Hair Removal

Many people remove leg, body and facial hair as part of their beauty regime. Sport is another reason for hair removal which is why many men and women remove leg and body hair for enhanced performance in sports such as swimming, cycling and athletics.

Medical conditions such as polycystic ovaries may also cause excessive and unsightly hair growth that can be very distressing, and females can experience hair growth with hormonal imbalances. Traditional methods of hair removal can be time consuming and have undesirable outcomes. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a modern alternative for hair removal with longer lasting results to that of shaving, waxing and chemical depilatories.

Reassuring Quality

IPL is the only treatment licensed in America for ‘permanent hair removal’. The system works by producing light energy which is taken up by melanin, the pigment in the hair. When the melanin absorbs the light, the light energy is converted into heat energy which is then transferred to the hair follicle, leading to destruction of the hair shaft and neighbouring cells responsible for regrowth of the hair.

The procedure

A thin layer of gel is applied to the skin prior to treatment to ensure the optimal transmission of light from the treatment head to the skin. This also has a cooling effect on the skin making the treatment more comfortable. The rectangular quartz filter is placed in contact with the skin surface and light is pulsed through the quartz onto the skin. The process is then repeated over the area to be treated. During treatment you must wear protective eye goggles.

Which patients can be treated?

Black hairs are most easily treated due to the large concentration of melanin in these hairs, which gives an optimal absorption and conversion of the light energy to heat. Fair hair has less melanin and consequently less heat is produced with less certainty of permanent destruction of the hair follicles. Grey, white and red hair cannot be effectively treated. The upper skin layer, the epidermis, contains melanin and the concentration increases when the skin is exposed to UV light. It is therefore necessary to treat dark skin individuals with less energy to avoid problems. Patients should not be treated while tanned.