What's so good about personal beauty lasers?


What's so bad about surgery? Why shouldn't I inject poisons into my body? Who cares if it gives me cancer or makes me infertile as long as I look young? Must we suffer to be beautiful? Or will a cosmetic laser treatment fix everything safely and painlessly?


What is Low Level Laser Therapy?

"Low Level Laser Therapy or Laser Phototherapy is a method where light from a laser is applied to tissue (or cells in culture) in order to influence cell or tissue functions with such low light intensity that heating is negligible. The effects achieved are hence not due to heating but to photochemical or photobiologic reactions like the effect of light in plants. The lasers used are normally referred to as therapeutic lasers." Swedish Laser Medical Society

Low Level Laser Therapy is widely used in hospitals and clinics around the world to treat and cure a number of conditions including pain relief, problematic skin conditions and to promote healing in wounds or injuries.

Low Level Laser Therapy is beneficial in repairing damaged cells and speeds up and enhances the response of the body’s immune system as well as aiding pain relief. That is why it is so effective when used for skin rejuvenation and healing acne and skin blemishes - it restores the skin to a healthy, more youthful condition.

Also, if you are suffering from hair loss, low level laser therapy can help to stimulate the hair follicles into action again, resulting in new hair growth and healthier hair. Amazing but true.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Can You Reverse Hair Loss with a Laser?

Hair loss treatment with low level laser light therapy can be traced back to 1964 when Professor Andre Mester of Budapest conducted an experiment using low level laser light rays to heal the wounds of laboratory mice. He discovered that the laser rays stimulated blood circulation and caused hair located in the area of the wound to grow thicker and longer.

Low level laser light therapy is now widely used around the world as a treatment for hair loss. Laser light rays are applied directly to the scalp and penetrate deeply to activate blood circulation around the hair follicles, halting hair loss and stimulating new growth.

Until recently, this treatment was only available under medical supervision in clinics and was very costly, but the miniaturisation of the technology and stringent, international safety and quality requirements have led to the exciting development of affordable hand-held hair loss treatment lasers for personal use at home.

What Type Of Hair Laser Will Be Most Effective?

Currently there are many different types of hair laser available on the market but how do you choose which is going to be the most effective in treating your hair loss?

Each different laser light used in hair loss treatment lasers has a specific treatment and penetration depth into the scalp. The blood capillaries in direct contact with the dermal papillae lie in the hypodermis, the deepest inner layer among 3 layers of skin (scalp) tissue. The dermal papillae nourish the hair follicles and play a pivotal role in the cycle of hair formation and growth.

Does the Wavelength of the Lasers Matter?

Lasers around the 650nm / 670nm wavelength are the most commonly used in hair loss treatment lasers since their light is a clear, bright red which is immediately visible to the naked eye. It is easily observed to be working in treatment and in fact, it actually does have a beneficial therapeutic effect. They are also cheaper to use in manufacture than longer wavelength, infrared lasers. However, light at this wavelength mainly treats the surface of the scalp and does not penetrate deeply enough so, used alone, is not sufficient for effective hair loss treatment.

The more expensive infrared (invisible light) lasers which use 780nm wavelength are able to penetrate and energise deeper within the skin tissue and are more effective in treatment, although substances within the skin tissue such as melanin, water and haemoglobin absorb and weaken the energy of the laser light. Due to their cost, these lasers are rarely used by manufacturers of hair loss treatment lasers.

Laser light at 830nm wavelength is the least absorbed by the melanin, water and haemoglobin in the skin tissue and therefore able to retain more of its beneficial power to energise the hair follicles and so more light energy can be absorbed into the blood cells. This increases blood circulation and the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the hair follicles.

Multi Wavelength Hair Loss Treatment Lasers

The most effective hair loss treatment lasers use a combination of 670nm, 780nm and 830nm lasers, such as the Wellay Personal Hair Laser which uses 21 low power multi-wavelength lasers, in 7 groups of 3 lasers at 670nm, 780nm and 830nm. The 3 different wavelengths irradiate the same area of the scalp simultaneously, each working at different layers of the tissue, maximising the benefit and proving a more effective hair growth treatment.

In clinical trials, regular treatment with a Wellay Personal Hair Laser stops the progress of hair loss in 85% of users, increases blood supply to the scalp by 54% after only one treatment, stimulates hair follicles to activate re-growth and improves the quality of the hair shaft resulting in a 25% increase in hair volume and shinier and thicker hair. It also gives noticeable hair growth in as little as 12 weeks. With continuing use, the hair will carry on growing and improving in health.

Patented Technology

The Wellay Personal Hair Laser from beauty-lasers uses world-first patented technology and is the only genuine multi-wavelength hair treatment laser for home treatment of hair loss and scalp conditions. It has CE approval, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 13485 and FDA (Korea) approval. It has been designed to the highest international safety and quality standards.

There are many scientific studies for each laser wavelength that show how effective it is in therapeutic treatment - you can read more about the different effects of each wavelength on the website of the Swedish Laser Medical Society.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Bankrupted by Beauty?

£595 face cream, £53 lipstick and £100 foundation - why have cosmetics prices gone mad?
By Alice Hart-Davis

When the missive arrived from the representatives of Dr Nicholas Perricone, I read it with close interest.

Perricone is one of the world's most highly regarded dermatologists and I learned that in London, in October, he will be making available, for a few weeks only, a small amount of his 'Private Reserve' serum.

I had heard rumours of this fabled stuff, but wasn't sure it actually existed; a serum so special, so high-tech and crammed with patented neuropeptides (tiny molecules that help renew the skin) that it is mixed by hand, once a year, for his highest-profile clients; a skincare holy Grail, if you like . . . and then my reverie was interrupted. I saw the price.

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Friday, August 20, 2010

Reverse Your Losses

This isn't a story about losing your hair gracefully.

Instead, it's about men like Chuck, a successful lawyer, who in his early twenties looked in the mirror and was mortified to see the hair on his temples thinning. He could do the math, especially after thumbing through the family photo album and using his father and uncles as gauges. If he was losing his hair this young, he figured, he'd probably be bald by his thirties, a time that should be the pinnacle of a man's earning power and social prowess.

The images in the mental gallery that followed weren't pretty, starting with the one of him wearing a toupee. "I realized a hairpiece would never work with my active lifestyle," he says. Transplant technology was improving, he read, but the idea of having his follicles rearranged in a $20,000 surgical shell game filled him with dread.

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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Cosmetic facial filler suspended

Novabel is marketed as "the gentle, powerful, versatile dermal shaper" by its manufacturer, Merz.

Since its introduction in January the algae-based product has been used by cosmetic surgeons to fill out lines, reduce hollowness below the eyes and plump out cheeks.

According to Merz, 17 clinics use the substance and about 1,700 people across Britain have been treated with it.

But on Thursday the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) issued an alert that it should be withdrawn immediately from use.

It stated that Merz had "received reports of adverse reactions to the filler including redness, bruising, pain, swelling and histologically confirmed granuloma". The last is an immune system response that results in small raised nodules under the skin.

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Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: What is a Wellay Hair Loss Treatment Laser?

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: What is a Wellay Hair Loss Treatment Laser?: "The Wellay @home Hair Loss Treatment Laser is the World's first multi-wavelength personal laser for home treatment of hair loss and scalp he..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: If my hair follicles are dead, will the hair laser...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: If my hair follicles are dead, will the hair laser...: "There's a lot of snake oil out there in terms of hair regrowth products so I have to say this upfront. The Wellay Hair Loss Treatment Laser ..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Would I be able to use other hair growth products,...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Would I be able to use other hair growth products,...: "Yes. You can continue to use any medication you are taking for hair loss, any hair lotion or other treatments while using the Wellay @home H..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Would I be getting the same results from this Hair...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Would I be getting the same results from this Hair...: "I have had laser treatment before from a company which I visited once a week where they used the large laser over the entire head. Will the ..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: I had plastic surgery but it was years ago. Can I ...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: I had plastic surgery but it was years ago. Can I ...: "Yes. The Wellay @home hair laser will not have any adverse effects. It's quite safe for you to use. The only safety consideration (and it i..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Does the Wellay @home hair laser work for Afro-Car...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Does the Wellay @home hair laser work for Afro-Car...: "Yes. The Wellay @home hair laser will treat hair loss for any colour skin and any colour hair - skin and hair colour and hair texture are no..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: How do I choose the best and most effective hair l...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: How do I choose the best and most effective hair l...: "Which wavelengths are able to penetrate the skin and be most effective? The Wellay @home Hair Laser was developed jointly, through clinical..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Is the Wellay Hair Laser capable of regrowing hair...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Is the Wellay Hair Laser capable of regrowing hair...: "Both men and women tend to lose hair due to hormonal changes in the body. It is mainly the alterations in the metabolism of androgen in the ..."

Botox: Perennially perky, even when sad

After having Botox, Rebecca Newman finds herself longing to frown again.

"Just a few injections around your eyebrows,” recommends Dr Nick Lowe. Botox. It’s a bit like being offered drugs. The excitement. The fear. The shame. Increasingly, the ubiquity: about 500,000 people have botulinum toxin syringed into their dermis each year in Britain, in the pursuit of beauty, if not truth.

Yet despite its popularity, Botox is not regulated in this country and, should you come across a shoddy practitioner, you could end up with a petrified, lopsided face. But Dr Lowe, aka Dr Botox, is one of the country’s most celebrated dermatologists. So when he tells me that my wrinkles are nothing to worry about, and that he can relax the muscles I use when I frown (which I do as I type, over the years leading to droopy, basset-hound eyelids) I am powerless to resist.

A few small pricks later, my eyes open beautifully wide, just as they used to.

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Thursday, August 05, 2010

Why I refuse to get Botox, by Julia Roberts

Eat Pray Love star Julia Roberts refuses to get Botox because she wants her face to 'tell a story'.

The 42-year-old wants to embrace her natural looks for her children.

Julia told US Elle magazine: 'I want my kids to know when I'm p***ed, when I'm happy and when I'm confounded.

'Your face tells a story and it shouldn't be a story about your drive to the doctor's office.'

The actress, who is the new face of Lancome, cannot understand the obsession with looking young.

She said: 'It's unfortunate that we live in such a panicked, dysmorphic society where women don't even give themselves a chance to see what they'll look like as older persons.

'I want to have some idea of what I'll look like before I start cleaning the slates.'

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LIZ JONES MOANS Forget the gym, let's just bring back the girdle

I hate growing old. Every day, you wake up and something else has changed. This morning, I noticed my eyes are now disappearing into their sockets. When did that happen?

More importantly, why is it happening? And where are the beauty features in the glossies telling me how to deal with this?

Most annoying fashion tip gleaned from the September issues, (from InStyle magazine): 'Don't want your hair blowing in your face? Do the hair tuck.' This involves 'tucking your hair into your coat, a la the Margaret Howell catwalk show'.

Are these women insane? I wish that instead, over the years they'd told me I wouldn't always be young. That instead of worrying about stuff I should have enjoyed life, done things.

Equally laughable is the headline accompanying the interview with Louise Redknapp, in Red magazine: 'This is me at 35 and I like it.'

She is 35, not 90! She has money, a husband, children, but she is apologising for the fact she is still alive.

Thinking about my upcoming birthday, I pulled out a copy of Vogue from the month I was born: September 1958. Not one feature on dieting, exercise or plastic surgery. Not a single ad for hair colour.

The models are in their 40s and 50s. There are, though, lots of ads for girdles. That's more like it: cheaper and less bother than gym membership, and far less wear and tear on the face...

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Immupure - Milking It

FROM VOGUE beauty news:

New York socialites are snapping up Immupure, a new anti-ageing skincare line that uses the colostrum (or first milk) produced by cows nursing their newborns.

Colostrum is full of essential vitamins and nutrients, and Immupure have combined the nutritious milk with aloe vera to create a range of anti-ageing serums and moisturisers.

Used daily, the Immupure line aims to boost the skin's natural production of collagen and elastin, helping to smooth out fine lines and wrinkles, repair sun damage and generally perk up the skin no end.

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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

The British Beauty Blogger Trials the Tanda Skincare System

The British Beauty Blogger is just about to start trialling the Tanda Skincare System that uses red LED light to provide anti-ageing and skin-improving benefits and is the latest to enter the hugely lucrative 'beauty gadget' market.

Here's the promise:

75% of Tanda Regenerate users reported an immediate benefit in hydration;
92% of users reported softer, smoother and more radiant looking skin, and
88% of users saw an improvement in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (after 30 days).

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Monday, August 02, 2010

Freeze off that fat instead of melting away your flab with a laser

The hottest craze from America is to chill it to death!

Treatments based on the concept of melting away fat cells with heat based lasers have become commonplace. But the hottest new weight-loss procedure to arrive in the UK does the complete opposite - it freezes hard-to-shift flab to death.

Fresh from the U.S., this innovative machine goes by the name of Zeltiq, and uses a cooling method called cryolipolysis to target, chill and break down fat cells.

Developed by boffins at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, Zeltiq has proved a massive hit across the pond since being introduced a year ago - and now it's coming to the UK.

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