subject: The History Of Laser Hair Removal [print this page] The lasers utilized for laser hair removal developed from a theory instituted by the Nobel prize-winning physicists Albert Einstein and Max Planck. This theory, first introduced in the 1920s, defined stimulated emission, or laser. The word laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. However, it wasn't before the 1960s that the first true laser was built and patented by Gordon Gould, an American physicist.
Laser hair removal devices of the 1960s sent out a constant wavelength which caused damage to the nearby skin tissue. In the late 1960s, Dr. Leon Goldman was the first to start testing a ruby laser for hair removal. It was also in this time frame that the Q switch with developed for use with a laser. With the development of the Q switch, it was feasible to control the energy of the laser beam to be sent to out in controlled pulses. The Q switch worked a lot in the same way as a camera shutter.
Early devices for laser hair removal turned out to be unsuccessful. In order to remove the hair follicle, there was extreme damage to the surrounding skin area. The ruby laser, and also the argon laser, are not anymore utilized for laser hair removal.
Throughout the next many years, researchers and physicists persisted to experiment and test lasers for successful hair removal. It wasn't until the 1980s that the first laser was unveiled as a safe and effective method of hair removal. This discovery actually happened by chance when scientists noted that birthmarks treated with certain kinds of lasers brought on the hair in that area to vanish and not grow back.
The FDA cleared the first laser for hair removal in 1995. This laser, known as the Soft Light, was a NeoDymium Yttrium Aluminum Garnets laser and was manufactured by Thermolaise. This laser was utilized with a chromophore of carbon-based lotion. After the skin was waxed, the carbon-based lotion would be applied onto the skin and get into the hair follicle. The beam of light produced by the laser would heat the carbon rapidly and destroy the hair follicle. However, this type of laser treatment could effortlessly damage surrounding skin cells. Ultimately, this kind of laser hair removal proved to be much less effective than targeting the natural pigmentation that existed in the skin.
In 1997, a number of kinds of laser hair removal devices were cleared by the F DA. One of these was the ruby laser, which used a shorter wavelength system. Nevertheless, clinical research ultimately revealed that the laser didn't produce damage far enough down the hair shaft to bring about permanent hair loss. Researchers likewise discovered that if the ruby laser was utilized on people with dark or tan skin, there seemed to be a high risk of hyperpigmentation. Other kinds of laser hair removal devices these days include alexandrite, diode, and NeoDymium Yttrium Aluminum Garnets lasers.
Research and development in the part of laser hair removal are still in the early stages. However, ongoing research, testing and development in this area continues to produce safer and more effective equipment.
