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Cosmetic Surgery & Beauty Magazine #70

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feature<br />

LED therapy<br />

Treatment with light emitting diodes (LED) delivers light<br />

at certain wavelengths to stimulate cellular activity and<br />

collagen production in the dermis. This delivers an antiageing,<br />

rejuvenating effect, and LED treatment is often<br />

recommended before and after surgery, as well as a<br />

standalone skin revitalisation treatment.<br />

It uses different wavelengths to increase blood flow to<br />

the skin, accelerate cellular turnover and address specific<br />

concerns such as acne or pigmentation.<br />

An is a shallower, gentler treatment than IPL, and is<br />

often used for collagen boosting and rejuvenating the skin.<br />

LEDs are very small light bulbs that, in contrast to<br />

ordinary incandescent bulbs, don’t get especially hot and<br />

don’t burn out. LEDs have been found to trigger natural<br />

chemical processes inside the cells, boosting the body’s<br />

own production of collagen, which make them particularly<br />

useful for skin rejuvenation.<br />

During treatment, certain light wavelengths are used to<br />

cause different reactions in the skin. Infrared light deeply<br />

penetrates the dermis and stimulates blood flow and<br />

collagen rebuilding in the skin’s deeper layers. Blue light,<br />

which is a shorter wavelength, doesn’t penetrate as deeply<br />

and is used for its anti-microbial effect, inhibiting the growth<br />

of acne-causing bacteria.<br />

Photodynamic<br />

therapy<br />

Photodynamic therapy uses a chemical reaction activated<br />

by light energy to selectively destroy specific tissues and<br />

can be used to treat sunspots, certain types of skin cancer,<br />

rosacea, acne and sun-damaged skin.<br />

A photosensitising medication is applied topically on<br />

the skin and a narrow band of light (red or blue light) is<br />

administered to cause a moderately deep exfoliation and<br />

target damaged tissue and sebaceous glands.<br />

When skin is exposed to a light source of an appropriate<br />

wavelength, its photosensitiser molecules are activated to<br />

produce oxygen intermediates that destroy the targeted<br />

cells. Recovery time is around two weeks after each<br />

treatment and usually one to three sessions are required.<br />

Laser therapy<br />

Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification for the Stimulated<br />

Emission of Radiation. Laser light is different to normal<br />

light for many reasons: it travels in a synchronised fashion;<br />

retains its intensity over a long distance; is monochromatic<br />

(of the same wavelength or colour) and can be pulsed.<br />

Laser therapies work by targeting tissue and can be<br />

light-based<br />

therapies reach<br />

much deeper levels<br />

and affect far more<br />

significant changes<br />

than would be<br />

possible with<br />

other cosmetic<br />

treatments<br />

used for a number of treatments, including pigmentation,<br />

scarring, unwanted hair, spider veins, sun-damaged skin,<br />

wrinkle reduction and overall complexion rejuvenation.<br />

The principle behind lasers is light absorption. The same<br />

as a black car will be hotter than a white car because it<br />

absorbs more wavelengths of light, certain target tissues<br />

will absorb certain wavelengths of light more effectively.<br />

As the laser light is monochromatic, the target tissue<br />

will take on maximum absorption while the surrounding<br />

tissues won’t. This allows the target to be isolated<br />

and treated. In other words, the laser emits a single<br />

frequency of light with all the light waves going in the same<br />

direction, allowing the target tissue to absorb the maximum<br />

amount of heat.<br />

The target tissue is all-important when treating skin<br />

problems with a laser. For pigmentation it is melanin; for<br />

spider veins and other vascular conditions it is haemoglobin<br />

(blood); and for wrinkles it is water. Each of these target<br />

tissues absorbs a different wavelength of light, meaning a<br />

different laser is needed for each specific problem.<br />

Recent advances in laser technology mean that laser<br />

skin resurfacing, once reserved for the treatment of severe<br />

conditions such as acne scarring due to the extensive<br />

downtime involved, has become an effective option for<br />

many people seeking reduction of lines and wrinkles and<br />

uneven skin colour, tone and texture.<br />

64 www.cosbeauty.com.au

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