Different Targets Need Different Light
Spectrum is one of the four energy platforms in this practice. What it treats in your case is decided after your skin is assessed, not before.
Pigment, Vessels and Hair Are Three Different Problems
Pigment, vascular redness and unwanted hair look like three cosmetic complaints and behave like three different physics problems. Melanin, hemoglobin and the hair follicle each absorb light differently, which is why one setting cannot address all three and why a practice needs a range rather than a device.
Spectrum is one of the platforms we use for that work, alongside Phoenix, the PIX-E pico laser and Newbaskin. Which of the four you are treated on, and at what settings, follows from what we find when we assess your skin.
We will tell you which target we are going after in your case, what the platform can realistically do about it, and what it cannot. Where the honest answer is that your concern needs a different approach entirely, you will get that instead of a course.
Worth an Assessment If This Is You
Bring the concern, not a device name. Matching the two is the part we are actually for.
Three Steps, Start to Finish
We Identify the Target
Pigment, vessels and hair need different handling. Establishing which one you actually have is the whole first step.
Settings Matched to Your Skin
Skin type sets the safe range. On higher risk skin we test a small area and wait before treating properly.
A Series, Then a Review
We plan the course up front and reassess as it progresses rather than selling a fixed package before we know how you respond.
Melanin, Blood and Hair Do Not Absorb the Same Light
That single fact is why one device cannot be the answer to every skin complaint, whatever it says on the brochure.
Around a Session
Wavelength, Pulse and Why Both Matter
Light is absorbed selectively. Choose a wavelength that your target takes up more strongly than the surrounding tissue and the energy concentrates where you want it. That is the whole principle behind treating pigment, vessels and hair with light rather than with a cream.
Pulse duration decides what the absorbed energy does. Long enough and the target heats and passes that heat outward. Short enough and it is disrupted without warming its surroundings much. Matching pulse to target, and both to skin type, is the clinical skill in energy treatment.
Burns, blistering and pigment change in either direction are the real risks, and every one of them rises on tanned or unassessed skin. Vascular treatment can also flare rosacea before it improves it. We will go through what applies to you before anything is set.
What People Ask Us First
Which concerns we address on this platform depends on your skin and your goal. We will tell you at the consultation which of our four systems we are recommending and what we expect it to do.
A series in almost every case. Hair follows the growth cycle and needs planned spacing. Pigment and vessels often improve noticeably sooner. You will get a realistic range.
Sun driven pigment returns if you go back into the sun unprotected. Hormonal pigment behaves differently and is managed rather than solved. We will tell you which one you have.
That depends on your type and on the target. Some wavelengths suit deeper skin tones with correct settings and some do not. We assess first and we will tell you plainly.
No, on any of our platforms. More melanin at the surface means a smaller margin between treating you and burning you.
Often Considered Alongside This
Tell Us the Concern, Not the Device.
Matching one to the other is exactly what the assessment is for.
4211 N. Buffalo Road, Suite 15, Orchard Park, NY 14127
