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Background to Skin

So what is skin? Skin is a marvelous garment. It's waterproof, strong, soft, pliable, and most important, self-repairing. Without “skin”, everything – our bones, muscles and organs would be hanging out all over the place! Skin protects and holds everything together. Skin acts like a very large container. It's the largest organ of our body.

Skin also functions as protective covering. Along with a layer of fat underneath, it insulates us against all kinds of bumps, wear and tear. It keeps germs and water out, and keeps your body's fluids and salts in. It also protects our bodies, helps keep our bodies at just the right temperature and, through nerve endings close to the surface of the skin, allows us to have the sense of touch.

Oils act as your body's natural water proofing agent as well as a protector against germs. On the one hand, they make your skin softer; but they can also give you acne. Your skin also contains glands which manufacture sweat.

Skin is much more “alive” than we could ever imagine. It's made of many thin sheets of layers of flat, stacked cells in which we find nerves, blood vessels, hair follicles, glands, and sensory receptors. As the cells in the skin age, older cells are constantly being pushed to the surface by new cells, which grow from below. As these older cells migrate to the top, they become wider and flatter. And, eventually, they end up sloughing off. In fact, every day hundreds of millions of dead skin cells fall from our bodies! In approximately a month's time, our body has made a whole new layer of skin cells!

As we progress through this series of articles, we will focus again on pigment in the skin, called melanin. This is what makes different skin colors. Less melanin in your skin cells makes your skin lighter, more makes it darker. Sitting in the sun can also cause the skin to manufacture more melanin. And the result is what we call a suntan! Although our skin protects us from the sun and the elements, it can suffer as a result.

As we age, our skin loses some of its collagen and elasticity. It is all these changes in our skin and its structure, combined with the damage from the environment, that over time causes age spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and more.

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How does laser hair removal work?

In order to understand how removing hair through the use of a laser works, we need to take a brief look at the technology itself.

The word “laser” is in fact an acronym, standing for Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation…and thus a new word is born! LASER. The amazing thing about lasers is that they harness the power of light, and then control it.

What makes laser light different from normal light is that it has a single wavelength (as opposed to the whole spectrum of wavelengths of visible light). Lasers work by producing an intense beam of bright light of a single frequency, which travels in one direction. Ordinary light, as we know it, is composed of many different colors, and appears white. A laser on the other hand has the unique ability to produce one specific color or wavelength.

The laser light targets the chromophores in the skin. Chromophores are naturally occurring pigment that selectively absorbs light at certain wavelengths. As each wavelength is absorbed differently by the skin, lasers are successfully used to target specific structures within the skin, such as hair, without causing damage to surrounding tissue. This process is known as "selective photothermolysis".

The laser emits a gentle beam of light that passes through the skin where it is absorbed by the melanin (color) in your hair. As it is absorbed, the laser energy is transformed into heat which then disables the hair follicle and prevents further growth.

But enough of the techno-speak! Although the lasers used today do emit radiation, the levels are low, and the frequency well inside the non-ionizing range (as opposed to the ionizing range where X-rays, etc are categorized). Laser used for medical and aesthetic procedures, such as laser hair removal, are typically classified as Class IV lasers and require approval by the FDA.

Noel Halgreen

Sõna Medspa

The 6 major benefits of Laser Hair Removal

In a previous article we discussed how removing unwanted hair has been practiced throughout the ages. Clearly, getting rid of unwanted hair has been on men and women’s minds for centuries. It is however only in the last decade or so that advances in laser technology, and our understanding of the technology, has opened new and promising avenues to this age old concern.

In 1997, laser hair removal wasn't popular enough to even rank a mention in national plastic surgery statistics. Today, it's the second most popular non-surgical cosmetic procedure in America- and its popularity is still increasing. In 2005 laser hair removal was second only to BOTOX ® as the non-surgical procedure in highest demand. More than 1.5 million treatments were performed in this period. The reason for its popularity is twofold – the changing norms of society with respect to body and facial hair, and the numerous benefits of having hair removed with a laser.

The following are the major benefits:

1. Larger areas of the body can be treated with laser hair removal than with waxing, electrolysis, plucking or tweezing.
2. The results are long lasting. No more waxing or shaving… Imagine that…!
3. Laser hair removal does not cause the irritation that other hair removal methods do, leaving you with nicks, cuts and bumps (which you usually get when you can least afford it!).
4. It saves you time and money. Consider this: for way less than the cost of a Starbucks ® Latte per day you can have unwanted facial hair removed, never to be concerned or self conscious again.
5. As far as discomfort goes during the treatment, it is way down on the scale compared to waxing and electrolysis. No one that has had laser hair removal will suggest that you are likely to fall asleep during the treatment – it’s after all not a massage! Although individual levels of discomfort very, most people handle laser hair removal without even a topical anesthetic.
6. Laser hair removal does not require hospitalization, needles, medications, or follow-up medical care. With the technology available today, it has become a lunch-time procedure.

The benefits of laser hair removal, compared to the alternatives, are significant and compelling. In a later article we will explore the risks of laser hair removal, and the questions you should ask when looking for a provider of these services.

Noel Halgreen

Sõna MedSpa

BOTOX® is a registered trademark owned by Allergan, Inc.

Starbucks® is a registered trademark owned by Starbucks U.S. Brands Corporation

The History of Hair Removal

If you thought that the wish to get rid of unwanted hair is a 20^th century phenomenon... you’re wrong! Evidence points back as far as the caveman attempting to get rid of facial hair with sharp stones. The Sumerians removed hair with tweezers. Ancient Arabians used string... doesn’t sound real practical today, but was probably leading edge technology in the day! Egyptians, including Cleopatra, also did it -- some with bronze razors they took to their tombs, others with sugar and others – probably in anticipation of what was to come many centuries down the line - with beeswax. And so we move through the ages...merrily plucking, shaving and tweezing!

As an alternative, there were lotions and creams – called depilatories (from the Latin, meaning completely + deprive of hair), which dissolved hair above the surface of the skin....much the same way it is still used today. In discussing hair removal options – past and present - it is important to remember that waxing, sugaring, tweezing and electrolysis methods all remove hair from the roots. Ouch! Waxing uproots the hair from its follicles (shiver!!) for the smoothest results of all temporary hair removal methods. Depilatories chemically destroy the hair. The one we all know – shaving - merely slices it off at skin level, just to restart the cycle of hair growth again.

A study conducted by Gillette in 1990 puts the wish to get rid of unwanted hair into perspective. The survey found that 92 percent of women 13 or older in the United States shave their legs, though not necessarily exclusively.

Laser technology was popularized in the 60’s, but was not yet sufficiently developed to be able to eliminate the hair without collateral skin damage.

In 1995 – a century after the discovery of X-rays – the FDA approved the first laser for laser hair removal in the US. Results of this laser turned out to not live up to the promises. In 1997 the FDA approved several lasers that target the melanin in hair for laser hair removal. Hair removal by Laser is not to be confused with electrolysis.  Electrolysis is a method of removing individual hairs one-at-a-time by directing an electric current into each hair follicle. This is rather time consuming, as you can imagine – but it does work. Removing hair with a laser is currently the most effective way to get rid of large amounts of unwanted hair.

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