difference between IPL and laser

A recent post to rosacea-support contains some good background and discussion about the difference between IPL and laser. Some extracts ;

IPL is Intense Pulsed Light, also called Photoderm, Fotoderm, and Photofacial. You can find someone who does it at a Laser & Vein Center.Photoderm is a computer-based machine which uses bright light similar to a camera’s flashbulb. The light works much like a laser, but instead of having just one wavelength of light, Photoderm produces a spectrum of light.

Lasers emit a particular wavelength of light that determines the specific target. With rosacea, the wavelength should be partial to absorption by red blood cells. The particular filter used (550nm, 570nm, 590nm, 615nm, etc.) cuts off wavelengths of light below that number. For example, with a 570nm filter, wavelengths less than 570nm do not reach the skin. Different lasers treat at different depths.

IPL WITH RF (radio frequency) is apparently not as good as straight IPL. The RF is made to help treat sun damaged skin, but it interferes with the IPL focusing in on the blood vessel. It is more for photo rejuvenation of sun damaged and mature skin,not rosacea.

V BEAM is different from Intense Pulsed Light. V BEAM is a laser. V BEAM has an ultra long pulse and is a good choice for treatment of broken and visible facial blood vessels. Different lasers treat at different depths: V BEAM doesn’t go as deep as IPL does, but it works well on the superficial vessels. Apparently the V-beam still causes about 7 to 10 days of downtime.

LUMENIS ONE is one of the most recent advancements in IPL/Photoderm. It is quite superior as far as its ability to deliver lower energy with more efficiency. It uses a new technology called OPT (optical pulse technology) that delivers “squared off” pulses, resulting in more even distribution of energy with each pulse.

Related Articles:

• IPL is excellent for rosacea
• photo rejuvenation with IPL
• treating rosacea with intense pulsed light (IPL)
• double pass and double pulse definition
• IPL for facial blood vessels (telangiectasias)
• IPL: pre flush or not (angiogenesis)
• Measuring Erythema (red face) after IPL
• Treating Vascular Lesions with IPL
• anti flushing protocol controls angiogenesis between IPL treatments
• search for local Lumenis One & IPL Quantum
• Rosacea, light and phototherapy
• IPL numbing cream BTL better than EMLA

Read more about: IPL, laser therapy