Abstract:
A method of hair removal, used primarily for cosmetic purposes, comprising the transcutaneous use of laser light having a wavelength which targets the keratin components of hair, thus destroying the hair by photothermolysis without damage to surrounding skin or tissue; this primary method may be supplemented by the use of intrafollicular hair removal methods utilizing a second wavelength of light produced by the same source used to generate the primary light wavelength.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/225,398 filed Jan. 6, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,102, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/832,920 filed Apr. 4, 1997 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates generally to a method of permanent hair removal using laser light. More specifically, the invention relates to the transcutaneous use of laser light to target the keratin component of hair, thus destroying the hair by photothermolysis without damage to surrounding skin or tissue. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Currently available laser hair removal methods may be classified as either intrafollicular or transcutaneous in nature. Intrafollicular methods comprise the delivery of laser light through a small probe tip to the hair follicle. The light utilized is of a wavelength which is readily absorbed by either the melanin in the hair or the hemoglobin in the blood vessels surrounding the papilla. This absorption of light energy produces heat, resulting in damage to the hair shaft, photocoagulation of the tissue surrounding the papilla, and subsequent destruction of the hair. Because the light energy employed in this method is absorbed by either blood or melanin in the skin, it requires the use of a very narrow beam of light to target a single hair at a time and prevent damage to the surrounding tissue. This results in a painstaking, time-consuming process which must be administered by a skilled operator. When targeting melanin, this method losses effectiveness when used on lighter haired or darker skinned patients. In addition, some methods in this category require that the needle-like probe tip be inserted into the hair follicle, a painful process which must be repeated for every hair. 
     Transcutaneous laser hair removal methods currently available utilizes a substance which is massaged into the skin to penetrate the hair ducts. After cleaning the substance from the skin&#39;s surface, light of a wavelength which passes through the skin, but which is absorbed by the substance, is directed onto the treated area. The absorption of energy by the substance applied to the hair duct causes photocoagulation of the tissue surrounding the papilla and results in destruction of the hair. Although this method allows for treatment of a sizeable area of skin, it requires the inconvenient, time consuming application of the light-absorbing substance. In addition, great care must be taken to completely remove the substance from the skin&#39;s surface prior to the laser treatment to avoid damage to the skin. 
     Because of the disadvantages associated with both methods of hair removal in use today, a new method is needed which provides faster, more convenient, and less painful permanent hair removal without damage to the patient&#39;s skin. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a method of permanent hair removal used primarily for cosmetic purposes. This method comprises the transcutaneous use of laser light having wavelength in the 900-950 nanometer range wherein the light is directed onto an area of skin on which hair removal is desired. Light of this wavelength passes through the skin with only minimal absorption by blood, blood components, and melanin. This wavelength is, however, readily absorbed by the protein keratin, the main component of hair of all colors. Absorption of the light energy by the keratin produces heat, which damages the hair shaft and root and photocoagulates the blood vessels and tissue surrounding the papilla, resulting in destruction of the hair and preventing its re-growth. 
     In its preferred embodiment, the method also includes the use of a second wavelength of laser light produced by known means, such as second harmonic generation or 3-mixing plus second harmonic generation, from the same laser source which generates the primary 900-950 nm wavelength. This second wavelength of light, which will be in the 450-475 nanometer range, is readily absorbed by both blood components and melanin. An intrafollicular probe is used to deliver the second wavelength of light to the hair follicle, in the manner described in the prior art, to treat the small percentage of hairs having papillae at a skin depth beyond the effective range of the primary wavelength of light. In this fashion, a single laser light source can be used to treat all types of hair in the least painful and most efficient, cost effective, and convenient manner possible. 
     There are numerous problems associated with the hair removal methods in the field of prior art. Some of these methods are painful for the patient. Others have varying effectiveness depending on the skin and hair color of the patient. Most must be administered by highly skilled operators to reduce the risk to the patient. All of these methods involve expensive, painstaking, and time-consuming processes. In addition, all carry substantial risk of skin damage if not performed properly. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a hair removal method which: 1) is fast and convenient; 2) is less painful; 3) is effective on hair of all types; 4) has reduced risk for skin damage; and 5) utilizes a low cost, low maintenance, and low power consumption laser source. Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an area of skin showing the structure of hair and skin and the transcutaneous application of laser light. 
     FIG. 2 is a graph showing the absorption spectrum of hemoglobin, melanin, and keratin in the visible and near infra-red light range. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an area of skin showing the structure of hair and skin and the intrafollicular application of laser light. 
    
    
     DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       9  hair 
       10  shaft 
       11  root 
       12  papilla 
       13  follicle 
       14  blood vessels 
       15  sebaceous glands 
       16  epidermis 
       17  dermis 
       18  laserlight 
       19  fiber optic cable probe tip 
       20  intrafollicular probe 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Description: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown, laser light  18  emanates from the probe tip  19  of a fiber optic cable, not shown, and is directed onto the surface of the skin. The optical elements of the probe are not in contact with the surface of the skin, in the transcutaneous approach. Non-contact avoids the contamination of the optical components by surface substances, such as sebum, and therefore reduces the need for post-treatment cleansing of the optics, a process which can remove the anti-reflective coatings on them, thereby reducing the amount of energy reaching the skin&#39;s surface and making accurate dosage difficult. The other end of the fiber optic cable is connected to a laser light source, also not shown. The size and shape of the light beam may be customized to meet the requirements of any individual application. FIG. 1 also illustrates the structure of hairs  9  and the surrounding upper and lower skin layers, known as the sepidermis  16  and the dermis  17 , respectively. Hair  9  comprises shaft  10 , shown shaved near the surface of the skin, and root I 1 . Follicle  13  is a sac which encloses shaft  10 , root  11 , and adjacent sebaceous glands  15 . Located at the lower end of follicle  13  is the papilla  12 , which is fed by blood vessels  14  and provides nourishment to root  11 . In order to prevent regrowth of hair  9 , it is the papilla  12  and blood vessels  14  which must be damaged sufficiently to prevent continued nourishment of root  11 . 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the relatively high absorption of light in the 880-950 nm wavelength range by the protein keratin. FIG. 2 also shows the relatively low absorption of light in the same range by the hemoglobin and melanin present in the tissue surrounding the hair. These absorption characteristics of keratin, hemoglobin, and melanin allow the transcutaneous use of light of the chosen wavelength to target the keratin in the hair shaft and subsequently destroy the papilla without damage to the surrounding tissue. 
     The preferred embodiment of the invention primarily utilizes laser light  18  having wavelength in the 900-950 nanometer range, optimally around 920 nm. As indicated in FIG. 2, light of this wavelength passes through the dermis  17  and the epidermis  16  with only minimal absorption by blood, blood components, and melanin. Although light in the 880-900 nm range is also well-absorbed by keratin, the increased absorption by melanin in this range, as compared to the absorption in the 900-950 nm range, absorption of the light in the 880-900 nm range by melanin could lead to skin damage in some individuals, particularly those with darker skin colors and lighter hair coloring. The 900-950 nm wavelength range is, however, absorbed by the protein keratin, which is the main component of hair of all colors. Absorption of the light energy by the keratin produces heat, which damages the hair shaft  10  and root  11 . This heat may also photocoagulate the blood vessels  14  feeding the papilla  12 , resulting in destruction of the hair  9  and increasing the probability of permanent removal. 
     Power level and duration of the laser pulse directed onto the skin must be carefully chosen to optimize the conduction of heat from the hair shaft and root to the papilla. As an example, a 0.2 second pulse from a laser delivering a power level of approximately 6 milliwatts per hair to the root would deliver sufficient energy to the hair shaft and root to result in significant damage to the papilla and a high probability of permanent hair removal. Use of a shorter, higher energy laser pulse will rapidly vaporize the hair, resulting in hair removal below the surface with little probability of permanent hair destruction. Pulses of less than 0.0001 seconds in duration having sufficient energy to damage hair can lead to very explosive, i.e., photoacoustic, absorption and to hyper-or hypo-pigmentation. Conversely, a pulse longer than 1.0 seconds can result in clinically-observable damage to the surrounding tissue and possible scarring. Prior art often limits the exposure time to periods less than the thermal relaxation predicted using the thermal and geometric parameters of the melanosomes, the melanin-bearing microstructures. Our target is the hair itself, which is much larger than these melanosomes, leading to a somewhat longer maximum exposure time, according to the same type of estimates used in the prior art. Our clinical observations are consistent with the safety of the 0.2-1.0 second exposure range. 
     Although highly effective on hairs having papillas at a skin depth of 1.0 cm or less, scattering and absorption of the laser light make the transcutaneous method less effective on the small percentage of hairs which exceed this limit. To effectively remove these hairs, the preferred embodiment of the invention further comprises the intrafollicular application of laser light  18  having a second wavelength, as shown in FIG.  3 . This second wavelength is produced by known means, such as second harmonic generation or 3-mixing plus second harmonic generation, from the same laser source which generates the primary 900-950 nm wavelength. In the manner described in the prior art, the intrafollicular probe  20  is used to deliver laser light  18  of the second wavelength directly into the follicle  13  of a hair  9  having papilla  12  at a skin depth beyond the effective range of the transcutaneous method. This second wavelength of light, in the 450-475 nanometer range, is readily absorbed by either the melanin in the hair  9  or the hemoglobin in the blood vessels  14  surrounding the papilla  12 , resulting in damage to the hair shaft  10 , photocoagulation of the tissue surrounding the papilla, and subsequent destruction of the hair. In this fashion, a single, inexpensive, laser light source can be used to treat all types of hair in the least painful and most efficient, cost effective, and convenient manner possible. 
     Although the above description contains specificities pertaining to laser light wavelength, pulse duration, and power level, these specificities should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Variations in primary and secondary laser wavelength, pulse duration, and power level may be possible without significantly reducing the effectiveness of the method. The invention contemplates all variations in these, and all other laser parameters, which accomplish an equivalent result.