Page 36 - Chapter 3 - Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal

Chapter 3 – Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal 1st Edition
However, SC6 skin (black) can attain very high temperatures, especially when using lower wavelengths (Figure 6). It is likely the case that many black skins cannot be sufficiently cooled, using standard surface cooling techniques, for this process. Long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser are the only ‘safe’ choice for these skins.
Tans – Sun or sunbeds
Tans are bad!! A well-known dermatologist once described tans as “damaged skin”. They are also bad when considering light-based treatments. They are merely barriers – they get ‘in the way’ of the light trying to enter the dermis. As a consequence, there is more melanin to absorb more of the incoming light energy, with subsequent more epidermal heating.
Our advice is simple – don’t treat a ‘tanned skin’ – whether it is tanned by the sun’s radiation or a sunbed. Leave at least six to eight weeks after the tanning event to allow the skin to return to some sort of normality.
Hirsutism and Hypertrichosis
The terms hirsutism and hypertrichosis are often confused although there is a definite difference between the two. Both terms are used to describe excessive hair growth, but there the similarity ends.
Excess Hair Growth
Hirsutism
Affects hormone dependent terminal hairs
Masculine hair growth pattern
Appears just before or after puberty
Caused by endocrine disorder or increased sensitivity to circulating hormones
Occurs in women
Hypertrichosis
Not hormone dependent
Generalised overgrowth of terminal hairs
Can affect the entire body surface
Racial or genetic predisposition
Occurs in both sexes
Hypertrichosis is the term used for a generalised over-growth of vellus and terminal hair in either sex. Hairs grow longer and faster than normal, although there is no increase in diameter
________________________________________________________________________ 36 Chapter 3 Laser/IPL Hair Removal
© The Laser-IPL Guys, 2022