You can barely turn on the television anymore without hearing some new (or not-so-new) way to rid yourself of unwanted hair. While images of our ancestors paint a much, ahem… hairier picture, humans today spend an inordinate amount of time and money removing hair using a variety of creative and sometimes painful tactics.
To look good, people withstand the pains of plucking, shaving, waxing, electrolysis, and chemicals. While these methods may work—mostly temporarily—they also carry some concerns and risks. Shaving often causes hair to grow back with a vengeance; plucking and waxing are painful; electrolysis is costly; and chemicals can affect sensitive skin.
However, a new light is now shining on the hair removal industry. LED and laser technology is filling out its spectral family as the ability to reliably and cost-effectively fab specific wavelengths and colors continues to progress. And not only is visible light such as blue important, but higher-frequency UV emitters are also key to several designs for very specific applications.
Lower costs, ruggedness (compared to bulb technology), and longer life spans are making it possible to use UV LEDs and lasers in places where bulbs have dominated for years. This includes grow light systems, signage, compound catalyzing (such as UV-cured epoxies), DNA fluorescing, sterilization, and the exploding hair removal market.
So, how does the technology actually work? A localized non-divergent beam targets melanin in the hair follicle growth center, which is called the hair bulb. When in the active phase of hair growth, this wavelength passes through the skin and targets the melanin directly, resulting in the stoppage of growth.
In the past, the types of UV LED treatments have been expensive, especially for applications covering large areas of hair. However, the increased availability of LEDs and lasers at lower costs is driving the market and creating even lower, more competitive pricing for these parts.
Several top quality manufacturers like Avago Technologies, Finisar, OPTEK Technology, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, and Toshiba, provide families of targeted wavelength devices that are ready for use. As a result, the limited market for hair removal emitters just became a huge market for personal hair care removers.
Since FDA clearance of the laser technology in the 1990s, UV has been used along with Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) technology, where mixes of extremely bright short-duration pulses can do the same damage to follicles. But, as semiconductor UV emitters become less expensive and more efficient, they are supplanting IPL treatments or combining with them to use multiple wavelengths for increased effectiveness. For example, IPL adds some other benefits like skin rejuvenation and spider vein reduction.
It is important to note that there are limitations here, too. The effectiveness of this process is affected by the color of hair compared to the color of skin. Laser hair removal typically does not work for gray or light hair on dark skin. New wavelengths are being produced using newer compounds like Nd:YAG, but, ideally a tunable UV emitter is what will be most effective.
A good place to start is a parametric search engine that allows you to select wavelength, power, manufacturer, etc. It may also be good to know who’s already making some of these machines. As you do your own research, you will likely come across machines that range in cost from under $100 to over $5,000.