Intense Pulse Light
Excess and unwanted hair is a common problem for men and women for a variety of reasons. Women frequently experience this condition on the face, especially the upper lip, but also bikini line, underarms and legs. Men often have unwanted hair on their back or chest, between the eyebrows or on other parts of their face or body.
Conventional treatments include shaving, plucking, waxing and depilatory creams, providing temporary fixes that are often inconvenient, messy and irritating for the skin. Electrolysis can have good results, but is time consuming sometimes painful and is useful only in removing hair in small areas. Light sources are rapidly revolutionising hair removal treatment, providing gentle, non-invasive, long-lasting solutions to unwanted hair on any body part.
Prior to any treatment we would need to do a consultation and patch test. Here I will identify your expectations and provide an explanation of the treatment. A medical history will be taken to confirm suitability and a consultation form together with a disclaimer form must be signed by you before treatment is undertaken. Safety goggles must be worn for all IPL Treatments. Sunbathing, sun bed or any tanning products are to be avoided for 4 weeks prior to treatment and for the duration of the treatment block. Please read the contra-indications carefully.

Contra-indications for IPL are as follows
Pregnancy - due to unreliable fluctuation of hormonal levels
Epilepsy
Vitiligo
Long term Diabetes
Haemophilia
Clients taking anti-coagulants
Clients sensitive to light range of 545-1200nm
Clients with keloid scarring
Skin Cancers
Inflamed/broken skin or Herpes (active
Pigmentation problems
Clients taking photosensitising medication - Accutane,
Retin A, Glycolic Acid
Pacemaker/defibrillators
Metal pins/plates
Clients taking any of the following medications: Aspirin, Warfrin, Penindione, Heparin, St Johns Wort, Lipitor Atorvastatin
Menstrual Dysfunction or Hyperandrogenism
Seizures
Sunbathing, sun bed or any tanning products are to be avoided for 4 weeks prior to treatment and for the duration of the treatment block.
Skin types 5 or 6
Should any of the above apply to you, you would need to clear with your GP before going ahead with the treatment. Please note also that areas with tattoos can not be treated.

Hair reduction Treatments
Intense Pulse Light produces heat in the hair follicle causing damage to the cells, but without removing or damaging the outer layers of the skin. If enough damage is done, it will prevent the hair from growing any further. Several treatment sessions are needed due to the natural hair growth cycle, most effective is during the “anagen” phase which is when new hairs start to grow. IPL is particularly suitable for darker hair on light skin. It is a method of permanent hair reduction which utilises short bursts of very bright light. Whilst a laser uses light with one specific wavelength, IPL uses a range of different wavelengths. White, grey or red hair could not usually be treated because of it's lack of melanin, but a product called Lipoxome is now available for making this hair treatable. It can be purchased on line and full instructions can be obtained when purchasing this product, the cost is around £70 per bottle and requires application everyday for 5 weeks. IPL treatment is not nearly as painful as laser treatment.

The system which I have chosen has a freeze head, the machine has water circulating in it and the head itself is cooled right down so that the skin is tricked into feeling just the ice cold head and not any of the sensation of the lights heat. A treatment can last from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the area being treated. The number of treatments required depends on several factors related to specific skin types, thickness and density of the hair. Several treatments will be necessary to achieve the best results. Time between sessions depends on the area treated; this can range from 4 - 16 weeks. Certain body parts require fewer treatments than others. 

Skin Treatments
Intense Pulsed Light offers a treatment for signs of ageing caused by sun damage, such as brown spots (pigmentation), redness (thread vein) and poor skin texture (collagen). Pulsed light can quickly remove brown and red areas and stimulate production of new collagen. For optimum results 3 - 6 treatments is recommend and the following are available:

Red Vein Removal
The treatment for thread veins and permanent red flushing is very effective and quickly removes veins that are too small for other removal techniques. The light system releases precisely controlled, short pulses of filtered light that are absorbed by the blood vessel, heating it to a point where it is destroyed. Following treatment, the vessels quickly clear and are reabsorbed by the body, leaving little or no trace of the original lesion. Most red skin lesions including facial thread veins, rosacea and spider naevi can be treated.

Pigment Removal
Intense Pulsed Light releases precisely controlled, very short pulses of filtered light that are absorbed by the melanin in sun spots or liver spots. The pigmented area absorbs the light and is heated, sensations vary but most people describe treatment as a very short hot pin prick. It will be advised that you seek confirmation from your GP that this is in fact sun damage and get them to provide you with a letter backing this up as I am very careful not to treat anything that may be a melanoma.

Skin Rejuvenation
The system releases precisely controlled short pulses of filtered light that stimulates the fibroblast cells within the skin that produce collagen and elastin. This improves the radiance and tightness of the skin, controlling enlarged pores and giving a more uniform complexion.

After treatment care
A mild heat like sensation can be experienced, but this is rare, should this occur it usually only lasts between 2 - 24 hours, treat as mild sunburn with cooling gels
Avoid shaving, waxing, swimming, plucking and aggressive scrubbing and use of exfoliants.
Bath or shower as normal, but avoid hot tubs for 48 hours after treatment.
Avoid sun exposure and waxing throughout course
Sun - Sunbathing, sun bed or any tanning products are to be avoided for 4 weeks prior to treatment and for the duration of the treatment block. Precautions in the shape of 50+ sun block should be used to protect area from basic everyday sun exposure.

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