Page 233 - Blog Posts v1

E15 - The 'best' way to cool the skin during laser/IPL treatments
Many laser and IPL treatments require a significant temperature rise in the target cells, to effectively kill them. We use light energy to induce this temperature rise. But, calculations show that, in some cases, less than 1% of the light energy is actually doing the job we want.
That means that more than 99% of the light energy is essentially ‘wasted’. It generates heat in the epidermis and dermis, but this heat will damage other tissues, rather than the intended targets.
So, COOLING IS KING!
We must cool the skin effectively to minimise any unwanted tissue damage. Many systems have cooling devices built into their handpieces, particularly IPLs. Some of these tips can be very cold, even down at zero degrees Celsius. We can use this to our advantage.
Below is a video I made of my preferred cooling technique....
https://youtu.be/uQF1jRr5oyw
It is a three stage process:
1. Put some water-based gel onto the skin surface. Apply the cold handpiece tip to the skin to ‘pre-cool’ the upper skin layers, especially the basal layer where many melanosomes live. By cooling these tissues for a second or two, we reduce the chances of them becoming too hot. Use longer pre-cooling times for higher fluences.
2. Apply the light energy.
3. Keep the handpiece tip on the skin surface. The tip is usually very cold so it will suck
the excess heat energy out of the skin much more rapidly than the air. I usually keep the tip on the skin for about two to three seconds after the treatment.
By applying this pre- and post-cooling technique we will reduce the risk of unwanted thermal damage in the skin. This method slows down the whole treatment process, but your clients will much prefer it.
Once an area has been treated, apply ice-packs for around ten minutes. This will draw out any residual heat energy.
A major advantage of this technique is that it allows us to use higher fluences - which translates into higher temperatures in the skin. We know that higher fluences result in better treatment outcomes, but only if the adjacent skin is properly protected.
Mike’s Blog Posts 233