As one of the most common cosmetic treatments performed in the UK, using lasers for permanent hair reduction is becoming mainstream. Laser use use a beam of highly concentrated light to penetrate into the hair follicles and to destroy the hair within that hair follicle. A variety of lasers and light sources have been developed that may be used in hair reduction treatments.
The north wood clinic carries out laser hair removal treatments using lasers and IPL at their London clinic.
laser hair removal londonPermanaent hair reduction can be achieved with many different types of laser, with each manufacturer often claiming theirs is the best. What is often overlooked is the experience of the practitioner combined with a good laser is probably the most important factor is getting good results without causing dermal damage.
Each of the lasers available has a specific set of advantages and disadvantages. Factors that affect the most suitable include the skin and hair colour of the patient.
The Ruby Laser is the first hair specific laser. It uses a wavelength of 694nm which is well absorbed by the melanin pigment in hair, making it a good choice for fine and light hair. However because Melanin is also present in the skin, Ruby laser cannot be used on patients with darker skin, including tanned skin. It is also a relatively slow machine with a high power consumption. This has made is less popular than other lasers available.
The Alexandrite laser can be used for a range of skin types and produces a reddish light at a wavelength of 755nm. It is fast and good at treating a wide range of skin types and is widely used for permanent hair reduction.
The ND Yag laser is the most recent lasers and is considered to be especially useful in treating dark or tanned skin. It uses a wavelength of 1064nm which is poorly absorbed by melanin in the skin. It can also treat coarser hair well but us not so good at lighter finer hairs.
IPL devices are not lasers, because they emit light at many different wavelengths. Specific wavelength suitable for hair removal can be used and large spot sizes make fast treatment of large areas possible. However, because most of the light energy is in the shorter wavelengths, treatment of darker skin types is less effective and more risky than with a ND Yag laser.
Visit your local laser hair removal clinic to find out which type of laser or IPL will work best for you.
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