Page 223 - Blog Posts v1

E11 - What is the key to success with laser/IPL treatments?
The answer to this question is very simple - TEMPERATURE!!
Think about what we're trying to do when treating hair, blood vessel or benign pigmentation. We are trying to 'kill' certain cells, using heat. That's why we fire laser light energy at them.
We're trying to force them to absorb that light energy, convert it into heat energy and raise the temperature of the target sufficiently to 'cook' those cells.
But how does this actually work?
Well, I know how much my readers just lurve equations... ....so here we go:
Above is a very simple equation which we ("super nerds") use to calculate temperature rises after they've been hit by laser light energy.
The 'H' is the fluence, or concentration of energy. We measure this in Joules/cm2 (often referred to as 'Joules', I hear...)
The energy is what generates heat. The light energy is absorbed by some cells in the target, and is converted into heat energy. We perceive this heat energy as temperature.
The funny Greek symbol to the right of 'H' is 'mu'. This is, essentially, the colour of the target (In more realistic terms, it is the absorption coefficient - but we can think of this as colour).
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