If you don’t have time for laser hair removal, you can now do it yourself at home.

For the first time this medical devices for hair removal, once used exclusively by doctors, is now available for home use.

Jennifer Trollman tested out a hair removal device she can use at home. She said she found it much less painful than waxing. And less irritating than shaving.

“I’d get bumps, redness and my skin would be itchy,” she said.

This silk’n device uses pulsed light to basically knock out the growth center of each hair follicle. Something most patients used to need a doctor to do.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Matthew Mingrone, Calfiornia Face and Laser Institute in Palo Alto, said he has sold a dozen of these new home hair removal systems.

“Its quite a breakthrough that this FDA approved home hair removal device is using the same technology we’ve been using in the office for years,” said Dr. Matthew Mingrone.

But are they safe?

“There is risk of scarring with any light device but to keep this safe we ask patients to start slowly and move up with subsequent treatments,” Mingrone said.

And the device will only fire when its depressed against the skin, so you can accidentally fire it into someone’s eyes.

But this light treatment is not recommended for people with dark skin.

The machine costs $800 but Trollman said she was shelling out a hundred dollars per salon wax job. She said its worth the investment.

“Over time we’re saving money because I won’t need to buy a razor and don’t have to wax my legs,” Trollman said.

Source: MSNBC

How to Create the Perfect Eyebrow

Hair removal has been one of the most painful tasks that a person must undertake. Think about all of the pain and trauma you go through every time you pluck a nose hair, cut yourself while shaving, or rip the hairs out of their follicles with a waxing. It makes many cringe just to think about pulling out one of their hairs.

But what if you didn’t have to deal with all of that pain anymore? What if there was a better way to remove your hair?

Well, there is and it’s called a laser hair removal system. The newly invented laser hair removal process is a technology that removes hair in a completely painless fashion through the use of lasers. No more pulling, no more waxing. Those days are done, thanks to the new laser hair removal systems that have been developed by doctors and health professionals from around the country.

While this new procedure is not available everywhere just yet, there are a variety of cities that do offer laser hair removal procedures. Among them are Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Although other cosmetic treatments may be linked to cities like Los Angeles and New York, Chicago is one of the most prominent places for laser hair removal systems.

Are you interested in learning how laser hair removal works?

When discussing hair removal, the most important thing is that the follicle and the bulb (or root) of the hair is removed. Otherwise the hair will just grow right back. Look at shaving, for example. You just cut the tops off of the hair, allowing it to grow right back the next day, the day after that, and so on.

However, with the laser hair removal process, you don’t need to worry about your hair growing back immediately. The laser focuses its light directly into the hair follicle without causing any damage or pain to your skin. Essentially, the laser vaporizes the follicle, allowing the hair to simply fall out without allowing it to return for weeks, months, or even years on end. The ultra high tech laser hair removal system is a great way to get rid of those bothersome hairs that have been pestering you for far too long.

Source: PR-GB

For Gillette, the cutting edge of hair removal no longer involves just razors and blades.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first over-the-counter laser hair removal system, developed by the Boston grooming giant and Burlington company Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. Gillette, a unit of Procter & Gamble Co., is hoping to capitalize on the fast-growing $2.7 billion professional light hair removal market by introducing a device that will let women do their own laser treatments at home.

The allure? No more daily shaving , painful waxing , and irritating hair-removal creams. The laser ritual need only occur once a week or twice a month to get rid of hair — whether it’s under arms, on the legs, or along the bikini line. (The device isn’t recommended for the face or scalp.)

“Do we expect this to ever eliminate shaving altogether?” said P&G spokeswoman Kelly F. Vanasse . “The answer is it’s too soon to tell.”

Gillette and Palomar executives are not saying when the product will be on the market, or how much it will cost, but the FDA approval opens the door for other in-home light cosmetic procedures, including wrinkle removal and cellulite treatments. Light-based hair removal works by emitting pulses of intense light into the hair follicles. The light is absorbed by the pigment in the follicles and converted to heat, which disables the cells responsible for growing new hair.

Professional laser hair removal treatments, which can be permanent, currently cost several thousand dollars. The proposed home device is not as intense as the professional version and would require periodic treatments to maintain hairlessness. Moreover, the product will have a disposable feature that will continue to generate revenue after consumers purchase the device — similar to the way razors need new blades.

In 2005, blades and razors made up about 84 percent of the shaving and hair removal market; depilatories, or chemical-based creams, accounted for about 7 percent; and other grooming supplies, such as scissors and tweezers, made up about 9 percent, according to research firm MarketResearch.com Inc.

“This will be a big change in how people manage their hair growth at home,” Palomar chief executive Joseph Caruso said yesterday. “This will be the best choice they will have. There’s really nothing like it.”

Palomar shares yesterday rose 11 percent, or $5.39, to $55.35 on the news.

Palomar also has existing agreements with healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson to develop over-the-counter light technology to treat cellulite, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and reduce or prevent acne.

The home laser treatment will be revolutionary but unlikely to unseat razors and blades anytime soon, said analyst William Chappell of Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey — in the same way that laser technology to repair vision has not made eyeglasses and contact lenses obsolete.

“This will make a dent and allow Gillette to target a high end of the market,” Chappell said.

Laser hair removal, which was commercialized in the mid-1990s, generated more than $2 billion in revenues last year from more than 12 million light-based hair removal treatments. This is exceeded only by waxing, which brought in over $4 billion through more than 133 million treatments, according to market research firm Medical Insight Inc.

For Gillette, the focus will first be on women, who make up about 70 percent of the light hair removal market. Globally, the female hair removal market is valued at about $10 billion , and women make up the fastest growing segment in Gillette’s razor and blades division, Vanasse said.

Gillette has the option to work with Palomar to create a male version that would target men’s hair, which grows at different rates and thickness than women’s hair.

Now that the FDA has given the green light for the female device, Gillette will make a $2.5 million development payment to Palomar, as part of a collaborative agreement signed in 2003 before P&G bought the Boston grooming company. A California company, SpectraGenics Inc., is also trying to develop a similar over-the-counter hair removal device.

Over the next 12 months, Gillette is likely to undertake limited launches of the device to see if the product is marketable, according to Alexander Arrow , of Lazard Capital Markets in New York.

“Gillette needs to ascertain the public’s reaction to differing shapes, colors, price points, and marketing packages. It will likely test this in limited geographic regions until December 2007, at which point it faces another decision — whether to proceed with a full national launch,” Arrow wrote in a report yesterday.

Michael Moretti , president of Medical Insight, said the appeal and adoption of the product will largely depend on price.

“This approval is an incredible milestone,” Moretti said of the FDA action.

Source: By Jenn Abelson - The Boston Globe

Did you know that you can perform your own laser hair removal at home. The laser hair removal system is a self contain laser unit that is applied to areas where you want the hair to be removed. By following the instruction you apply the correct setting on the unit and place the laser head to the areas of your skin where you want hair to be removed. The laser will be absorbed by the hair and is destroyed. No more regrowth, no more hair. This is much easier than the stinging electrolysis, hot wax and especially those hazardous creams.

If you’re like me and visit those laser hair removal centers, you’ll realize the unit will pay itself off in just one visit. It’s absolutely worth it.

laser hair removal system Completely painless (no needles) and chemical-free. Uses the latest laser technology to kill the hair root resulting in permanent hair removal. Removes unwanted hair quickly and easily. Features power output to suit different hair types.

At ASLMS in Boston, Quanta will participate in Fotona’s US launch the newest Aesthetic Laser, the Fotona XP MAX - high power Long-Pluse Nd:YAG Laser System. Quanta Technologies is the largest Western US distributor for Fotona Lasers. For more information visit www.QuantaWeb.com

Today, Quanta Technologies, the largest Western US distributor of Fotona lasers, helped to launch the new XP Max high power Long-Pulse Nd:YAG Laser at the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Laser and Surgery in Boston. First launched in Europe last Fall, the Fotona XP MAX is the ultimate laser system for laser hair removal and aesthetic procedures. With its superior power and energy generating capabilities, combined with the purpose-built, revolutionary, S-11 scanner, the Fotona XP MAX is already proving to be an enormous success, setting new standards for speed, treatment and efficiency in laser hair removal.

The purpose-built S-11 scanner provides an unprecedented scan area of 42cm2 (6.5 x 6.5 cm), and allows repetition rates up to a maximum of 75 Hz. In addition unlike any other scanner currently available on the market, the S-11 scanner supports three spot sizes: 3, 6 and 9mm, to control penetration depth, improve accuracy and influence the treatment speed in large areas. With the 9 mm scanner spot size, energy can now penetrate even further during scanner procedures, reaching deeper-lying skin structures for more effective treatments.

To deliver three different spot sizes for the S-11 scanner, and to operate at speeds that none of Fotona’s rivals can match, the Fotona XP MAX provides superior output power. With output power of 130 Watts, the Fotona XP MAX is not only the most powerful system available today, but also the fastest, delivering unmatched scanning sequence speeds.

The Fotona XP MAX supports effective spot sizes from 2 to 20 mm, again surpassing current industry standards. A 20mm spot size enables practitioners to reach deep lying hair and skin structures that are difficult to reach with the scanner, such as bikini line and armpit hair. To achieve this spot size the Fotona XP MAX delivers a maximum pulse energy of 120J, the highest of any of its competitors.

Because fine light hairs and small skin structures have a very short tissue relaxation time they have proven quite difficult to treat effectively. In order to treat them, high peak power pulses are required so that they can be thermally affected before the tissue relaxation time is reached. The Fotona XP MAX introduces the new ACCELERA Mode designed precisely to generate extremely high peak powers in a single pulse. This innovative feature means that the ACCELERA mode is the perfect mode for removing light, thin hairs, treating fine vascular structures on the skin and for providing skin rejuvenation treatments. It is also designed to work seamlessly with the S-11 scanner.

The Fotona XP MAX is an extension of the well-known and successful DualisXP range. In addition to easier, faster and more efficient hair removal over large surface areas, the system can be effectively and efficiently used in many other aesthetic procedures such as acne treatments, rejuvenation treatments and vascular lesion treatments.

About Quanta Technologies:

Quanta Technologies LLC was founded in 1994 as a distributor of medical laser technologies and a provider of laser service and is today the largest regional supplier of lasers to hospitals and surgery centers. The company branched out in the late nineties providing a variety of medical laser equipment throughout the Southwestern US expanding laser service, laser accessory products and non-laser ancillary supplies throughout the United States. Today, Quanta is developing and distributing laser fibers, smoke evacuation systems and accessories, as well as replacement specialty lamps and medical batteries to hospitals, surgery centers, and physician offices throughout the country. Quanta Technologies is a privately held company headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. For more information, visit http://www.quantaweb.com/

Fotona XP Max S-11 Scanner

Fotona XP Max Laser System

With Ultra Hair Away, permanent hair removal has never been easier or more effective!

Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PMTI) announced today that the Palomar Lux1540 Fractional(TM) Laser Handpiece will be introduced at the American Academy of Dermatology’s 64th Annual Meeting in San Francisco from March 4th to 6th and will be on hand for investor demonstrations. At that time, Management will be available to discuss Palomar’s full line of products at the San Francisco Moscone Convention Center, booth #3139.
The new Palomar Lux1540 Fractional(TM) Laser Handpiece uses patented fractional technology to create precisely defined zones of elevated
temperature within the tissue. By varying treatment parameters, diverse effects can be induced in these zones with minimal damage to the surrounding tissue. The advantage of such a device is its ability to create a pattern of isolated columns of coagulation in the epidermis and dermis, without damage to the tissue surrounding the columns. Location, shape and dimensions of these columns can be accurately tuned to achieve the desired clinical effect. One benefit of fractional technology over conventional bulk-treatment approaches is that it provides an increased safety margin, resulting from the fact that a large volume of tissue remains intact. At the same time, the surface-to-volume ratio of the treated area is maximized, which may result in more effective tissue healing and collagen remodeling. That, in turn, may lead to enhanced
smoothing of periorbital wrinkles and overall skin resurfacing. Equally important, it means less discomfort and minimal downtime for the customer.
This handpiece is pending FDA clearance for soft tissue coagulation, and Palomar intends to seek additional clearances for skin resurfacing, wrinkles, pigmented lesions such as lentigines, melasma and dyschromia, and others. The Lux1540 is an attachment for the popular StarLux(R) Pulsed Light and Laser System which offers hair removal, photofacials for pigmented and vascular lesions, acne treatment, leg vein clearance, and many other aesthetic applications. Palomar plans to begin shipments of the Palomar Lux1540 Fractional(TM) Laser Handpiece this summer.
Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Caruso commented, “We continue to be a market leader in the development of new technology. For over eight years, Palomar has been developing fractional technology to provide an effective, safe, and versatile technique for phototreatment of various skin conditions. We are pleased to present an expansion opportunity for those who wish to capitalize on additional markets while offering flexibility and versatility at a low cost.”
To reserve a time to meet with Palomar management and/or receive product demonstrations, please contact Palomar’s Investor Relations’ department at 781-993-2411 or ir@palomarmedical.com.

About Palomar Medical Technologies Inc: Palomar is a leading researcher and developer of light-based systems for cosmetic treatments. Palomar pioneered the optical hair removal field, when, in 1997, it introduced the first high-powered laser hair removal system. Since then, many of the major advances in light-based hair removal have been based on Palomar technology. There are now millions of light-based cosmetic procedures performed around the world every year in physician offices, clinics, spas and salons. Palomar is testing many new and exciting applications to further advance the hair removal market and other cosmetic applications. Palomar is uniquely focused on developing proprietary light-based technology for introduction to the mass markets. Palomar has an agreement with The Gillette Company to develop and
potentially commercialize a patented home-use, light-based hair removal device for women, an agreement with Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies to develop and potentially commercialize home-use, light-based devices for reducing or reshaping body fat including cellulite, reducing the appearance of skin aging, and reducing or preventing acne, and was awarded a contract by the Department of the Army to develop a light-based self-treatment device for Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (”PFB”).
For more information on Palomar and its products, visit Palomar’s website at http://www.palomarmedical.com. To continue receiving the most up-to-date information and latest news on Palomar as it happens, sign up to receive automatic e-mail alerts by going to the Investor Relations’ section of the website.

With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to statements relating to new markets, development and introduction of new products, and financial projections that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters herein, and cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, results of future operations, technological difficulties in developing or introducing new products, the results of future research, lack of product demand and market acceptance for current and future products, the effect of economic conditions, challenges in managing joint ventures and research with third parties and government contracts, the impact of competitive products and pricing, governmental regulations with respect to medical devices, including whether FDA clearance will be obtained for future products, the results of litigation, difficulties in collecting royalties, potential infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, and/or other factors, which are detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and the Company’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact: Kayla Castle
Investor Relations Manager
Palomar Medical Technologies Inc
781-993-2411
ir@palomarmedical.com

SOURCE Palomar Medical Technologies Inc
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