Talk:Intense pulsed light

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[edit] Permanently removing hair

"Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a method of permanently removing hair from the body" - true or false? I've seen various claims stating that IPL may produce a permanent result, but very few clinics in practise will claim this. It's a contentious claim - see [1]. Comments, anyone? - PeteC 16:55, 3 May 2005 (UTC)

I've got a comment about getting this done to my pubes —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.64.168.185 (talk • contribs)

  • Comment away, so. Genital IPL is surprisingly common - Alison✍ 18:07, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
  • It is the law of bio-physics that hair removal can not be permanent until the stem cells that control the regeneration of the destroyed hair follicles are removed. The intense pulsed light or laser devices may destroy the hair follicle or damage the follicle sufficiently to leave it incapable of growing a new hair shaft. But eventually the stem cells will regenerate the hair follicle (that is what stem cells are for) and the hair will return. If a physician or a beauty clinique claim that their equipment can do permanent hair removal, you just need to ask for clinical results (hair counts) made at 2 or 3 year follow-up … for most devices such data simply do not exist. Check the name of the IPL or laser; some cliniques will provide you with data that are produced with other (more safe and efficient) devices - do not trust such cliniques. - Bo 8:34, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Stem cells in hair follicles? Is there any scientific data to support such a notion? ---Peter, 6 June 2007

Certainly – a number of multipotent stem cell repositories are found in the dermis. The main purpose of these cells are to renew damaged or dead tissue structures. Please notice, these are not identical to the pluripotent stem cells that people are discussing so intensely these years. The dermal multipotent stem cells creates dermal cells only – not new organs or anything else. If you search PubMed or Google Scholar using the search term "stem cells" AND "hair follicles" a number of high quality literature is found – many of the papers are printed in peer reviewed magazines. One paper that sums things up nicely is: J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 2003 Jun;8(1):28-38. Hair follicle stem cells. Lavker RM, et al. A more ”popular” reference is found at this BBC news page --- Bo 212.242.116.214 21:07, 27 October 2007 (UTC)