The timeline for hair removal stretches from the prehistoric age to today’s hi-tech devices such as Viora’s Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) device, the TRIOS. Dreams of a summer season without hair create an added value for aesthetic and medical clinics all over the world. As a society, we’ve been conditioned to associate excessive body hair with unattractiveness and/or lack of hygiene. Over the years, men and women have razored, waxed, tweezed, electrolysized and lasered unwanted hairto look and feel better about themselves.
Hair is a renewable resource and as such, an endless revenue stream for businesses smart enough to capitalize on it. An entire industry has sprouted out of our seemingly harmless desire to be relatively smooth-skinned and hair-free. Recent statistics presented by the various aesthetic and medical societies show that hair removal is the 4th most popular non-invasive procedure in the United States.
In 1995, the FDA cleared the first laser for hair removal, the Nd:YAG laser. Since then, other technologies for Hair Removal based on photothermolysis have been introduced, such as the Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). Developed in the mid 1990’s as an alternative to dermatological lasers, IPLs have become the workhorse of hair removal practices. IPL systems have advantages over lasers in their variability, convenience, and cost.
Target specificity is the basic of phototherapy, as the light emitted targets chromophores found in the hair. Phototherapy based hair removal is a technique for long-term hair removal by thermal destruction of the hair follicle and its stem cells. Heat is generated by the conversion of the light energy emitted which is selectively absorbed by chromophores in the skin. Melanin is the main chromophore in hair follicles and the key target for the process of phototherapy based hair removal. Patients with light skin tones and dark hair color are the most ideal candidates for IPL treatments because of the large amount of melanin found in the dark hair and little amount in the skin thereby not creating a conflict of interest for the light as there would be with a dark skin and dark hair candidate.
IPL treatment is effective in removing hair from the back, chest, legs, arms, underarms, face and even the most sensitive and private areas, such as the bikini line. IPL is not as painful as waxing or lengthy as electrolysis. Some IPL patients feel a stinging or pinching sensation when the light pulse is applied onto the skin, but the treatment does not involve anesthesia.
Treatment times may vary depending on the area being treated, hair color and pigmentation of the skin. Before the treatment begins, all clients must go through a pre-treatment consultation to determine the correct energy level for their skin type. Although the number of treatments required will vary from client to client, typically IPL Hair Removal is a continuous process for all candidates as reduction increases with each treatment you have. Usually 3 – 6 treatments are enough to reduce hair from common problem areas but various factors affect the results of the treatment (thickness of hair, the area subjected to treatment, the growth cycle of hair).
The cost of an IPL hair removal treatment largely depends on the surface area to be treated based on the number of pulses used. Hair Removal with an IPL is faster, less obtrusive, and more cost effective than any other hair removal system today. Therefore, it is commonly thought that IPL Hair Removal is the most advanced and effective permanent hair reduction process available.
Before and After Pictures:
Post five treatments. One treatment every six weeks.
Post five treatments. One treatment every six weeks.
