Hair Removal

  • Lucian Fodor
  • Yehuda Ullmann
  • Monica Elman
Chapter
First Online:

Abstract

Hirsutism is represented by excessive growth of the coarse hairs in women, distributed in a male-like pattern. Hypertrichosis is represented by excessive growth of coarser and longer hair than is normal for the age, sex and race of the person. The hair growth cycle has three phases: anagen, catagen and telogen. The anagen phase is the growth phase, the catagen phase is the regression phase and the telogen phase is the rest phase. The hair follicle is the most susceptible to IPL treatment during the anagen phase. The melanin is the target chromophore for hair removal. There are three types of melanosomes present in the hair. Erythromelanin granules are present in red hair while eumelanin and pheomelanin granules are found in varying proportions in blond and dark hair. The targets for hair removal are the dermal papilla and the bulge area. The heat-induced destruction of the hair shaft leads to hair “dropout”. The partial injury to the germinative zone leads to telogen-shock response, prolonged telogen dropout, and development of dystrophic hairs which are thinner in texture and have variable pigmentation. Multiple IPL treatments are usually needed. If no improvement is obtained after 5–6 sessions, interrupting the treatment should be considered. The darker the skin and the brighter the hair (Fig. 7.1), the less effective the treatment will be.

Keywords

Hair Follicle Skin Type Dermal Papilla Hair Shaft Hair Removal 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag London Limited 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Lucian Fodor
    • 1
  • Yehuda Ullmann
    • 1
  • Monica Elman
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Plastic SurgeryRambam Health Care CampusHaifaIsrael
  2. 2.Maccabbi InsuranceTel AvivIsrael

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