For anyone who’s ready to tap out of the endless cycle of hair removal, whether it’s shaving, plucking, waxing, or other method, permanent laser hair removal could be the answer they’ve long awaited. About 1 million Americans choose this solution annually.
Simple, fast, and well-tolerated, laser treatments can literally stop hair from growing at the root. Our team at Bayview General Medicine proudly offers the Elite iQ™ dual wavelength laser system to our patients. A versatile platform with a wide range of cosmetic uses, Dr. Richard Blanchar recommends the Elite iQ as an ideal treatment for unwanted hair. Here’s why it’s his choice.
The principle behind laser hair removal relies on the narrow wavelength of laser light. At any one time, a laser emits only a single color of light, measured in nanometers. Some systems, including the Elite iQ, may be switchable between colors, but the key is this ultra narrow band of energy.
You’re likely familiar with the way dark colored clothing absorbs all the wavelengths of sunlight and warms to the touch. Conversely, light colored clothing either reflects or allows much of the energy from the sun to pass through, and stays much cooler.
Single-wavelength laser light behaves the same way, except that it’s only absorbed by a similarly narrow range of color, reflecting off or passing through materials of other colors.
As it happens, when your hair follicles are in a growth phase, generating new hair tissue, they are darker than the surrounding skin, even if you’re a fair skinned person. Elite iQ uses this difference to your advantage.
Emitting light that’s easily absorbed by hair follicles but that largely passes through the surrounding skin, Elite iQ warms the follicle to a point where its growth mechanisms are compromised. In the weeks following your treatment, the follicle eventually dies and your body absorbs the tissue. For many patients, the follicle is not replaced — that hair follicle is permanently removed.
There are three general stages in the hair growth cycle between growth and shedding. Roughly one-third of body hair is in growth at any given time, with the remainder in other stages. Since follicles are only vulnerable to light absorption during growth, only about one-third of hair follicles respond to a single laser treatment. Depending on the thickness of your hair and your desired results, several treatments are usually scheduled.
Laser hair removal requires no recovery time. If you have any reaction to the treatment at all, it’s usually in the form of minor redness, as though you’ve spent time in the sun, but it typically fades overnight, since the Elite iQ system emits no ultraviolet light.
Find out more about hair removal with the Elite iQ laser system by contacting Bayview General Medicine. You can contact the practice by phone or online using the link on this page. Skip the razors and book your Elite iQ session today.
