Hey,
Rich_23!
Yep! They are the same lasers in the LaserMax, too!
Here is the philosophy on removing the lenses: When you do that, they'll "diffuse" (that's my term I use, and Dr. Maricle hates it), and they'll cover a greater area:
Diffused (with the lens cap completely removed) vs.
Undiffused (with the lens cap on):
![Image](http://www.overmachogrande.com/graphics/laser-diffused.gif)
vs.
Lasers are really hard to take pictures of... there isn't that much of a difference in color between the outer rectangular rim of the diffused rectangle compared to the center -it's just the camera is sort of "overloaded" with all of that brightness. So, what you are seeing is that when it's diffused, it spreads out and covers a lot larger, rectangular area. I'm probably going to redo this graphic with my HD camcorder at some point because you'll really see what I mean and the colors won't wash out as much.
Now, the problem with this is that when they spread out like that, the power level on the skin DOES decrease rapidly. The bigger the footprint, the less the average energy per square centimenter! We've calculated that it takes about 20 minutes under a diffused diode at the height of a brush bristle to get into the "window of energy" you need for results, but if you were to move it back FURTHER than a brush bristle, you'd need to do it a lot longer to get the same results. The opposite is true, too... if you moved it CLOSER than the distance of a brush bristle, you would need LESS exposure time.
Ok, when the laser diode still has the cap on... it still loses power when it's pulled away, but it's not quite as radical as it is without the cap (diffused). Ok, lol... the whole entire point of this is to say that no, with a LaserMax, you SHOULDN'T remove the lens caps.
The reason is illustrated in this picture, which shows the coverage of a lasermax:
As you see, there is a great variance of distance from where the diodes hit the scalp. Therefore, you don't want to remove the lens caps because not only would the energy level vary widely, some of those areas wouldn't be getting significant energy at all! The diodes would be spread out TOO MUCH in areas. In this scenario -when the device doesn't contour to the head- you actually WANT the lens caps on so you won't lose as much power over the varying distances.
The benefit of a helmet is that the diodes are going to be a fixed distance of a brush bristle all the way around, therefore even energy levels on the scalp, and therefore you can used diffused diodes. The advantage is that we are able to cover a larger, tighter footprint because the laser surface area on the scalp is better. I personally feel that the more actual contact on the skin (meaning the more skin that is irradiated with red laser light vs. the darker areas), the better, which is one reason -along with the "even energy lever"- why the helmets are so successful. Also, the lens caps actually takes away about a mW and a half from the output of the power, so we get around that issue, too.
These lasers OBVIOUSLY work with the lens caps on, too, but I just wanted to explain why you shouldn't remove them in a LaserMax, the proper scenario where you SHOULD, and what I feel the benefits are for using diffused vs. undiffused.
I hope that helps!
-O.M.G.