Intensity Pulsed Light Therapy

What Is High Intensity Pulsed Light Therapy or IPL?
This incredible new therapy was pioneered by Dr. Patrick Bitter Jr. and is based on emitting high intensity pulses of light (not lasers) to penetrate the skin and rid you of various complaints. There are different machines for different levels or types of penetration. It is also knows as IPL Photorejuvenation. For instance, PhotoDerm as the PhotoDerm VL (vascular lesions) {VascuLight/MultiLight}, PhotoDerm PL (pigmented lesions) or PhotoDerm HR (hair removal). PhotoDerm and PhotoFacial™ intense pulsed light systems are expensive! ESC Medical Systems in Needham, Massachusetts, costs around $130,000. ESC is an innovator in all kinds of high-end medical equipment and is a trusted leader in the medical profession.

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PhotoDerm VL (vascular lesions): With this machine, the light pulses are directed at the spider and varicose veins as well as vascular birth marks. The tissue targeted is the hemoglobin in the blood.

Hemoglobin <he*mo*glo*bin>
(noun) : an iron-containing respiratory pigment of red blood cells that functions primarily in the transport of oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body.

A highly advanced computer regulates the light pulse to a specific wavelength range, which in turn heats the visible, targeted blood vessel(s). Thereby damaging or otherwise destroying the targeted lesion while sparing the surrounding healthy or normal tissue. The penetration depth and degree of heat is highly controlled so that most complications contributed to these specific factors are not an issue with Pulsed Light Therapy.
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PhotoDerm PL (pigmented lesions): With this machine, the light pulses are directed at the age spots, freckles, flat pigmented birthmarks and other types of discolorations. The tissue targeted is the melanin in the epidermis.

Melanin <mel*a*nin>
(noun) 1 : any of various dark brown or black pigments of animal or plant structures (as skin or hair) .

The melanin is then heated and damaged or destroyed - thereby ridding you of the unwanted hyper-pigmentations.
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PhotoDerm HR and EpiLight (hair removal): This machine makes it possible to rid one of unwanted hair, supposedly permanently. The pulsed light is controlled via the computer and with the use of special filters the theory of Selective Photo Thermolysis is what damages the follicle and causes it to fall out. Sort of like the PhotoDerm PL above, the pulses of light target the melanin in the hair shaft and travel to the follicle, heating and destroying it. The hair production cells themselves are damaged or destroyed making permanent hair removal, well, possibly permanent.

Now, hair grows in cycles and some follicles lie dormant and begin to grow again after a time. So, it may seem when you try any type of hair removal system or even shaving that some hair grows back faster than the others. Unfortunately as I said, this is a cycle and a vicious one at that. The Light therapy must affect the hair follicle during its growing phase to work properly. When you notice these hairs when they fall out and then see a few weeks or days later, hair emerging, don't automatically think that it didn't work. The follicles must be caught during this growing phase for them to be destroyed.

Customizing Broad Wavelength IPL
(credit: ESC Medical Systems)

According to a lecture I listened to by Dr. Robert A. Weiss, the assistant professor of dermatology at the University of John Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland by on intense pulsed light treatments:

It is quite possible to actually shrink sebaceous glands (oil glands), pore size, with repeated treatments. Although at this time it is unknown just how many treatments this result would require. Also hyper and hypopigmentation is possible. Other than that the lecture covered the same info of which I already knew and covered.

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