DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LASER HAIR REMOVAL AND IPL

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LASER HAIR REMOVAL AND IPL

It's difficult to find clear and serious articles that show or try to clarify the doubts that arise when trying to choose the best hair removal method for a patient or for oneself. This article will solve most of the doubts when two different teams are faced, such as LASER and IPL (Pulsed Light). Through questions.

What do LASER and IPL have in common?

Laser and IPL belong to a group of technologies that use light as an energy source. The hair traps these light waves (if it is the right wave), heating up until it is destroyed. Melanin (chromophore) is the substance that traps these light waves in the hair. This light wave should affect only the melanin in the hair by burning it without hurting the melanin found in the skin. Here we find the first advantage of LASER is that it is easier to control one wave than to control many in IPL.

What's photo waxing?

Photoepilation is the destruction of hair using equipment that emits light waves, which achieves permanent damage to the hair follicle, preventing it from coming out again. The laser and the IPL (Pulsed Light) are photoepilation equipment, however the effectiveness to achieve this depilation is different in each one of them, later we will talk individually about each one of them.

How do light waves work?

Light waves have an amplitude in nanometers. The lower the number, the more melanin traps it, the higher the wave the less trapped by the melanin in the hair. In the LASER a single wave is defined depending on the laser used and this is unique, in the IPL there are multiple waves that are limited by filters to allow certain waves to pass. The effect of these waves are modified depending on the penetration, duration of the impulse, the power and technical aspects that must be regulated depending on the hair and skin to be treated. But in practical terms it means that organizing all these parameters is easier when it is a single wave (LASER) than when there are many (IPL).

What's LASER?

Laser is the abbreviation in English (Light Amplified by Stimulation Emission of Radiation), it is a monochromatic light (One color), with a defined simple wavelength, with ordered rays that avoid energy dispersion, they have the same direction, with coherence temporal and spatial. These teams use a medium (solid, liquid, gas or diode) that is stimulated by a determined energy source to generate photons. It is a specialized team that only serves one purpose, in this case waxing.

Are there different types of LASER for hair removal?

If several types of lasers have been developed that work at different wavelengths

Ruby Laser Hair Removal (694 nm)

Alexandrite Laser Hair Removal (755nm)

Epilation with laser diode (800 - 810 nm)

Depilation with Laser Nd: Yag (1064 nm)

Which LASER equipment is better?

This question is not easy to answer, however in my opinion the LASER that achieves the destruction of the hair generating with the best effectiveness is the LASER diode, because with a known light wave, it obtains a good penetration, almost exclusively affecting the hair follicle , preventing skin lesions from occurring (Fewer adverse effects).

What's IPL hair removal?

IPL is short for intensed pulsed light - also known by other names as Elight, M light, and ELOS. It is a polychromatic light (many simultaneous wavelengths ranging between 400 and 1500nm) that moves in all directions (which disperses the energy) causing much of the energy to be lost because it is absorbed by the skin (Epidermis), this Light is not spatially or temporally coherent (the waves are neither in phase nor parallel), causing the energy to not be concentrated on the objective set, which translates into less effective hair removal.

How does IPL work?

The light from IPL equipment is used for hair removal when filters are used that limit light waves from 590 to 1200 nm allowing longer waves to be emitted. These filters are 590, 615, 640 and 690 nm. The light from these devices is highly absorbed by the skin and therefore is not recommended in non-white skin or in patients with hairs of a color other than black, because it can damage the skin in the hair removal area, causing depigmentation, burns, among others.

In an article published in 2014, they report that the equipment that handles IPL has shown variability in fluences and wavelengths between shots, which makes the results unpredictable despite the filters.

Unlike LASER these equipments are not specific (only for hair removal) they are used for the treatment of telangiectasias, skin spots, facial rejuvenation, hair removal, among others.

What are the differences between LASER and IPL?

Comparing hair removal equipment is difficult, however most of these comparisons have been made between Laser Diode hair removal and IPL, we are going to mention the biggest differences.

The LASER diode allows for more stable operability because it is easier to control a beam of light with a single wavelength than a beam with many wavelengths (IPL).

When performing a laser impulse, it generates immediate changes on the skin that allows the operator to see where it was used or where it is passing and avoid passing through the same site again so as not to concentrate energy in the same place, reducing the risk of effects adverse (Burns, depigmentation, etc.), while in the IPL this phenomenon does not occur and you can review an area without realizing it and present these adverse effects more easily

When IPL is used, many considerations must be taken and it requires a very qualified staff, including ideally medical personnel and with great knowledge in technical aspects for the use of IPL equipment, since it handles many parameters depending on the filters to be used, the flow rates and pulse duration times so as not to hurt patients depending on skin color, hair color, etc.

The more specialized equipment is safer and serve only one thing, so the laser is specialized equipment because it is designed and directed only for hair removal.

Which is cheaper IPL or LASER?

There are multiple reasons and I am going to explain what in my opinion may be the main reasons.

The cost of the equipment is considerably different, the equipment with which IPL hair removal is performed is much more economical, for this reason the sessions are cheaper.

With laser, fewer sessions are required than with IPL, LASER may initially be more expensive, but when looking at the final cost, adding all IPL sessions can be the same

LASER and IPL depilate all hair types?

No. Definitive hair removal, seeks to destroy the cells that have melanin (In charge of giving color to the hairs) So in white hair it does not work and in very light hairs it requires more sessions. The Laser Diode has been used on all skin types and on hair of different colors. The literature does not recommend the use of IPL in patients with dark skin because it increases the risk of adverse effects.

What has medical literature shown about LASER vs IPL?

There are few works that allow evaluating this confrontation and analyzing it objectively. When reviewing the serious medical literature, it is found that in 2008 Cameron et al. Found that the diode laser showed better results observing a considerable reduction of hair more than the IPL. In 2010, Haak et al. Found a difference in hair reduction of 40% for LASER diode and 34% for IPL at 6 months, finding that pain was reported higher in IPL. In 2013, Klein et al. Carried out a study monitoring 1 year, finding that both treatments are effective; however, the treatment with the diode laser was more effective and took less time per session than IPL. The most recent study was published in 2014 where a diode laser was applied to the same patient in one armpit and IPL was applied to another, the conclusion was that the diode laser showed greater effectiveness in hair removal than the IPL.

What do you suggest as a LASER or IPL treatment?

Personally, I believe that people should choose for their health the best equipment that exists for what they need. An equipment that is specific with a manageable, stable light, and that can be used on different skins with less risk of adverse effects, I think it is the Diode laser. There are several teams on the market, some better than others, but this is where the experience and recommendation of a plastic surgeon is ideal. At the time of the consultation, he will recommend which diode laser equipment will achieve the best result.