LASER

A “Laser” (try to get the image of Dr. Evil out of your mind), simply put, is a single beam of light that has one specific wavelength.  It is actually an acronym that stands for: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.  Let’s use Laser Hair removal as an example…Diode lasers have long been the gold standard option to turn to for hair removal.  There are many diodes out there, but one type of diode laser is the SopranoXL laser from Alma Lasers.  The wavelength on this particular system is 810nm.

Remember ROY G BIV from your elementary school days??  It was the easy way to remember all of the colors in the rainbow (or the visable spectrum of light)….Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.

Our example here was the SopranoXL diode laser which has a wavelength of 810nm.  As you can see from the spectrum example here, 810nm corresponds to the color red, and red light absorbs into melanin very well, which results in killing the hair more effectively.  There is, of course, countless lasers out there that utilize many different wavelengths to use on everything from hair, blood vessels, tattoos, etc, but the idea is the same: a single wavelength of light.

IPL

IPL stands for “Intense Pulsed Light”.  So what does this mean??  IPL is a relatively new technology to emerge in the aesthetic market, making it’s appearance about a decade ago.  IPL uses a block of visable light.  For example, The HarmonyXL system from Alma Lasers, has a Hair removal IPL handpieces that uses 650nm on up to 950nm, so, by definition, a IPL is NOT a laser.  Remember, lasers use only ONE wavelength, and this particular IPL system uses the block of 300 nms of light from 650nm – 950nm.  As you can see, it does include the red spectrum that we know absorbs into the hair very well.

Both are very effective for the treatment of hair removal, so we are constantly consulting with our customers in order to determine which one is the best fit for their practice.

If you are someone looking to get treatments, hopefully, this clears up the confusion that exists out there about the differences between the two.  Regardless of whether your practicioner uses an “IPL” or a “Laser”, the important thing is whether it will be a safe and effective option for you as a patient.

If you are a physician or a staff member, and would like to discuss the systems that we at MedX Aesthetics, have available for you, please drop us a line, and schedule a time with one of our very knowledgeable and experienced consultants.  We sell systems direct for the manufacturer, and also offer a rental program that will give you the opportunity to build your aesthetic practice while evaluating the technology!

New Laser Fights The Common Cold

NEW LASER FIGHTS COMMON COLD!

Alma lasers recently announced that they have released a new Cosmetic Laser that cures the common cold by freezing brain cells, removing them the frozen cells and placing them in a new human body.   The old body is buried, which officially puts an end to the cold.   The downside is that the person doesn’t get to choose thier new body – so sometimes just dealing with a common cold would be the best bet.  Unless the transplant body is a super model like Blanche from the Golden Girls.