Average Power vs Peak Power Someone asked me recently “Should I buy a 5000 Watt diode laser or a 3500 Watt laser?” I was a bit puzzled… I‘ve noticed a few laser companies promoting their systems om the basis of the “power”. With quotes like “the most powerful laser on the planet” and similar nonsense,… Continue reading Laser Power – How important is this?
Tag: laser tattoos hair removal
Laser-skin treatments and skin cooling – should we do this?
There appears to be some confusion about the use of skin surface cooling and laser treatments. Why should we use skin-cooling at all? Let’s go back to basics… When we use lasers to remove hair, blood vessels, benign pigmentation, acne and tattoos we want to induce some sort of reaction in those targets using heat.… Continue reading Laser-skin treatments and skin cooling – should we do this?
How much hair is removed after each laser/IPL treatment?
This is an interesting question. It’s tricky to know precisely because it’s hard to ‘count’ the hairs… So, I used my computer model of the anagen-catagen-telogen growth cycle to find out. This is the model I developed last year to figure our how long we should leave between treatments for the best outcomes. To answer… Continue reading How much hair is removed after each laser/IPL treatment?
Why do ‘finer’ and ‘lighter’ hairs appear after laser/IPL hair removal treatments?
All hairs are part of a follicular unit which comprises the hair shaft, melanin (not always!!) and germ/stem cells. [There are other components such as the pilo-sebaceous units – but we’re not interested in those here.] The germ cells are responsible for initiating and growing the hair in the anagen phase. They reside in a… Continue reading Why do ‘finer’ and ‘lighter’ hairs appear after laser/IPL hair removal treatments?
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)
How to apply the ‘SHR’ and ‘stamping’ technques properly during hair removal – my videos
Laser/IPL operators often use the ‘SHR’ or ‘stamping’ techniques when applying their devices to hair removal on the skin. But I often see people using the wrong approach. This will, inevitably, lead to poor results or an excessive number of treatment sessions. In this video I explain how to apply these technique correctly, to increase… Continue reading How to apply the ‘SHR’ and ‘stamping’ technques properly during hair removal – my videos
Tattoo ink colours, absorptions and fluences…
An excellent clinical report by Scheibner (SCHEIBNER, A., KENNY, G., WHITE, W. and WHEELAND, R.G. (1990), A Superior Method of Tattoo Removal Using the Q-Switched Ruby Laser.) found that the minimum fluence required to induce a good reaction from black tattoo ink, using a Q-switched ruby laser, was 2 Joules/cm2. This threshold fluence was for… Continue reading Tattoo ink colours, absorptions and fluences…
Hair Removal – Why is it painful?
We all know that the choice of fluence and wavelength is important when treating hair with light energy. However, many believe that the fluence should be reduced when treating darker skin colours. This is fundamentally wrong!! The pain felt during laser/IPL hair treatments is principally due to the epidermal heating. As a direct consequence, darker… Continue reading Hair Removal – Why is it painful?
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…
Mike Murphy's Blog 