Home/Technology/Elite iQ
755nm + 1064nm laser · CynosureElite iQ carries two laser wavelengths — 755 nm and 1064 nm — and a melanin reader that measures the skin before treatment. Having both wavelengths and a measured starting point is what makes laser hair removal safe across all skin types rather than only fair ones.
Laser hair removal works by targeting the melanin in the hair shaft and follicle. The difficulty is that skin contains melanin too, and a wavelength strongly absorbed by melanin cannot distinguish between the hair you want to treat and the skin around it.
The 755 nm alexandrite is heavily absorbed by melanin, which makes it efficient on fine and light hair in paler skin. The 1064 nm Nd:YAG is absorbed far less by melanin and penetrates deeper, so it passes through pigmented skin and reaches the follicle — which is what makes it the safe choice in darker skin types.
Having both means the wavelength is matched to the person. A single-wavelength device, by contrast, forces either a compromise in results or a limit on who can be treated.
Skintel is a melanin reader. Placed against the skin before treatment, it measures melanin density and returns a recommended energy range for that reading. It replaces a visual estimate of skin type with a measurement.
This matters because the margin for error in hair removal is the gap between enough energy to destroy a follicle and enough to burn the skin — and in deeper skin tones that gap is narrower. Starting from a reading rather than an eyeball judgement is the most practical safeguard there is.
Most hair removal complications come from the wrong energy for the skin, not from the wrong machine.
Each pulse feels like a brief snap with a cooling blast. Afterwards the area is pink and the follicles slightly raised for a few hours, rather like mild heat rash. Treated hairs shed over the following one to three weeks.
Results accumulate across the course. Hair becomes finer and sparser rather than disappearing in one step, and most people have occasional maintenance sessions afterwards, since hormones continue to recruit new follicles.
Questions
Yes, with the right wavelength and the right energy. The 1064 nm Nd:YAG is absorbed much less by skin melanin and penetrates deeper, which is what makes it suitable for Fitzpatrick IV to VI. The Skintel reader measures melanin density before treatment so the energy is set to a measurement rather than an estimate.
Typically six to eight, spaced four to eight weeks apart, because hair is only treatable during its active growth phase and not all follicles are in it at the same time. Occasional maintenance is usual afterwards.
Shave. The laser needs the hair shaft present inside the follicle to conduct energy to it, so waxing and plucking must be avoided in the weeks before a session.
It produces permanent reduction rather than permanent removal. Treated follicles do not come back, but hormonal changes recruit new ones over time, which is why maintenance sessions are usual.
Each pulse is a brief snap with a cooling blast alongside it. Most people tolerate it without anaesthetic; sensitive areas can be numbed.
Bring your concern rather than a treatment name. The assessment decides what is actually indicated, and what is not.
