular topic which you wish to be addressed, please let us know.… Continue reading MasterClass – Birmingham – Sept 2022 – Details
How strongly are different laser wavelengths absorbed in melanin and blood?
These days we use a wide variety of lasers and IPLs to treat various targets in the skin. Two major targets are hair and blood vessels. But how much of the laser/IPL light is actually absorbed by these targets? Using data from two very clever scientists (Steve Jacques and Scott Prahl) it is relatively easy… Continue reading How strongly are different laser wavelengths absorbed in melanin and blood?
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