Method and apparatus for treating pseudofolliculitis barbae
First Claim
1. An apparatus for modifying a shape of a least a portion of a hair tip, comprising at least a radiation source generating radiation pulses having wavelengths in a range of about 280 nm to about 100,000 nm and pulse widths in a range of about 1 nsec to about 5 minutes to illuminate a skin treatment area with a fluence in a range of about 0.01 J/cm2 to about 1000 J/cm2 so as to modify shapes of at least some hair tips in the treatment area.
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for hair treatment are disclosed which comprise applying electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to a skin treatment area to deposit energy in one or more hairs so as to modify a shape and/or chemical structure of at least a portion of the hairs. The applied radiation can cause heating of the hair tips, so as to modify their shape, e.g., reduce sharpness of the hair tips. Modification of the hair can involve heat-induced changes to the shape, composition, or function of the hair tip, hair shaft, and/or hair matrix that make the hair less capable of re-entering the skin. The methods and apparatus can treat and/or prevent pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) in the treatment area. A method is also disclosed for managing hair growth using wavelengths between 1200 nm and 1400 nm.
185 Citations
69 Claims
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1. An apparatus for modifying a shape of a least a portion of a hair tip, comprising
at least a radiation source generating radiation pulses having wavelengths in a range of about 280 nm to about 100,000 nm and pulse widths in a range of about 1 nsec to about 5 minutes to illuminate a skin treatment area with a fluence in a range of about 0.01 J/cm2 to about 1000 J/cm2 so as to modify shapes of at least some hair tips in the treatment area.
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3. An apparatus for reducing curliness of hair shafts, comprising
one or more radiation sources generating radiation pulses having wavelengths in a range of about 380 nm to about 2700 nm and pulse widths in a range of about 1 nsec to about 1 minute for illuminating a skin treatment area with a fluence in a range of about 0.1 J/cm2 to about 1000 J/cm2 so as to reduce curliness of at least some hair shafts in the treatment area.
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5. An apparatus for controlling hair growth, comprising
at least one radiation source generating electromagnetic radiation having wavelength components in a range of about 1200 to about 1400 nm for application to one or more hair follicles in a skin treatment area so as to modulate hair growth, wherein said radiation source can be any of an LED, a laser diode, a filtered arc lamp or a filtered halogen lamp.
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6. An apparatus for modifying elasticity of hair shafts, comprising
one or more radiation sources generating radiation pulses having wavelengths in a range of about 600 to about 1400 nm and pulse widths in a range of about 1 nsec to about 1 minute for illuminating a skin treatment area with a fluence in a range of about 0.1 J/cm2 to about 1000 J/cm2 so as to modify elasticity of at least some hair shafts in the treatment area.
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7. A dermatological system, comprising
an applicator having a head portion adapted for scanning over a skin treatment area and incorporating at least one radiation source, a tracker coupled to said head portion for generating signals indicative of positions of said head portion during a scan, and a controller coupled to said tracker and said radiation source, said controller periodically activating said radiation source based on position signals received from the tracker.
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10. A hair treatment method comprising:
applying electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to a skin treatment area to deposit energy in one or more hair tips in the area so as to modify a shape of at least a portion of said hair tips. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of treating hair, comprising
applying electromagnetic radiation to a skin treatment area for one or more hair shafts in the treatment area so as to cause a change in elasticity of said hair shafts.
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51. A method of controlling hair growth, comprising
applying electromagnetic radiation having wavelength components in a range of about 1200 to about 1400 nm to one or more hair follicles in a skin treatment area so as to modulate hair growth.
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60. A method of treating hair, comprising
irradiating a plurality of hair follicles in a treatment area with radiation of a wavelength, and fluence suitable for decreasing curliness of at least a portion of said hairs.
Specification