Permanent hair removal requires the destruction of the hair bulb located deep beneath the skin. For this application, lasers are becoming a popular alternative to electrolysis. This shift is occurring because lasers are noninvasive and the precision of the beam minimizes unnecessary damage to the surrounding skin, resulting in less pain and fewer side-effects. Lasers emit short pulses of infrared light that pass through the skin and primarily affect only the pigmented cells within the hair bulb. The heat from the laser permanently damages the cells, which prevents any further hair production.
In order to damage only hair bulb cells and not the surrounding skin, the operator must tune the laser to emit pulses that have been optimized for five important factors:
- Fluence: the amount of energy delivered within the laser spot
- Pulse Duration: the length of time of a pulse
- Frequency: the rate at which pulses occur
- Pulse Profile: the shape of the pulse
- Wavelength: the emission wavelength or wavelengths emitted by the laser
The best settings for the laser depend on each patient’s hair color and coarseness, skin color, and skin sensitivity. Because of the large variability among hair and skin types, no single setting works for everyone. For this reason, dermatologists often own more than one type of laser hair-removal instrument.
Diode lasers offer a significant cost advantage when used in dermatologic equipment for three reasons:
- Compact Size: Laser diodes are small, light, and power efficient, meaning they can be located within the handpiece of the treatment instrument.
- Variable Wavelength: Individual laser diodes emit light at a specific wavelength, and multiple diodes can be bundled to create multiple wavelengths for the treatment of a wide variety of patients. For example: 760nm, 808nm and 1064nm in a single array.
- Adjustable Power: The power emitted by a laser diode can be controlled electronically with high speed and accuracy, which gives complete control over the fluence and profile of the laser pulses.
The laser solutions facility of Leonardo Electronics US is the industry leader in designing and supplying custom diode laser solutions and has experience in the development of aesthetic laser components and systems. We control every aspect of production, from substrate design through power supplies and housings.
Have an application that must meet precise operating specifications? Give us a call to learn how our capabilities can assist your unique application.
