Page 159 - Chapter 3 - Laser/IPL Hair Removal

Chapter 3 – Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal 2nd Edition
Hair Colours – Eumelanin and Pheomelanin
The hair colour comes from the melanin which originates in the hair matrix. Eumelanin produces black/brown hair, while pheomelanin results in red/yellow/ginger hair. Hair containing eumelanin will strongly absorb many wavelengths of light which can be exploited for laser/IPL hair removal. However, the pheomelanin absorbs red and infrared light very poorly resulting in dismal results when treated by this technology (see Figure 90).
Figure 90 - The absorption curves for eumelanin and pheomelanin
At 600nm, the absorption in eumelanin is about twice that in pheomelanin meaning that red hair will require about twice as much fluence as black hair to achieve the same goal. This explains why red hair is so ‘difficult’ to treat. Even so-called “dark” red hair is hard to treat properly, because the pigment is still red, even though it may be highly concentrated.
Eumelanin is a black-brown pigment found in the skin, hair and eyes. Black, brown, blonde and grey hair all contain eumelanin, to some concentration. White hair has no obvious melanin at all.
Pheomelanin is a red-yellow pigment which absorbs red light poorly compared with eumelanin.
________________________________________________________________________ 159 Chapter 3, Ed. 2.0 Laser/IPL Hair Removal
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