White Hair Removal – A new way of thinking about IPL.
Written by Ilse Vermeulen on September 22nd, 2016.
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Traditional hair removal has relied on the chromophore of the hair follicle to absorb the energy of the IPL or laser to destroy the hair papilla. Basically, it was reliant on colour. The darker the hair the better the absorption and therefore the better the result. So until recently white, blonde, grey and red hair reduction with IPL’s and Laser’s just wasn’t possible as these hair colours didn’t have the pigment necessary to absorb the energy required to destroy the hair.
In a similar way it was difficult to treat dark skins for hair removal or skin rejuvenation especially on Fitzpatrick 5 and 6 skin types. Quite simply these darker skins contained lots of pigment and that pigment absorbed the energy causing possible burns and the threat of either hypo or hyperpigmentation.
More recently claims by some IPL manufacturers have been made that they can effectively treat white, blonde and red hair as well as do treatments on dark and even tanned skin safely all year round whether there has been sun exposure or not. Those who had been trained on traditional machines were immediately skeptical as this didn’t match the belief that the definition between the hair colour and skin colour is paramount in determining the effectiveness of the treatment.
However the truth of the matter is that in dealing with the problem of treating white and fair hair removal a complete paradigm shift was required. Basically instead of targeting the hair pigment as the facilitator of the energy to destroy the papilla, the target is now haemoglobin. Clients are waxed immediately prior to the IPL hair removal treatment. The ripping out of the hair through the process of waxing causes a small blood pocket where the hair follicle releases from the hair bulb.
This blood pocket is usually easily visible to the naked eye and is found just above the papilla. By targeting energy at this blood spot the papilla is heated and destroyed when in the correct phase of growth. The dermal papilla is fed by the bloodstream that carries nourishment to produce new hair. It also contains receptors for androgens that regulate hair growth. Without the papilla there is no hair regrowth.
Therefore by targeting the blood spot post waxing the operator is not reliant on hair colour. Therefore hair of all colours including dark or white hair can be treated this way. This new generation of IPL machines are calibrated to target the blood spot by utilizing specialized absorption filters and changing the settings for pulse length, the number of micro pulses per flash and power required.
These new IPL machines are using multiple pulses per flash. The concept behind this is that the relaxation time between pulses allows for both the skin and target to cool. However the target of blood and the skin cool at different rates with the skin cooling appreciably quicker. Therefore each pulse heats and allows for cooling with the target blood spot reaching a heat effective for destroying the papilla whilst the skin stays within safe temperatures. Pre and post cooling of the skin can further enhance this process.
As a result there is no need to have the traditional high power, single pulse flashes to generate enough joules of energy to be absorbed by the hair pigment. Instead there is a gradual (if in micro seconds) increasing of the temperature of the blood spot using micro pulses at much lower joules. So flashes are longer in duration but at much lower power yet producing the same joules. This allows for the skin to stay within safe temperatures and therefore the colour of the skin isn’t a factor.
Treatments on hair, vascular, acne and anti-aging can now be performed all year round without the concerns of skin colour, tanning or time required before or after sun exposure.
It certainly is a different concept to most practitioner’s training in IPL or laser treatments. However the results in the field and in studies provided by manufacturers such as EFB Beaut’e who have numerous patents in white hair removal, show that this new equipment certainly can provide hair reduction of any coloured hair. If you are a current IPL hair removal client that wants to treat white, fair and red hair and deal with dark or tanned skin no matter what the season, then perhaps looking at this new technology will give you the competitive edge in this very competitive market.
In a similar way it was difficult to treat dark skins for hair removal or skin rejuvenation especially on Fitzpatrick 5 and 6 skin types. Quite simply these darker skins contained lots of pigment and that pigment absorbed the energy causing possible burns and the threat of either hypo or hyperpigmentation.
More recently claims by some IPL manufacturers have been made that they can effectively treat white, blonde and red hair as well as do treatments on dark and even tanned skin safely all year round whether there has been sun exposure or not. Those who had been trained on traditional machines were immediately skeptical as this didn’t match the belief that the definition between the hair colour and skin colour is paramount in determining the effectiveness of the treatment.
However the truth of the matter is that in dealing with the problem of treating white and fair hair removal a complete paradigm shift was required. Basically instead of targeting the hair pigment as the facilitator of the energy to destroy the papilla, the target is now haemoglobin. Clients are waxed immediately prior to the IPL hair removal treatment. The ripping out of the hair through the process of waxing causes a small blood pocket where the hair follicle releases from the hair bulb.
This blood pocket is usually easily visible to the naked eye and is found just above the papilla. By targeting energy at this blood spot the papilla is heated and destroyed when in the correct phase of growth. The dermal papilla is fed by the bloodstream that carries nourishment to produce new hair. It also contains receptors for androgens that regulate hair growth. Without the papilla there is no hair regrowth.
Therefore by targeting the blood spot post waxing the operator is not reliant on hair colour. Therefore hair of all colours including dark or white hair can be treated this way. This new generation of IPL machines are calibrated to target the blood spot by utilizing specialized absorption filters and changing the settings for pulse length, the number of micro pulses per flash and power required.
These new IPL machines are using multiple pulses per flash. The concept behind this is that the relaxation time between pulses allows for both the skin and target to cool. However the target of blood and the skin cool at different rates with the skin cooling appreciably quicker. Therefore each pulse heats and allows for cooling with the target blood spot reaching a heat effective for destroying the papilla whilst the skin stays within safe temperatures. Pre and post cooling of the skin can further enhance this process.
As a result there is no need to have the traditional high power, single pulse flashes to generate enough joules of energy to be absorbed by the hair pigment. Instead there is a gradual (if in micro seconds) increasing of the temperature of the blood spot using micro pulses at much lower joules. So flashes are longer in duration but at much lower power yet producing the same joules. This allows for the skin to stay within safe temperatures and therefore the colour of the skin isn’t a factor.
Treatments on hair, vascular, acne and anti-aging can now be performed all year round without the concerns of skin colour, tanning or time required before or after sun exposure.
It certainly is a different concept to most practitioner’s training in IPL or laser treatments. However the results in the field and in studies provided by manufacturers such as EFB Beaut’e who have numerous patents in white hair removal, show that this new equipment certainly can provide hair reduction of any coloured hair. If you are a current IPL hair removal client that wants to treat white, fair and red hair and deal with dark or tanned skin no matter what the season, then perhaps looking at this new technology will give you the competitive edge in this very competitive market.