Beauty - Light-Based Treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bright
the side
It’s imperative that clients take action against the skin concerns that are bothering them before it results in damaged skin and to give them a confidence and a better sense of happiness. Sometimes though, standard beauty treatments just don’t cut it and when troublesome skin begins to take over clients’ lives, they will turn to their beauty therapist looking for the answer and you’ll need to be on hand equipped with the most advanced tools possible to tackle their issue.
It doesn’t help that we’re constantly bombarded with images of women in magazines, films and television programmes who have flawless skin. It can put pressure on men and women to look a certain way and when their own appearance doesn’t match up to that of celebrities they begin looking further afield for solutions to their problems. Light- based treatments not only aid with easing discolouration caused by Rosacea or pigmentation, but can also treat conditions such as active Acne to prevent further scarring.
See the light
So just how does light-based therapy work and how can it be utilised to treat clients’ skin problems?
Mark Dugan of Lasertec Medical Services explains: “Light based treatment works on the principle of Selective Phytothermolysis, which is the selective heating of a target until it is destroyed, without damaging any tissue surrounding the target. With appropriate selection of wavelength, energy, pulse duration and pulse delay, Laser and IPL machines can accurately, safely and effectively treat vascular lesions (red veins) and pigmented lesions (sun damage) where the target is melanin.”
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By treating the skin with certain types of light therapy to address specific issues, you can create a reaction within the skin’s cells, healing from the inside out. Providing a far superior treatment to topical creams, light-based therapies get to the root of the problem to prevent further Acne breakouts, ease discolouration from conditions such as pigmentation and Rosacea, and leave skin looking healthier and clearer.
Light help
Choosing which light-based system to go for to treat the conditions you want to treat can be difficult if you aren’t sure what each type of light therapy can do.
• Laser
Laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a form of light therapy that is highly effective at tackling troublesome skin conditions. Laser can be used to target specific regions of skin, penetrating into the dermis where the radiation can be absorbed.
As the light is absorbed by the skin it is stimulated and creates a metabolic activation, whereby the skin cells change and rejuvenate on the inside to leave a healthier looking appearance on the outside,
For the treatment of Acne, lasers penetrate deep into the layer of the skin where spot-causing bacteria breeds. The laser stimulates porpyrins that live inside bacteria, which causes damage to the bacteria. The fewer bacteria there are within the skin, the less of a chance there is that Acne breakouts will occur.
• IPL
Intense Pulsed Light (or IPL as it is more commonly known) uses rapid bursts of light to stimulate the skin into creating more collagen. Instead of delivering a single beam of light like standard lasers, IPL can send hundreds of wavelengths of different colours within each flash of light. Special filters then concentrate the light bursts so that they can be used effectively to treat skin conditions such as pigmentation. The light is absorbed
by the melanin which causes pigmentation and damages tissues, and then the body’s natural process removes the damaged tissue, leaving a clearer and more youthful appearance.
For Acne sufferers, IPL can be set to release yellow, green and red light which is emitted in a series of short pulses. When combined the yellow and green light work together to destroy the bacteria that is within the skin and destroys the Acne, whilst the red light simultaneously targets the overactive sebaceous glands that cause the spots and breakouts. The inflamed sebaceous glands are shrunk by the treatment and this helps to prevent over-production of excess sebum that can cause Acne.
• LED
LED (light emitting diode) coloured light therapy is also an effective way of using light to treat problematic skin. Using a selection of different coloured lights set at various wavelengths to penetrate to certain depths within the dermis, the LEDs stimulate the cells within the skin to promote a change. For instance, the change could be a decrease in bacteria or an increase in collagen.
LED light therapy is non-invasive and doesn’t use lasers, but still stimulates specific cell processes to create advanced skin renewal, making it ideal for those looking to treat conditions such as Acne, Rosacea and pigmentation.
“Light Therapy or Chromatherapy can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Even then people were aware that light exposure had a beneficial effect on health,” says Audrey Heffernan of Hennessy Hair & Beauty Supplies. “Research has been proven to show that various wavelengths had excellent therapeutic effects on skin tissues through a process called Photostimulation.”
Turn the page to see a selection of systems available…
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