Lasers Hair Removal and Beauty Tips

Though Alexandrite laser and Diode laser equipments are the most popular laser devices available, there are some other strong and new contenders in the market too. Here is a brief overview with advantages and disadvantages of two of them:

Q-Switched Nd: YAG laser
In this, the Q-switching device emits rapid bursts of laser light to the treatment area and it has the ability to deliver two different wave lengths of light. One is an invisible infrared light used for deeper penetration. The other wavelength, a green light, is employed for treating hair follicles closer to the surface.

The devices available for this type of laser are Carbon suspension Q-switched lasers SoftLight (ThermoLase; London, England), Q-switched Nd: YAG laser MedLite IV ( Hoya ConBio, Fremont, Calif), and Long-pulsed Nd: YAG lasers e.g., LaserScope (Depilase; Phoenix, Ariz)

Specifications
Wavelength: 1064
Pulse width: 10-50
Fluence: 20-100
Spot size: 3-5
Repetition rate: Up to 10 Hz

Advantages:
One of the greatest advantages of this laser equipment is the availability of surface cooling and epidermal protection due to surface cooling and longer pulse duration of these lasers.
Long-term studies show that these laser systems can achieve a significant delay in hair regrowth. Also, Nd: YAG 1064 nm system is well suited for dark pigmented patients

Disadvantages:
The use of this device is cumbersome due to waxing and carbon lotion application and also this device has not proven effective for long-term results.

Ruby laser
This device is very suitable for people with fair skin and dark hairs as it targets specific melanin and emits red-colored beam which seeks out the target melanin inside the hair shafts and adjoining hair follicles.

Three normal-modes of 694-nm ruby lasers are commercially available for laser hair removal .These include the E2000 (Palomar Medical; Burlington, Mass) (cleared from FDA), EpiPulse Ruby (formerly ESC Sharplan, now Light Sheer from Lumenis; Santa Clara, Calif), RubyStar (Aesculap-Meditec; Jena, Germany)
Specifications
Wavelength: 694
Pulse width: 0.85-3
Fluence: 5-40
Spot size: 3-10
Repetition rate: 0.5-1.2

Advantages:
The advantage of this device is long term hair removal and also in built cooling devices which minimize the chances of burns and other laser hair removal side effects.

Short sight or “Myopia” is ability to see near objects clearly and disability to see far objects clearly. During adolescence, the power of glasses changes along with the change of height and voice. The change stabilizes at about 20 years of age. This power usually remains with out much of change up to the age of forty. It is not possible to treat myopia with medicines or special food.

Radial Keratotomy is a simple surgical procedure, which can treat powers up to - 5.00 Diopters (points). It is not as sophisticated as Laser treatment but is very much cheaper and gives good results for myopia up to - 5.00 dioptors.

However, the advent of laser has reduced the popularity of radial keratomy. Excimer Laser treatment is the latest method of treating short sight. Both the eyes are treated at the same sitting to avoid gross difference of power between the two eyes. Very rarely one eye is treated at a time. A week’s rest is advisable after LASIK laser treatment and a month after PRK.

There are two types of treatment available:

1. PRK or surface treatment: In PRK, the laser is applied directly on the surface of the cornea after removing the epithelium (skin of the cornea).

The laser reshapes the cornea into a lens of required power. The skin of the cornea grows back in about 4 to 7 days after treatment. Till the skin of the cornea grows back, the patient will have irritation of the eyes and will find it difficult to open the eyes. The visual recovery will start only after the skin grows back. Patient will have to apply medicines for 3 to 6 months after PRK. PRK has an upper limit of minus 9.00 Diopters (points) for treatment. PRK is cheaper than Lasik treatment.

2. LASIK (laser treatment under the partial thickness corneal flap): In this treatment, a computer-controlled kerotome (Blade) cuts the cornea to raise a 60 to 80-micron (1 micron = 1/1000 mm.) corneal flap. Laser is applied under the flap.

The corneal flap is replaced after the procedure. Here the skin of the cornea is not removed and so the patient’s discomfort is minimal. The visual recovery is rapid and the patient is able to regain near normal vision on the very next day. Medicines have to be applied for a month following LASIK Laser treatment.

The major draw back of Laser treatment is that it is not possible to guarantee a 100% cure for every body. Some people may have - 0.5 or -1.0 Diopter residual power. But for a person who was wearing - 10.0 or -15.0 Diopter glasses prior to laser treatment, these small residual powers are not significant. Being a surgical procedure, LASIK also has it own risks like all other surgical procedures.

Acne is a very common skin problem and though there are cosmetic cure like laser and dermabrasion to cure acne, it is better in the first place to control your breakouts through natural remedies, the right nutritional balance and proper skin care.

Here are some easy things you can start doing today to help you heal your acne:

1. Wash your face twice a day with an anti-bacterial soap – This should be done religiously once when you first wake up in the morning and then, right before you go to bed at night. However, take care not to scrub or use any sort of rough cloth.

2. Keep your hair off your face – Hair has oil and dandruff which triggers breakouts. Also, try to wash your hair everyday and after workouts.

3. Take a potent multi-vitamin – This will ensure that the acne is not due to lack of nutrition. Our body often fights back the lack of nutrition is by producing excessive sebum, clogging pores, and reducing the ability for your skin to heal and fight bacteria.

4. Do not squeeze your blackheads and pimples – If you squeeze, scratch, rub or touch your pimples and blackheads, you are actually rupturing the membranes below your skin, causing infection and sebum to spread underneath your skin. The result is more pimples.

5. Wash your pillow case every other day - Your pillow case absorbs the oils from your skin and when you lay your face on it, it reapplies the dirt and oil causing breakouts.

6. Apply a honey mask to your face - Honey does wonders to the skin with its antibacterial properties and thus it heals minor blemishes.

7. Include chromium, Vitamin A and zinc in your diet - Taking a chromium supplement once a day will help heal your pimples quickly and prevent future breakouts. Vitamin A strengthens the protective tissue of the skin and actually prevents acne. Vitamin A is also a powerful antioxidant needed to rid your body of toxins. Zinc is an antibacterial agent and a necessary element in the oil-producing glands of the skin.

Acne breakouts leave back embarrassing scars and the problem of getting rid of these is one of the most common ones that people face today. One of the methods to get rid of them is laser skin resurfacing.

You can easily opt for the skin resurfacing treatment with an appointment from a dermatologist. These dermatologists recommend a process called subcusion where the upper layer of the skin is lifted so that circulation can be increased to encourage the skin to heal faster. They also use a chemical peel which basically burns away the top layer of your skin to reduce the appearance of acne marks. The methods of resurfacing the skin have been helpful in getting rid of these acne marks faster. The results of laser resurfacing are particularly noticeable after the initial healing and for about a year thereafter.

Laser resurfacing is a process where the upper layers of damaged skin are burned or vaporized for acne scar treatment by applying a controlled burning laser beam. The area treated recovers rapidly with newer skin and healthy tissue. When the treatment is done in fractions, this allows the skin to rapidly recover with little downtime. The essence of fractional laser therapy is that only selected areas of the damaged skin are treated with the ablative laser light beam.

Some surgeons combine laser resurfacing with other procedures to produce maximal effect. The advantages of laser over other resurfacing methods (deeps chemical peels and dermabrasion) include greater precision, less bleeding and discomfort and, possibly, shorter recovery time.

Possible adverse reactions include additional or excessive scarring, infection, loss of normal skin pigmentation, skin redness and dryness, and others. In particular, people with darker skin are more likely to develop uneven pigmentation whereas people who were on accutane (a common acne treatment that has the side effect of thinning the skin) or those with certain connective tissue disorders are more prone to scarring.

Hairs have always been a woe to mankind with they growing where we least want it and just not appearing where we most want it. However, laser skin centres now come with a permanent solution to the ugly hair growth through the latest Diode hair removing laser system.

Diode hair removal system is a non invasive light therapy device which targets at removing undesired hair from all parts of the body. The Diode laser is a diode array type of laser approved for permanent hair reduction by the Food and Drug Administration. This laser generates light at an 810 nm wavelength which targets the melanin pigment which is there in the hair follicle and shaft. The patented Chill Tip cooling hand protects the outer layer of skin by decreasing the surface temperature and preventing thermal injury from the laser beam and also has a mild anesthetic to evade the discomfort of the procedure.

Hundreds of hairs are targeted in one flash of light and a complete facial treatment may take just 10 minutes whereas a back or both legs may take 20 minutes. Depending on the hair color & location on the body, several sittings may be needed, with each session usually lasting 5-30 minutes.

This laser works by destroying the hair roots. Starting with a cool gel being applied on the skin, the laser light is guided through a chill-tip probe to the hair roots. When the laser safely penetrates into the skin, it disables hundreds of hair follicles simultaneously. Then the gel is removed and most of the hairs are wiped off with it. The remaining hairs fall out within a week or two.

Though one may use chemical depilators or shave in between sittings, it should be noted that there should not be any removal of hair by epilation, waxing, plucking or threading 4 weeks before treatment to ensure that maximum hair follicles are in the active cycle and can be destroyed by the laser. After the treatment, sun exposure should be avoided and a sunscreen should be used.

Cryosurgery is a highly effective treatment for a broad range of benign skin problems like actinic keratosis, solar lentigo, seborrheic keratosis, viral wart, molluscum contagiosum, and dermatofibroma and is a suitable option for treatment patients with light skin and for treatment of lesions in most non–hair-bearing areas of the body. Spray methods include the timed spot freeze technique, the rotary or spiral pattern, and the paintbrush method. Cryosurgery has been used to treat skin lesions for approximately 100 years though over the past 50 years, much experience has been gained in the use of cryosurgery to treat skin lesions.

Besides requiring little time and fitting easily into the physician’s office schedule, this treatment also has the advantage of a short preparation time, low risk of infection, and minimal wound care. In addition, cryosurgery requires no expensive supplies or injectable anesthesia, and the patient does not have to return for suture removal.

Potential side effects include bleeding, blister formation, headache, hair loss, and hypo pigmentation, but rarely scarring. Skin lesions often can be treated in a single session, although some require several treatments.

The first cryogens were liquid air and compressed carbon dioxide snow. Then came liquid nitrogen and currently is the most widely used cryogen. It is particularly useful in the treatment of malignant lesions. Temperatures of −25°C to −50°C (−13°F to −58°F) can be achieved within 30 seconds if a sufficient amount of liquid nitrogen is applied by spray or probe. Generally, destruction of benign lesions requires temperatures of −20°C to −30°C (−4°F to −22°F). Effective removal of malignant tissue often requires temperatures of −40°C (−40°F) to −50°C.

Photo rejuvenation involves using an energy-delivery device to improve skin texture, fine wrinkles, scars, and hyper pigmentation (skin discoloration such as sun spots, age spots, and freckles). Photo rejuvenation falls into three categories: mechanical, thermal, and chemical. Mechanical methods include lasers, thermal include Thermage, and chemical includes chemical peels.

Photo rejuvenation technology is always changing and improving. Some of the most common problems of sun damaged and aging skin which can be treated with photo rejuvenation are:

Photo-Aging, Hyperpigmentation, and Large Pores: Intense pulsed light (IPL) systems have proven useful for sun damage, hyperpigmentation, and large pores.

Skin Irregularities, Fine Lines, and Dark Skin Discoloration: CO2, erbium/YAG, and combination CO2-erbium/YAG lasers have been beneficial for skin irregularities, wrinkles, acne scars, and certain types of skin discoloration.

Sun Damage: Pulsed dye lasers or IPL are used for sun damage and aging skin.

Melasma: Kligman’s formula followed by frequency-doubled Q-switched laser or IPL has been effective for the management of melasma, a patchy or generalized dark or tan discoloration of the skin.

Pigmented Lesions: A combination of a frequency-doubled Q-switched Nd:YAG (KTP) laser and also an IPL is useful for pigmented lesions. However, laser treatment is not recommended for removal of dark moles.

Wrinkles and Sagging Skin: For different signs of aging, such as droopiness of the tissues, loss of volume, and loss of elasticity, and surface discoloration, one can opt for various treatments like dermabrasion, chemical peel and laser resurfacing, infrared light, low-level laser, IPL, and even radio-frequency devices.

IPL therapy does help in collagen and elastic fiber production. Collagen supports fibroblasts, which act as bridges of support for the skin just below the skin surface. Collagen production decreases with age, so the stimulation of collagen production through light therapy or lasers can help reduce the effects of aging on the skin.

Scars: Keloid and hypertrophic scars respond to 585-nm pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatments. Raised scar edges may require an additional laser such as the Er:YAG or CO2 laser system.

One of the most popular cosmetic dentistry procedures is laser tooth cleaning. The laser used in this technique is more of blue lamp that’s used to activate the peroxide gel responsible for the whitening effect.  Before starting the procedure, the dentist gives your mouth a proper cleaning. After the cleaning, the dentist puts a cheek retractor in the patient’s mouth.  This allows the dentist to do his job without worrying about the strength of the patient’s jaw.  A hydrogen peroxide gel is then applied to every tooth in the mouth.  Depending on which specific product you use, multiple coatings of this gel may be required.

After the teeth are fully coated, it’s time for the “laser” portion of this procedure.  As mentioned above, this is basically a blue light that sits about two inches away from the mouth.  It illuminates the teeth, working with the gel to create the whitening effect.  The entire laser teeth whitening process takes about an hour.

All of these procedures need to be done in a dentist’s office by a professional. The dentist should also check if there is any hint of gum disease or severe tooth decay because the bleach in the peroxide gel can actually make these problems worse.

One cannot stress enough on the effect of great and sparkling white teeth on your looks. However, having white teeth is great but having healthy clean teeth is far more important.  You should never sacrifice health for aesthetics when it comes to anything.

Removing unwanted hair from different body parts has been a major beauty issue for 80 percent of women around the world. Depending on the amount and quality of hair growth and also the area where the unwanted hair needs to be removed, there are various choices of hair removal procedures. Here is an outline of the most common ones:

Shaving

Shaving is the most common way, painless, fast and cheap way to remove unwanted hair. One requires a razor and a moisturizing shaving cream containing aloe vera and vitamin E for it. The drawback of this procedure is that it causes stubble, cuts, ingrown hair, and skin irritation. Though its effects last only for one to three days, it does cause hair to grow in thicker, contrary to the popular belief.

Waxing

Waxing is another popular and longer lasting hair removal process preferred for legs, hands and pubic areas. Waxing involves using warm or cold wax that is applied to the skin and then quickly stripped off. Negative side effects include pain, ingrown hair and scarring. Also, waxing should not be done on irritated, sunburned or broken skin.

Threading

Threading is most popular hair removal technique for eye brows and upper lips. Threading uses a long twisted loop that is rotated to create coils that trap the hair, which is pulled from the skin and broken off. Though it can lead to pain, scarring and ingrown hair, it has the benefits of being inexpensive and causing hair to become thinner over time.

Depilatory

Using depilatory hair removal products is another way to get rid of your unwanted hair. Depilatory creams contain alkaline chemicals that dissolve hair protein, causing it to break in half. Depilatory products should also not be used on the eyebrows, pubic area or broken or sensitive skin. Side defects include an allergic reaction to chemicals in the product, ingrown hair and dry, itchy and sometimes burning skin.

Electrolysis

Electrolysis is a hair removal process in which needles send an electric pulse into the hair follicle, thereby hindering future hair growth. This technique is especially recommended for those with more body hair as well as coarser body hair.

A slow process, electrolysis is nevertheless effective, offering more long-term results, although only after multiple sessions. It costs roughly $50 to $100 per session. Side effects can include scarring, pain and in rare cases, bacterial and viral infections.

Laser Hair Removal

A new hair removal technique is laser hair removal. It is a long-term hair removal technique, although four to six sessions are generally needed in order to remove hair on a permanent basis.

Birthmarks, which appear in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes, can be bothersome and a hinderance to one’s confidence and self-esteem. With the increasing popularity of various cosmetic surgery procedures, birthmark removal is no more a big issue now. There are various types of birthmarks including moles (congenital nevi), Coffee-cream spots, flat patches of discoloration, port-wine stains, and several others.

People considering birthmark removal should first find a qualified cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist to perform the procedure. Before proceeding with the procedure, the issues such as reasons for wanting the procedure, desired outcome, various options available, a detailed description of the procedure itself, the risks, limitations, and benefits, should be discussed. The patient’s medical history is taken, and the area to be treated is examined.

Depending on its type, size, location and other factors, birthmark removal can be done either by laser or other surgical procedures. Lasers are used to treat birthmarks that are close to the surface of the skin, such as port-wine stains. This method can be performed at any age. During treatment, short bursts of laser light are aimed at the birthmark in order to shrink it or cause it to stop growing. Multiple visits may be necessary to achieve optimal results. Laser therapy may also be used for hemangioma, however it is not used to treat cases where it is found on an internal organ, or deep within the skin.

After undergoing laser therapy, the treated skin becomes dark purple. This should only last about seven to ten days and disappear soon after. However in some cases, it can take six to eight weeks for the purple area to completely disappear.

Following treatment, it is recommended that patients do not scratch the treated area. It is also important to stay out of the sun while healing. When in the sun, patients should use sunscreen.

Last but not the least, one must remember that cosmetic surgery is meant for improvement, not perfection. It is important to have realistic goals and expectations when considering birthmark removal.