Abstract: Methods of applying laser light to the skin, and apparatus therefor, include methods for removing hair, for bleaching hair, for transdermal drug delivery, for sensing a body function, for skin tightening, and for imaging subsurface structures are described. The hair removal methods and the hair bleaching methods include infiltrating a transparent fluid with an index of refraction greater than that of skin tissue into hair ducts to help transmit the laser light down the hair ducts. The transdermal drug delivery and body function sensing methods include exfoliating layers of the stratum corneum from a section of skin with laser light. A transdermal drug delivery patch can be placed over the exfoliated skin section, or an electrical sensor can be placed over the exfoliated skin section.

Abstract: Methods of applying laser light to the skin, and apparatus therefor, include methods for removing hair, for synchronizing hair growth, for stimulating hair growth, for treating Herpes virus, for reducing sweat and body odor, for in situ formation of a chromophore in hair ducts, for reducing light loss at the skin surface, for grafting of hair stem cells, and for removing keloid or hypertrophic scars. The hair removal methods include controlling the proportions of photomechanical and photothermal damage by selection of laser parameters, chromophore particle size and/or pulse duration, with optional dynamic skin cooling. Additional hair removal methods include infiltrating a photoactivated drug into hair ducts and exposing the skin to sunlight or administering an anti-proliferative agent into hair ducts, for example, by encapsulating the anti-proliferative agent in a slow release vehicle.

Abstract: An air diffuser comprising a base and first, second, third and fourth side walls extending from the base to form a hollow shell. At least one of the side walls includes a plurality of bores therein forming multiple discharge tubes. The base and side walls form a plenum into which conditioned, pressurized air is supplied. The conditioned air is discharged from the plenum through the tubes in columns. Screws or other fastening devices may be used to secure the hollow shell to a surface. The multiple discharge tubes are each spaced from the surface and have longitudinal axes oriented in angular relation to the surface for entraining ambient air from above and below each column of air being discharged for mixing of ambient air with each column of the discharged conditioned air.