Gentlelase for hair removal

Unwanted hair is a challenge to women's beauty and femininity. Traditional means to remove it, such as shaving or waxing, last only few days or few weeks and cause pain and skin irritation.

Electrolysis was the only way to get rid of hair for good but the treatment is tedious and painful. A fine needle is inserted through the skin, aimed to each hair bulb, and an electrical current is sent to destroy it. The efficiency of the treatment relies on the experience of the technician. Besides, side effects are pimples, lasting pigmentation of the skin and even infection.

Laser hair removal is the modern answer to unwanted hair. The treatment is based on hair bulb's black pigments selective absorption of the laser light. The laser light heats the hair bulb and destroys it without harming any other structure of the skin. However, the Laser light crosses the skin pigmentation cells (melanocytes), located superficially containing the same pigment and these cells should be protected efficiently in order to avoid "depigmentation" or white spots.

Different Laser lights have been used for hair removal. Ruby Laser was one of the firsts and is abandoned to the benefit of the more efficient and more secure Alexandrite Laser.

Al Shahba Laser Center uses 755 nm Alexandrite Laser (Gentlelase®) for hair removal produced by Candela®, one of the leaders in Laser machines in the world. Candela® also developed an original technique to protect the skin pigmentation cells. The device called DCD (for Dynamic Cooling Device) sends a computer controlled cryogen spray to lower skin temperature, offsetting the heat produced by the Laser light on the skin pigmentation cells. The total energy is thus preserved and used to destroy the hair bulb. DCD also helps to make the treatment less painful.

How does the Laser work?
Hair bulbs have a life cycle pretty much like a tree leave. Spring, summer, autumn and winter. The spring phase is called anagen. A new hair shaft develops and pigmentation cells are active in the hair bulb. Summer phase, included in the anagen phase, is when the hair shaft reaches its full growth. Autumn phase, called catagen phase, is when the hair bulb enters the sleeping time, producing less pigment and separates progressively from the hair shaft. The last phase, winter, called telogen phase, is when the hair bulb is dormant. The bulb is empty and does not produce ant pigment.

However, and unfortunately, hair bulbs do not behave like tree leaves. Each one of them has its proper timing and begins its cycle independently from its neighbor.

Laser light is active only when the hair bulb is active, therefore mainly in the anagen (spring and summer) phase. It does not "see" the hair bulb when it is less active or dormant. This is why we need many sessions to reach a good result in hair removal. Each session hits a small percentage of the hair bulbs, the active ones only. This percentage is variable according to the location (face, trunks, limbs) and to the nature of the hair, normal hair (arm pits, legs and arms..) versus pathological hair (moustache, chin hair… in women). The latter has less active bulbs percentage at one time and needs more session to be treated satisfactorily.

To treat the unwanted hair efficiently, one should not remove the hair shaft from
its bulb by "unplugging" it with was or sugar or hair clip. Unpleasant hair is removed
between session only by shaving or cutting with a scissor or a trimmer.

Usually 6 to 8 weeks are needed to see the next group of hair in each treated area.
After several sessions, this interval becomes longer since less and less hair bulbs
are available. Some areas need about 18 month to reach a good result.