Page 135 - Chapter 3 - Laser/IPL Hair Removal

Chapter 3 – Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal 2nd Edition
They found that many particles of various substances were in this plume, ranging in size down to smaller than one micron (tiny!!) These particles may be able to transmit infectious and/or cancer cells, bacteria and even viruses. Such small particles are certainly capable of irritating the respiratory tissues in the nose and lungs, if inhaled regularly.
The recommendations of the study researchers were:
1. All staff should wear properly fitted FFP3 (or N99/KN99) respirators (masks). Standard surgical masks are not sufficient for this purpose.
2. Extraction and filtration of the plume should be used at all times in laser treatment rooms. This requires either an extraction system which ejects the room air to the outside environment, or an air filtration unit in the room with the appropriate HEPA filters. These filters need to be changed on a regular basis to ensure maximum efficiency.
3. Preferably, an air suction system should be used near the skin surface during treatments, to minimise the contamination of the room air.
Plume arising from laser treatments should be considered as ‘biological hazards’. Many studies, through the years, have indicated that the contents of this smoke may be potentially very hazardous to all laser operators, and customers.
The UK Council for Surgical Plume was established in 2019 to offer advice and assistance to anyone seeking further information on plume ejected during laser/IPL treatments. You can find their web site here. (http://www.ukcsp.co.uk)
Note: The information given above was taken from “Gaseous and Particulate Content of Laser Hair Removal Plume’, Chang, Farinelli, Christiani et.al. and may be found at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2532614.
Mike is currently working on an idea whereby all hairs are physically removed from a
treatment sire prior to laser/IPL application, either by waxing or mechanical means. The concept is, that by removing all visible hair shafts, the risk of generating plume is greatly reduced. The pain sensation will also be reduced significantly due to less absorption near the nociceptors. Mike’s argument is that no visible hair is a valid target – all these hairs are either in later anagen (A5 and A6) which are too deep target effectively. All remaining hairs are in catagen or telogen, by which point they have lost much of the target melanin, and are, subsequently, poor absorbers of light. This approach may lead to four advantages: 1) less plume in the air, 2) less pain sensation, 3) less trauma in the tissues and 4) less regrowth after each treatment session.
He plans to publish a paper on this topic in the near future.
________________________________________________________________________ 135 Chapter 3, Ed. 2.0 Laser/IPL Hair Removal
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