laserhair9

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Is there an ideal age to begin Hair Transplantation?

According to the initial research, there isn't a specific age minimum for receiving a hair restoration; however, most institutions have patients ranging from 21 - 80 years of age. So twelve seems very early.From the research I found several reasons why a person shouldn't undergo hair restoration surgery too early.
* The extent and rate of hair loss is more difficult to predict
* A diagnosis of a disease or infection might be missed
* Restoring the hairline to its original position will look unnatural as the patient ages
* Restoring a patient’s original density, of course, is not a realistic goal of a hair transplant, which services only to redistribute existing hair

Does hair transplantation look natural?

With recent advances of micrografts and minigrafts, it is possible to create very natural appearing hairlines. These grafts contain 1-5 hairs. Usually, individual single hairs are transplanted to mimick "mother nature".
The use of smaller grafts in the front of the hairline helps to give a "feathered" appearance. Because the grafts are your own hair, they are perfectly matched to your hair color and texture, giving the most natural appearance. The goal is to make the hairline undetectable, and every effort is made to achieve this result.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

The popularity of the laser hair removal machine

In our culture today, it seems that the less body hair you have, the more attractive you are considered. Over time, people have tried many things in an attempt to remove their unwanted body hair, with little regard to pain and expense it seems. Shaving that can leave you with cuts and rashes, bleaching that can cause skin irritation, tweezing that can be painful and tedious, waxing that is very painful, and using depilatories that melt away hair (and sometimes skin) are some of the methods people have employed in the fight against body hair. Most everyone that desires to rid himself or herself of unattractive or embarrassing body hair would favor a way to do so that will take away the hair forever. Unfortunately, that only comes with electrolysis, which is highly expensive and requires many treatments. That is why laser hair removal has been growing in popularity. It promises quick removal of hair from the root, and pledges that the hair will grow back at a very slow rate. If you are considering the procedure of laser hair removal, it is smart to learn about the procedure, and that you find a reputable and practitioner that knows how to properly use the laser hair removal machine that will be used to carry out the procedure on you.

Laser hair removal

Epilation by laser was performed experimentally for about 20 years before it became commercially available in the mid 1990s. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) epilators, though technically not a laser, use xenon flash lamps that emit full spectrum light. Laser and light-based methods, sometimes called phototricholysis or photoepilation, are now most commonly referred to collectively as "laser hair removal". One of the first published articles describing laser hair removal was authored by the group at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1998.The efficacy of laser hair removal is now generally accepted in the dermatology community, and laser hair removal is widely practiced. Many reviews of laser hair removal methods, safety, and efficacy have been published in the dermatology literature.

Mechanism of action

Mechanism of action
The primary principle behind laser hair removal is selective photothermolysis (SPTL).[4] Lasers can cause localized damage by selectively heating dark target matter, (melanin), in the area that causes hair growth, (the follicle), while not heating the rest of the skin. Light is absorbed by dark objects, so laser energy can be absorbed by dark material in the skin (but with much more speed and intensity). This dark target matter, or chromophore, can be naturally-occurring or artificially introduced.Hair removal lasers selectively target melanin:Melanin is considered the primary chromophore for all hair removal lasers currently on the market. Melanin occurs naturally in the skin (it gives skin and hair its color). There are two types of melanin in hair: eumelanin (which gives hair brown or black color) and pheomelanin (which gives hair blonde or red color). Because of the selective absorption of photons of laser light, only black or brown hair can be removed.Both men and women seek laser hair removal services to have superfluous or unwanted hair removed. Hair removal is commonly done on lip, chin, ear lobe, shoulders, back, underarm, abdomen, buttocks, pubic area, bikini lines, thighs, face, neck, chest, arms, legs, hands, and toes.Laser works best with dark coarse hair. Light skin and dark hair are an ideal combination, but new lasers are now able to target dark black hair even in patients with dark skin.Hair removal lasers have been in use since 1997 and the Food and Drug Administration approved it for “permanent hair reduction.” Laser hair removal has become extremely popular because of its speed and efficacy, although some of the efficacy is dependent upon the skill and experience of the laser operator, and the choice and availability of different laser technology at the clinic which is performing the procedure. Some will need touch-up treatments, especially on large areas, after the initial set of 3-8 treatments. It has also been observed that some people seem to be non-responders – this is not confirmed and reasons are not known, and may in fact be due to lack of skill on the part of many laser operators and/or the type of machine and settings they are using.Electrolysis is another hair removal method that has been used for over 135 years.[5] At this time, it is the only permanent option for very fine and light-colored hair. The FDA currently allows the term "Permanent Hair Removal" for electrolysis only. Unlike laser epilation, electrolysis is effective on all hair colors.

A patient's diary to comparison wax, electrolysis, laser hair removal, shaving and cream

I have never shaved my legs before, but the soft, curly red hair that prompted my family to start calling me hobbit-legs, helped me want to shave (see picture of right). So I decided to learn about the different methods of hair removal. I planned to first compare the various methods based on pain, cost and effectiveness (how long the hair stayed gone). Then, I would research each independently, and finally, I would speak to the people who do the different procedures at salons and clinics. However, I was so surprised by the interest that my friends showed in the article that I decided to actually try each of the methods.