
Our IPL machine
IPL (Intense Pulse Light)
It is important business, be informed before you buy! It always amazes me how many people put such little importance on choosing where they will go for IPL treatments, when so many things can and do go wrong. The results are so varied and the number of treatments required can vary so dramatically.
Number 1 rule: don’t simply purchase an IPL service based upon price alone.
Number 2 rule: Never purchase IPL on a coupon. Why? You don’t have any knowledge of the therapist and trainers qualifications. Many salons use coupon sales to train staff – did you realise you were being used as a guinea pig?
You also don’t know what piece of equipment they are using. There are 100’s of IPL machines in the market and the purchase price and place they are made will vary greatly. Machines can come from Taiwan, China and can cost as little $12, 000. You can also get highly sophisticated machines that are engineered in Germany, America and cost $149, 000. There is a big difference and you can be assured there is a massive difference in the service, results and risk!
There are ‘IPL’ companies out there who use this term very lightly as the term IPL has been trademarked by one company: Luminous. There is no question that this company has set the Gold Standard for IPL technology. In a recent survey the Luminous One IPL machine was clearly voted the best IPL machine on the market. It is staggering to see that features introduced by Luminous more than 5 years ago are still not available in any other competitive device today.
Some of the specific design features include:
The high source
The configuration of the treatment head
The variety of pulse durations (speed, depth, length of pulse)
Pulse programs
Fluence
All of these factors are important to the final clinical outcome.
Skin rejuvenation
IPL (TM) allows us to selectively treat unwanted skin lesions while keeping surrounding tissue intact. Known as selective photo-thermolysis. To accomplish this we not only need correct colour of light to match the lesion, but we need the light energy to be delivered in a time frame that is less than the ‘thermal response time’ (TRT) of the target/lesion.
From this kind of information you can see these treatments are no game! These are highly sophisticated treatments sometimes not administered by highly sophisticated machines or operators!
Luminous can deliver the required energy in less time than any other machine. They can do this because it is the most powerful on the market. It is up to 4 times faster than most other systems.
So if the IPL machine your treatment is being administered by can sit on a bench top, you can be assured this it does not have the power to deliver energy in a pulse width short enough to suit the epidermis. So therefore the light pulse is much shorter than the TRT may cause insufficient heating of the target structures. Pulse widths much longer than TRT may cause non selective damage to the surrounding dermis.
Portable machines claiming to have Intense Pulse Light capability have pulse times up to 600 milliseconds or a full 60 times the TRT of skin. Whilst you would be physically unable to hold your hand on a hot stove for more than the circa 200 milliseconds of your involuntary reflex time, such machines force the heating of the dermis at a cellular level that seems to be an extraordinarily long time. They qualify as Pulse Light Machines but certainly not “Intense” in their capacity. Therefore IPL is trademarked. The other machines are more likely flashing your car’s high beams.
The current market is flooded with cheap imitations and claims made by the ‘going for a song’ systems bombarding the market are not checked by independent clinical trails or substantial medical evidence.
Luminous IPL sets the FDA precedent for every IPL system. It is FDA approved and Luminous is the only manufacturer to have their clinical papers published in medical journals. Many clinics are too easily convinced of the latest and greatest ‘new’ IPL system, only to later learn they have purchased a glorified flashlight. These days they are flashing them up with LED.
Le Beau Day Spa spent 3 years researching IPL, travelling to the eastern states and abroad to ensure we have the best machine on the market. Luminous IPL systems are manufactured with extraordinary precious, computer customisation, capabilities for exquisitely harnessed power and ease of use.
I must admit that when coupons first came out Le Beau participated in coupons to help get our IPL service known and to get it kick started. I was shocked at how many people just bought without any questions. They had no knowledge of what we used, how well our staff were trained etc. Many clients who had come to us had purchased other IPL coupons from other spas and were amazed at how different we were in the following areas:
Pre treatment consultation and patch test
IPL question forms
The machine used
The way the service is administered
Staff knowledge and confidence
Difference in pain factor
Professionalism
Hygiene
So not all IPL machines are created equal. When you are choosing a clinic ask yourself:
How risky do you want your treatment to be?
Do you care about hygiene?
Do you want great results?
Do you want the possibility of a trainee doing your treatment?
Is therapist knowledge and experience important to you?
Do you deserve the best service?
Do you care about the risk management put in place by the company administering the IPL?
How many treatments do you need, 6, 25 or more?
Do you care if the therapist is qualified?
IPL is not a game, it is a serious medi spa treatment and where you go should be researched as you would research any other medical cosmetic service.
Would you buy a boob job on a coupon?
Keep in mind that spa’s and salon’s who are reputable will very rarely appear on an IPL coupon constantly as the equipment and service delivered by these companies don’t leave them desperate for work. Companies who sell coupons are most often just trying to pay the next bill!