How does it work?
The visible light source used in this procedure is attracted to melanin, which is found in hair. Because there is more melanin found in darker hair the darker the hair is, the more effective the treatment.
During the treatment the light that comes through the hand piece will be attracted to the pigment (the colour) in your hair. This will cause a heat reaction in the hair and the heat will travel down to the base of the hair. By damaging the base this will inhibit the hairs ability to grow.
In order to understand how to get the maximum benefits from the Ellipse treatment you need to understand how hair grows. There are 3 stages of hair growth: Anagen; the growing stage, Catagen; the transition stage and Telogen; the resting stage. At any point in time your hair is one of these 3 stages. We need to treat every hair follicle while it is in the anagen stage because that is when the hair is attached to its base and blood supply, and is most likely to be destroyed. Not all the hair is in the anagen stage when you come in for your treatments so we would recommend anything from 3-6 treatments for the best results, with 4-8 week intervals between treatments.
When we treat the area first we will mark the area to be treated with a red pen to determine where we will be working. Then we will shave the area prior to the treatment. We need the hairs to be as short as possible so that light reaches the hair underneath the skin and is not wasted on the surface of the skin. This will make the treatment more effective and comfortable. A gel will then be applied to the skin to help aid the treatment and to help protect the skin during the treatment procedure.
