Remedies for Unwanted Hair: IPL, Laser and Electrolysis
Posted in Hair Removal
If you want to get rid of excess hair there are two main choices for you, which can be broken into several treatments. You can go the old way such as wax, razor or creams, that tend to be little effective and need constant application or you can go with technological treatments such as laser hair removal, intense pulsed light hair removal or electrolysis which are faster, more effective and permanent or semi-permanent (and more expensive, of course).
Let’s take a closer look to these new technologies.
Laser Hair Removal:
In use since 1997, laser hair removal relies on the principle that light is absorbed by dark hair. A laser beam is aplied with a handheld on the skin. The light is attracted by the melanin in the hair and coverted into heat. The follicle is damaged by heat, but due to the precision of the laser, the skin in the area is not. Laser hair removal has the disadvantage to work only with dark hair. The optimal combination is dark coarse hair and light skin, even if new machines claim to be able to treat dark hair on dark skins.
Electrolysis:
Electrolysis is known and is being used since more than a century. It is the only treatment defined “Permanent hair removal” by the FDA. Electrolysis works inserting a needle into each follicle of the area to treat and destroying with a electric discharge. It is very effective and can remove all types of hair on all types of skins but it is very slow, because it treats each hair separately and one at a time.
Intense Pulsed Light:
IPL hair removal works like laser hair removal but is more effective. IPL doesn’t use only one laser of one color but adapts the colour depending on the hair to treat for maximum effectiveness. Thanks to this, IPL is effective on light hair and thin hair also. The follicle is burnt with intense pulsed light, applied the same way as laser.
Always remember to undergo these treatments in certified centers and ensure in the first visit that the staff is well trained and experienced.
Source: IPL Hair Removal Guide
