What is IPL hair removal?

Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AT HOME IPL AND HAIR REMOVAL DONE IN A SALON?

It’s the power of the machine and the ability to change the settings when treating different hair and skin types. Most at-home devices do work to slow down and reduce growth, making it more manageable, but in most cases won’t be as efficient at permanently reducing hairs in an area even with more treatments.

HOW DOES AT-HOME IPL WORK?

IPL stands for intense pulsed light. It is a flash of light that goes through a filter to produce a wavelength of light that is absorbed by melanin (hair and skin colour), the light builds up to heat and disables or destroys the growing cells around the ‘hot living hair’ resulting in a follicle which will struggle to make a new hair.

We have about 5 million hair follicles on our body and each one behaving a little differently in terms of growth cycle (growing, dying, resting) and both home and professional devices only work when the hair is in the growing phase; which is when the hair is in direct contact with the growing cells. As little as 15-20% of the hairs you see on areas like legs are in the active growing phase, most of the hairs are already in the dying phase, which lasts 2-3 weeks. The dead hairs seem to keep growing as they get longer, but that’s the dead hair being pushed out of the skin. That means when you do a treatment you are likely only affecting 5-10% of the actual follicles in that area (follicles in resting phase can stay empty for weeks before starting to form a new hair). This is why you need multiple sessions regardless if in a clinic or at home.

HOW DOES IN SALON HAIR REMOVAL WORK?

Salons could have multiple machines with different wavelengths, which means they can choose the exact wavelength for the colour and type of hair and skin you have making it more targeted and precise. Also, because professional machines are stronger, you get better destruction of the growing cells so there’s a more thorough reduction of hair growth.

HOW LONG DOES IPL HAIR REMOVAL TAKE TO WORK?

For areas like legs, bikini and underarms, expect 6-8 treatments for almost complete removal of hair with a maintenance treatment every 9-24 months, while most home devices will need double the treatments and much more regular maintenance sessions.

WILL AT-HOME IPL EVER BE AS EFFECTIVE AS IN THE SALON?

New types of technology are being created all the time so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. However, the main concern is always the potential damage that lasers and IPL could cause if used incorrectly (e.g. burns). If used as directed, at-home devices shouldn’t put too much power into the skin as a single pulse is intentionally set at a level not to cause damage to skin. Unless a new way of getting the energy in more effectively without substantially increasing the overall power is developed then I don’t think we can risk higher-powered machines in inexperienced hands.

CAN PEOPLE OF ALL SKIN TONES USE AT-HOME OR IN-SALON LASERS?

Light-based hair removal works using melanin, which means the more melanin you have in your skin the harder it is to treat as safely or easily. That’s because the pigment absorbs too much energy and builds up heat where it isn’t wanted. We have three hair removal devices in our clinic and only one is safe to use on darker skin tones and even then, we have to be cautious.

There are a lot of home devices and some do say they are safe for all skin tones, which they couldn’t claim if it wasn’t proven. That’s why it’s important to always follow the instructions, and the reason you shouldn’t try and overuse them to get faster results. That won’t happen due to growth cycles, instead you could end up damaging your skin.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO OVERUSE AT HOME IPL DEVICES?

Yes. You must follow the instructions because they have been provided not only to stop you damaging your skin but also to give the best results. If you overuse them you could end up with irritation or worse pigmentation issues or an actual burn.

HOW SHOULD SKIN/HAIR BE PREPARED PRIOR TO USING IPL?

You should shave or trim the hair down to skin level, we recommend our clients shave the area the day before. That said, some at home devices may give you different preparation advice so always follow the instructions.

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