The Anatomy of Hair and why more than one treatment is necessary. Hairaway Canada provides some answers.

There are one or two important things you should know on the microscopic level.

Hair grows rather like the dead corneal layer of the skin: cells flatten and keratinise which as defined by the dictionary means to undergo a type of change.  Nails grow in a similar way.

A germinal layer in the proliferative zone of the bulb continuously produces cells. Melanin is produced by melanocytes in the bulb, the cells keratinise ( undergo a change), include the melanin and form the shaft of the hair.

The hair goes through a growth phase called ANAGEN and whilst in this phase continues to grow longer, then stops growing and starts to shrink away from the proliferative area of the bulb. This is called CATAGEN. The hair then enters the final phase during which it falls out: this is TELOGEN.

It is only when the hair is in anagen that there is good physical proximity between the hair and its germinal cells. These germinal cells have to be destroyed for the follicle to cease producing hair. For these reasons, hair must be in the active growth phase or anagen for the medical laser treatment offered by Hairaway Canada at its clinic in Unionville, Markham to be successful. Only a proportion of hairs are in the stage of growth at any one time. For this reason more than one treatment is required for a good percentage of the hairs to be permanently removed.

Which Laser?

In hair removal applications only four medical laser types are used with any success. The Ruby laser, working at a wavelength of about 700nm ( nanometers), is a red light and was the first and is the still very effective. It has the disadvantage of being a very inefficient laser requiring a huge amount of input power for a useful output; it is also not good for darker skin types. The Alexandrite laser operates at about 750nm which is just in the infrared spectrum, it can be effective but both these machines usually suffer from insufficient power for the fairer skin types. The YAG laser operates at about 1000nm and if you look on the following graph you will see that this is in a part of the spectrum where water starts to absorb light and where melanin absorbs it poorly. This is all bad. The melanin does not get as hot as it should and other cells in the epidermis which we want to protect from heat get too hot because they contains over 70% water. These are not widely recommend laser types for hair removal.

Intense Pulsed Light systems, mistakenly and commonly referred to as lasers by a majority of service providers here in Ontario, use a flash lamp as their source of light. This light is of all visible and many invisible wavelengths. These machines find it hard to get enough light at the right wavelength to the hair follicle.

The following is an absorption curve graph for the important molecules in the physics of hair removal. Note that the Ruby, alexandrite and diode lasers all have good melanin absorption rates, but poor absorption by both water and the haemoglobin in blood. Following the graph is tissue penetration chart showing the depth of penetration of the various types of lasers available in the market today. Note that the Diode laser, as the ones used at Hairaway Canada at their hair removal clinic in Markham has the greatest tissue penetration.

There are systems around where the chromophore is applied in the form of a gel; these gels are either black from the carbon content or green using another chromophore. They do not work. Only systems where the melanin in the hair is itself the chromophore work. Yet other systems require that the hair is waxed first. This offends the basic physics - they do not work. The service providers would have you believe that the chromophore penetrates the hair follicle from which the hair has been removed. This would be good, because it would not matter what colour the hair was. Unfortunately no one has worked out how to get a useful amount of the chromophore substance into the follicle.

The medical lasers which can actually produce the results desired by those seeking hair removal are those used at Hairaway Canada at its medical laser hair removal clinic in Markham.

Factors affecting successful Hair Removal.

1. POWER: First sufficient power must be applied, enough in fact to heat the core temperature of the hair sufficient enough to carbonise the hair producing cast. This can only be achieved by medical lasers for hair removal. Intense Pulsed Lights commonly used at beauty salons and non specialist centres cannot generate the necessary power levels.

2.WAVELENGHT OF LIGHT: At 800nm the light penetrates the skin well to reach deep follicles, better than Alexandrite or Ruby Lasers and far more effective than IPL systems. This is because shorter wavelengths are more easily reflected around by the superficial skin structures than the longer wavelengths of the medical lasers used at Hairaway Canada.

3. COLOR OF HAIR AND SKIN: The hair MUST be pigmented ( ie have colour, like be black, dark brown, brown and in some instances light brown as well.) The less pigment, the more power will be required but high powers can only be applied to very fair skin.  Very fair hairs are untreatable for permanent hair removal.  From the Fitzpatrick Classification of Skin types chart, we are able to provide effective treatment to Types 1 through Type 5. Type 6, i.e. those with black skin are not treatable.

4. DIAMETER OF HAIR: Hair has a low specific heat, this means that a relatively small power input will result in high hair shaft temperatures but it also means that its ability to store heat is small. The thicker the hair the greater storage capacity from which to spread the heat to neighbouring structures. This means that very fine hair needs to be heated to higher temperature than coarse hair.

5. GROWTH CYCLES: Please refer to our previous blog on growth cycles. Hair which spends a high percentage of its time in Anagen always treats better because hair in Telogen does not treat.

6. DEPTH OF THE BULB: The bulb area of the follicle can be several mm deep. The medical laser used at Hairaway Canada, because of its long wavelength is not reflected to the same extent by the various dermal and epidermal structures, thus allowing more photons to impact with deeper hairs which are also usually coarser hairs.

7. PULSE WIDTH: Each spot delivered with the medical laser used at Hairaway Canada consists of a pulse which can be varied so that all its energy can be delivered in a shorter time or alternatively spreads it out so that the energy is never so high but lasts longer. Both have the same heating ability but the hair does not become so hot in the second and the heat spreads to the surrounding structures for longer.

8. THERMAL RELAXATION TIME: The advanced medical lasers we use at Hairaway have two settings. Where the time the energy is applied is automatically set and the other where the time is fixed.

9. BONE EFFECTS: The epithelium is subjected to both the primary light generated and a secondary pulse which is reflected on the bone. Our experience, having successfully performed over 60,000  procedures enables to ensure that when treating boney prominences, our treatment parameters are adjusted accordingly to ensure absolute best possible outcomes.

10. SUNTANS: We do not offer treatment to clients whom have sun tans. First they cause the skin to be darker, so putting it into a higher skin category than necessary but more importantly colour from tanning poses a larger problem which means we would be obliged to reduce the power levels resulting in a poor treatment with no out come.

11. GENETIC FACTORS: If it were a simple matter on analysing the skin colour and then applying the appropriate energy level, we could have colorimeter do the job and do the job as the machine advises. This is what commonly happens at Beauty Salons and non specialists centres. They rely on the machine to advise them!  Unfortunately things are not easy and requires service providers with a deep understanding of all the factors that can affect the outcome of a treatment. Thankfully, Hairaway Canada has the necessary experience and skill sets to assess each client carefully and proceed accordingly.

The Principles Behind our Hair Removal technique

Selective Photothermolysis is the name given to a process in which the hair is selectively heated to a much higher temperature than the skin through the action of light.

Melanin, the chromophore which colours the hair and which is also present in the inner and outer sheath, absorbs light from the laser, becomes hot and passes this heat on to the hair itself. The proliferative region of the hair follicle responsible for the actively growing hair is then heated because of its proximity to the hair shaft. If these cells are heated to a temperature greater than 65 degrees, the protein making up the cells will coagulate and these cells will die.

The death of these actively dividing cells of the hair bulb section of the hair follicle results in an inactive follicle no longer capable of producing hair. Death of a proportion of the cells only, results in the miniaturisation of the follicle with the result that the hair will grow finer on return. Death of some of the melanocytes, the cells that five colour to the hair, will result in a fairer hair returning.

So from this you will see that the degree to which the hair is heated is absolutely critical to the achieving a permanent result of the treatment. Too low a fluence ( the energy setting on the device) will result in insufficient heat to kill the cells responsible for hair growth. This is most often the outcome of the treatment with devices such as pulsed light systems used at beauty salons and non specialist centres. Too much energy and the skin pigment ( also melanin) will absorb sufficient light to heat the germinal cells of the epidermis resulting in an aggressive response.

We have successfully performed over 60,000 procedures and are eminently qualified to produce results which are permanent at our hair removal clinic in Markham. Our medical lasers are the most advanced systems in the market for hair removal and you can rest assured that they generate the appropriate  amount of energy to generate the heat required to cause the coagulation of the cells.

Dealing with Hyperventilation / Panic attacks. A few words of advice from Hairaway Canada.

Short rapid breathing can be brought on by anxiety amongst other things. The symptons can usually last about 15 minutes to 30 minutes and can seem like hours to anyone having them. Though very frightening to the person, hyperventilation is not usually dangerous. Breathing into a paper bag increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood and relieves the symptons.

The following steps should be followed and in all if not most instances should provide a remedy within a short span of time. Your clients will appreciate the professionalism.

• Make direct eye contact with the person and avoid getting caught up in the panic. Speak slowly and clearly.
• Give short clear instructions.
• Make calming gestures.
• Allow the person some space.
• Minimise embarrassment and avoid an audience.
• Get them to sit down and sit with them at eye level.
• Ask them to loosely cover their nose and mouth with a small paper bag.
• Ask them to breathe slowly into the bag and re-breathe the air in the bag about ten times.
• Set the bag aside and ask them to breath normally for a couple of minutes.
• Repeat last two steps until the symptons lessen or go away.
• Encourage them to breath slowly asking them to inhale taking a long, slow breath ( breath with them).
• Hold the breath for 1+second
• Exhale slowly ( pucker your lips like you are going to kiss).
• Tell them to relax in a calm voice just before they reach the end of exhalation.
• Continue encouraging them to breath normally.

Hairaway Canada considers medical laser hair removal to be a clinical procedure and as such employs medical protocols in every aspect of the provision of its services. From the initial consultation to post procedure.

Diabetes and Medical Laser Hair Removal.

Hairaway Canada always assesses the clinical suitability of all its prospects at the time of initial consultation.  Diabetes is not an uncommon medical condition and therefore as professional medical laser hair removal specialists, it important to know whether our prospects have diabetes so we are able to administer to and provide them with effective and safe treatment. 

People suffering from diabetes need to control their blood sugar levels by balancing the amount of sugar in their diet with insulin injections. Diabetics undergoing long treatments, such as legs,  may go past a necessary meal time without realising it. If a diabetic client starts to feel or behave strange, we provide some glucose powder mixed with water or Glygocen syrup. Diabetics can become irrational when very hypoglycaemic. The problem may be that the blood sugar is high, diabetics always know the difference, but when there is doubt we always provide glucose.  Making blood sugar higher is much less dangerous than not treating a very low blood sugar. 

Diabetics are more sensitive to the discomfort associated with medical laser hair removal due to sensitive nerves and tissues. They also respond more vigorously and if treated by inexperienced hands or inferior technology more commonly used at beauty salons and non specialist centres or clinics can blister due to damage of their nerve endings. Diabetics are also more prone to infections.

Hairaway Canada assesses the clinical suitability of all its prospects at the initial consultation at its medical laser hair removal clinic in Unionville, Markham and if it is determined that the prospect is unsuited for medical laser hair removal and we feel we would be unable to provide a safe and effective treatment we will not offer treatment.

Preparing for Medical Laser Hair Removal. Some words of advice from Hairaway Canada.

Medical laser hair removal is definitely more than just simply zapping away unwanted hair. It is a medical procedure that requires training and a lot of experience to perform.  

Before getting hair removal, we recommend that prospects should thoroughly check the credentials of the facility and the personnel performing the procedure. Unfortunately in Ontario, hair removal, is an unregulated industry and anyone, literally, anyone can get their hands on any type of light and heat generating devices, some as weak as some pulsed light systems and perform the procedure; at times with serious consequences for the unsuspecting prospect. Fortunately, barriers to entry for service providers with medical lasers are quiet high. The costs of purchasing a top of the line medical laser, like those used at Hairaway Canada are in excess of $200,000. 

Ensure that facility operates and functions like a medical clinic. Go and have a look. See if they are clean. That their consultations and documentation are all medical in nature. That the devices they are using are indeed medical lasers and not just the run of the mill pulsed light systems commonly used at beauty salons, spas and non specialist clinics and that the operators have been medically trained and have a minimum of 10 years experience. Make sure they prove to you that they know what they are talking about and know the procedure and have thoroughly explained everything to you. Do not submit yourself to the hands of an unskilled operator. You are liable to suffer the consequences of this. 

If you are planning on undergoing laser hair removal, you should limit plucking and waxing for six weeks before treatment. That's because the laser targets the hairs' roots, which are temporarily removed by waxing or plucking. Believe it or not that shaving is ok! You must, and this is a must, avoid sun exposure for six weeks before and after treatment. Sun exposure makes laser hair removal less effective and makes complications after treatment more likely.