Page 211 - Chapter 3 - Laser/IPL Hair Removal

Conclusion
Chapter 3 – Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal 2nd Edition
How quickly or slowly we deliver energy to the hair follicle is really not important, as long as the fluence is correct for the targets. Consequently, the ‘power’ of the laser is not so important. Peak power is not same as average power – peak power determines the maximum temperature of the hair, but this is not that important either!
Next time a salesman/woman says our laser is “blah blah power”, ask them if that’s the ‘peak’ or ‘average’ power. Then ask them the difference and the maximum delivered fluence...
Triple wavelength diode lasers...
A recent development in diode lasers has been the introduction of three wavelengths in one head - typically this is a collection of three sets of laser diodes. The reality is that some of those devices really do emit three wavelengths, while others do not! The difficulty is that it is very difficult to tell without a spectrophotometer (a device which can measure wavelengths). The human eye cannot differentiate between these wavelengths since they are all outside our optical range.
Some systems adopt an ‘interlacing’ system where the diodes are placed with consecutive wavelengths (see figure to the left).
Figure 113 – Interlacing three different diode lasers into one block
The diode laser block above outputs three wavelengths – 755, 808 and 1064nm. Note that although the 755 and 1064nm are normally associated with Alexandrite and Nd:YAG lasers, this multiple wavelength block is ALL diode laser – it does NOT contain an Alexandrite and/or an Nd:YAG laser.
Manufacturers who sell this type of system usually claim it is ‘superior’ to other diode lasers – this has not been confirmed by proper clinical studies, as yet.
________________________________________________________________________ 211 Chapter 3, Ed. 2.0 Laser/IPL Hair Removal
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