About Permanent Hair Reduction

Before laser and intense pulsed light treatments, the only methods of removing unwanted hair were:

Plucking - needed to be done on a frequent basis, slow

Shaving - needed to be done on a frequent basis

Waxing - painful and still only temporary

Electrolysis - painful and slow since each follicle is electrically treated

Now, we have a fast, safe method that removes almost all the hair follicles in treated areas.  It can be done on men and women of light or dark complexion, even on tanned skin. The StarLux system by Palomar Medical Technologies is a safe, breakthrough technology to remove unwanted hair, leaving skin clearer. 

Palomar uses intense pulsed light (IPL for short) to safely remove unwanted hair. IPL hair removal works by emitting pulses of intense light into the hair follicles. The light is absorbed by the pigment in the follicles and converted to heat. The heat then loosens the hair and disables the cells responsible for growing new hair.

 

 

Before/After Picture

 

FAQ

Revive, Renew, Rejuvenate to a Clearer You

FAQ

Is it Safe? In 1996, Palomar became the first light-based technology company to receive FDA clearance for Permanent Hair Reduction. The energy used is non-ionizing which means it does not cause damage to the cellular DNA the way UV light does. In other words, it does not cause cancer.

What areas are most commonly treated?  Permanent hair reduction can be performed on basically anywhere you want to remove unwanted hair: shoulders, chest, arms, facial hairs (except eyebrows), underarm, legs and even the bikini area. It a fast, noninvasive way to achieve your clear skin goal !

Does it hurt? There is a little bit of discomfort involved.  It feels like a light rubber band being snapped at you, but it lasts a fraction of a second, and most people do not need any sort of pain medication.  Our medical doctor will then move on to the next treatment area, and repeat the process over the entire treatment area. 

How soon do I see results and how many treatments are required?  The hair follicles should fall off within a few days after treatment. For the number of treatments, we recommend a minimum of 6 treatments, 2 – 6 weeks apart, but may be more depending on body part and your unique hair growth cycle.  You’ll notice dramatic hair reduction with the first treatment, but it’s important to treat the follicles again while they are weakened to prevent regrowth permanently, and to make sure we treat the follicles that were dormant during the previous treatments. 

How long is recovery? IPL treatments are fast and require no down-time. You can resume normally activities including going back to work immediately post treatment.

What are the possible side-effects?  Side effects of IPL  hair removal are generally mild and temporary. Rare side effects may include pain, swelling around the hair follicle,  redness and inflammation lasting one to three days. Temporary skin lightening or darkening, especially in darker skin types, or in patients with a recent tan, may be seen.

How is Intense Pulse Light (IPL) different from Laser treatment?   A laser produces energy that is a single wavelength. An IPL produces energy that includes many wavelengths, and certain ones are filtered out to allow for more specific treatment of hair, pigment, or blood vessels. An IPL also spreads the light over a larger section of skin, which makes treatments faster.  

 

 

 

 

 

Picture courtesy of Palomar