Hair removal with a non-coherent filtered flashlamp intense pulsed light source

Background and Objective: To evaluate the effects on disruption of hair gro wth of the non-coherent filtered flashlamp intense pulsed light (IPL) sourc e. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight sites on 23 patients with Fitzpatrick t ype I-III were enrolled using a single treatment IPL followed for three mon ths post-treatment. Another 56 on 48 patients with Fitzpatrick skin types I -V randomly enrolled for two treatments one month apart and followed for si x months. Study Design: Prior to beginning treatment and at each followup visit hair counts were obtained by averaging three 1-cm(2) areas on a clear acetate te mplate placed over the skin. Repeat hair counts and photographs were obtain ed at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks for the single treatment protocol and at additi onal 4, 5, and 6 months for the double treatment protocol. Parameters utili zed were a 2.8-3.2 millisecond pulse duration typically for three pulses wi th thermal relaxation intervals of 20-30 milliseconds with a total fluence of 40-42 J/cm(2). Results: For the double treatment protocol hair clearance of 64% was achiev ed immediately following the second treatment. By week 8 reduction of hair counts was 42%. At 6 months, hair counts were reduced by 33%. Conclusions: Non-coherent IPL is an effective modality for longterm hair re moval. IPL is safe with minimal side effects of epidermal injury or pigment ation change. Lasers Surg. Med. 24: 128-132, 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc .