By Dr.Burger | Hummingbird Medi Spa

What Does That Machine Do?

Aug 2, 2019 | 4:30 AM

A very good friend said to me recently she isn’t always sure what each machine in the Spa does and what the different procedures do. How does a person know what to ask for?
That is a good question and I remember how confusing it was for me even as a physician and a surgeon when I was first introduced to this wonderful and quirky world of Medical Esthetics.
Let’s start with Lasers:Very few Lasers used in the Esthetic world are really Lasers, most of them are merely very bright flashing lights (Intense Pulsed Light or IPL).
IPL does not break the skin and are Level 3 “Lasers”. They flash into the skin at different depths based on their individual colors. It is the same principle as the light spectrum with a prism. Each color IPL has a different ‘target’ based on what that frequency light can vibrate and if you vibrates something fast enough, it breaks; you explode it ….sounds dramatic; and when used correctly the results can be dramatic too. Blue IPL vibrates at the same frequency as mitochondria in bacteria so Blue IPL makes mitochondria in bacteria explode (it blows up the whole bacteria) which means you can use Blue IPL to kill bacteria in the skin of a person who has Acne. Blue IPL will also shrink oil glands permanently so there is less oil overproduction for the person with Acne. Both are wonderful things for someone suffering from Acne.
Red IPL targets young melanin found in the walls of active hair follicles – it blows up that group of hair follicles so they cannot grow hair again. We have multiple hair growth phases, so each new growth phase’s follicles has to be treated to reach a permanent hair loss state.
Green IPL targets old melanin (age spots, sun spots, hyperpigmentation) and hemoglobin (found in blood …think small blood vessels). Green IPL will make already produced melanin (not the sick melanocyte cell, just its product) break up and come to the surface of the skin, which then peels off. When the pigment comes to the surface of the skin it looks like dark coffee grounds sitting on the skin and the effect is called “coffee grounding” – this is a good thing, it means your Green IPL treatment was successful. This makes your sun spots become lighter in color – temporarily only!The sick melanocytes which produce too much melanin lay too deeply in our skin layers to be reached by IPL …see Pixel, Fraxel, Micro-Needling next month. Green IPL also targets hemoglobin which means tiny blood vessels (little visible capillaries, red skin, Rosacea) can be cauterized shut because the IPL cooks (denaturates) the hemoglobin and shuts the little blood vessel. Dramatic right! Yes it is, but the body will regrow those tiny blood vessels unless we permanently heal the skin….see Pixel, Fraxel, Micro-Neelding next month.
Level 4 Lasers are surgical instruments and break the skin. They are (should be) used less often, because they are more potent and need more specialized techniques and more careful handling. Level 4 Lasers are true Lasers like most of us understand the word laser – it is a potentially dangerous, focused laser beam and are strictly speaking only allowed to be operated by trained Physicians. This is not part of medical school training, it is additional training for Esthetic Physicians.Level 4 Lasers are potentially more harmful if use use incorrectly, but also deliver more dramatic results than Level 3 Lasers – if used correctly. For you, the consumer, it means you should ensure there is a Physician involved in the protocols, training and operation of these Lasers.
This group has 2 types of Lasers: Ablative Lasers (solid beam Lasers) and Non-Ablative Lasers (solid Laser beams broken into smaller beams called Pixels or Fraxels). Ablative (solid beams, think fireman hose) Lasers are eg CO2 Lasers and YAG, and like a fireman’s hose blowing a strong stream of water, it can take out many things in its path. A fireman can also turn the fire hose spigot to a smaller stream (but it is still a solid stream). We use these Lasers for Tattoo removal (very fine setting) burning off moles (stronger setting), removing unwanted tissue etc; it burns /cuts /destroyed tissue until it’s dead!
Non-Ablative Lasers like Pixels and Fraxels are more like a strong shower…the solid stream of water is broken into little streams and hits less intensely than the fireman’s hose. Don’t be misled – it’s still a potent shower. With Level 4 Lasers we can reach the deepest layers of the skin – doing this with an ablative Lasers in a tiny area (mole) is fine, treating the whole face/ a large area with an Ablative laser is like using a bulldozer on a lawn and removing all the soil to rock bottom – bad idea. The Non-Ablative Pixel or Fraxel Lasers is like aerating a lawn – you can aerate the whole lawn (you don’t want to bulldoze the whole lawn). These Pixelated /Fraxelated beams burn through every structure in its path – it is after all a true laser; the good thing is these structures we shoot through strategically (overproducing melanocytes, overactive oil glands, thick scar tissue) will be replaced by newer and younger of the same (healthy melanocytes, normal oil glands, baby collagen).
The Ablative group are sledge hammers, the Non-Ablative group are stilettos. Both have their niche – you don’t demolish a building with a stiletto, nor do you carve a statue with a sledge hammer. Buyer beware, ensure there is a qualified, experienced Physician in control of these Lasers, to decide when a stiletto is used and when a sledgehammer. We see so many injuries and scars due to these Lasers operated by people not qualified to do so, please do your homework and ask the right questions before being lasered. It is hugely distressing for these clients and very hard to treat.
Many brands of machines can produce IPL beams, Pixels, Fraxels, YAG etc. Just as many coffee shops make coffee, whether they call it a skinny-tall-dry / cappuccino / latte / macchiato / americano /espresso…. once you understand the basic ingredients (coffee, milk, water, sweetening) the rest is just (eyeroll) fancy smancy man-made names for different coffees. Now that you know your coffees (types of Lasers), the next qualifier is the manufacturer and the operator. We all know different coffee shops makes different quality coffees….Timmies is not the same as an Italian Bistro as a comparison. (Many of us lover our Timmies, it is just an example not a slam to the Timmies). Similarly IPL machines from different manufacturers will produce different quality IPL beams. Lastly you can get a great barista at a coffee shop with so-so coffee and a terrible barista at the most amazing boutique coffee shop… usually not, but I can happen. It’s the same in the world of Lasers – the brand names used by spa staff when they talk to you the customer are sometimes used just their lingo, and at times it’s used to try and confuse or make things sounds super fancy – so unnecessary and fake. When you go to a Spa or Skin Institution, wether they call it Rose or Lily or Orchid – the real question is: ….is it IPL (Level 3, skin intact, moderate level) ….or Ablative (Level 4, skin pierced, solid beam, small area treated only) ….or Non-Ablative (Level 4, skin pierced, Pixelated or Fraxelated beams, huge areas can be treated)? Once they answer that, you can compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. You cannot compares a Pixel to an IPL.
Next month we go the next group of machines and services they deliver.
As always we are Hummingbird MediSpa where Beauty meets Science; let us help you Reveal your Inner Beauty. Call us for all your Esthetic needs at 403 529 2006.
Have a wonderful day!