In January 2013 a new technology emerged in the field of IPL hair removal systems. Called FHR, meaning "Fast hair Removal" this new technology replaces E-Light with the newer F-Light. The main difference between these technologies is how the light photons are transmitted to the Chromophore.
Before we delve more deeply into this new technology, a brief history of IPL and how it has advanced. Most people know that IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light. IPL is exactly that, very intense white light. The required wavelengths of light for the desired treatment are filtered out, leaving you with the exact colour needed.
IPL is a very flexible platform as it replaces the need for multiple laser systems that do the same job. Lasers are focused beams of specific colour, IPL is the whole spectrum of light and you just select the one you want by use of filters.
E-light replaced IPL a few years ago as a more effective platform. E-Light combines light and RF, which is also part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to give a more focused and gentler treatment. IPL can be slightly painful on light skin, but on dark skin, some treatments are just not possible due to burning and pain. E-Light provided the means to treat darker skins without pain by intensifying the results on the Chromophore without intensifying the power of the light.
Suddenly, hair removal and other treatments became possible for even the darkest skins, opening up a whole new and eager marketplace for the Beauty industry.
Recently, SHR technology was introduced as a faster way of offering treatments, but SHR is not without it's own set of risks. SHR means "Super Hair Removal" and what it effectively does is pulse a number of times from 1 to 5 when you press the switch. The main issue with this is safety. It is easy to burn your client if you do not move the hand piece fast enough. It is also hard to judge where you have treated because of the swift movements, which also means you can miss areas. To use SHR, the therapist needs special training and anyone who disagrees with this si courting trouble and possible law suits.
Enter FSR, or F-light. F-light does the job of speeding up the process by focusing the RF photons in a more precise way than E-Light can. E-Light uses a scattergun approach, and it is effective, but F-Light has the precision of laser, meaning better efficacy, improved results and faster treatment times. All this adds up to a safer treatment regime and more profit for the clinic.
So, F-Light is slightly more gentle than E-Light, a lot safer and more effective than SHR and doesn't cost the premium that SHR seems to attract. SHR is most certainly a hot topic and being marketed hard, but F-Light is the safer, more effective way to go. There is also no need for specialist training on top of the normal IPL training needed for F-Light.
Elliott Hayes is a technology evangelist in the field of lasers and LLLT, or Low Level laser Therapy.
Elliott promotes the use of lasers and LLLT devices in medicine and Aesthetics and provides research based analysis on the latest products and treatment protocols.
