Page 89 - Chapter 3 - An Introduction to Laser/IPL Hair Removal

Chapter 3 – Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal 1st Edition
This will make the treatment painful and may lead to unwanted skin damage. It appears that many laser/IPL operators are unaware of the importance of skin cooling. Given that we are deliberately trying to overheat the skin, it would seem obvious that cooling should always be applied. Quite frankly, if skin surface cooling is not being used then the operator is not doing the job properly!
When the correct level of cooling is applied for the fluence being used, the pain sensation is greatly reduced, leading to more comfortable treatments.
We choose the fluence according to the target follicle depth and hair colour. If a sufficient amount of fluence is applied, then the germ cells should be destroyed, leading to permanent removal of that follicle.
To balance the effects of the excess heat energy, which always happens, we must apply a sufficient level of cooling. Doing so with lead to much more comfortable and safe treatments, with good results.
Skin cooling is critical!!
If the target follicles are deeper, such as with arm pits and bikini lines, then more fluence is required to ensure sufficient heating of the germ cells. But this then means that more cooling must also be applied to counter the effects of the excess heat energy.
Quite simply:
Pulsewidth
Higher fluence = more cooling!
Figure 43 – The correct balance of fluence and cooling will ensure safe and comfortable treatments
Again, this topic is covered in detail in Chapter 1 – here is a short review.
The ‘pulsewidth’ is also known as the ‘pulse length’ or the ‘pulse duration’ – they all describe how long the light energy is ‘ON’ for, and is usually referred to as the ‘ms’ or ‘milliseconds’ when discussing laser/IPL hair removal, by many operators.
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