IPL hair removal offered in clinics and some at-home IPL devices are advanced enough to compete with professional treatments today. If the hair removal method is something you considered now, know the differences between laser and IPL to the treatment times you expect.
What is the IPL?
IPL or Intense Pulsed Light is a type of light treatment using strong pulses of light to treat and stimulate various issues within the skin. Sometimes, people think that IPL is a laser, it does similar things, but are not the same. But, the concept of how they service is the same:
- Direct light at pigmentation in the air
- Cause burst of heat, damaging or killing cells that caused the hair to grow
How does it work?
The light from the IPL device is absorbed by the pigment in the hair, which causes a buildup of energy that turns to heat.
Is it painless?
You have read lots of people asking this question. The answer is, it depends on your pain endurance. The sensation is compared to that of the elastic-band flick, but the best IPL devices work so quickly, you will hardly have time to register it.
How long does it take?
Some have seen the result lower than three weeks. But, again, the exact time differs from person to person, it depends on various factors. The hair has cycles, just like the skin does. The hair has a growth step, a shedding phase, and a rest phase. One of the primary reasons why you need to do repeat treatments with an IPL or laser is because the hair is not all in the same phase of the cycle.
To catch all of them and get rid of them permanently, you have to chase the cycles. It is why at-home IPL treatments are often repeated every four weeks after the first weekly treatment phase.
Who is suitable?
Whether you book in a clinic or invest in an at-home IPL, it is beneficial to first assess the suitability. First, not every skin tone fits IPL. As technology works by targeting the pigment in the hair, it needs notable differences between skin tone and hair color. Most experts will advise against using the IPL on black skin, as there is a risk of discoloration and damage, and those with red hair and light blonde must similarly sit this treatment out.
The best and quickest results are likely to be on somebody with fine, dark hair, and light skin. If you have medical issues or underlying skin, such as thyroid and PCOS issues, you can find the treatment, which takes longer. So, there are a lot of individual factors that need to be considered.
IPL is currently one of the most effective hair removal treatments.