Surely in your neighborhood there is one or several beauty establishments that offer laser hair removal. Laser hair removal uses, as its name suggests, a laser beam that destroys the hair follicle. With a few sessions, you can ensure that the hair does not appear again, or at least it takes a long time. However, laser hair removal can be expensive and painful. There is a gentler alternative that can be used at home: IPL hair removal.
Intense pulsed light (IPL) hair removal has gained popularity in recent years as an alternative to other at-home hair removal methods, such as shaving, waxing, or using hair removal creams. Unlike the latter methods, which last a few days before the hair grows back strongly, IPL hair removal promises progressive and longer-lasting hair reduction.
IPL hair removal uses a broader and less concentrated spectrum of light than laser, covering different wavelengths. This makes its application less precise and less deep, and also less painful than with the laser. But it may require more sessions to achieve similar hair reduction.
How IPL hair removal works
To start with IPL hair removal you have to buy a device similar to a gun from a science fiction movie, which has a slot through which intense pulsed light is emitted. This intense light is absorbed by the melanin contained in the hair, which is the dark substance that gives color to the skin and hair on the body.
By absorbing light, the energy is converted into heat. This heat inhibits or destroys the hair follicle, inhibiting future hair growth. As with lasers, IPL works by the difference in tone between the hair and the surrounding skin. Dark hair absorbs light and heats up, while light skin reflects it. In this way, hair is destroyed without burning the skin.
The fact that IPL technology uses a wider range of wavelengths than lasers allows larger areas to be treated in each pass, and is better suited to different skin and hair types. However, it is still light and has limitations. It will not work well on people with blonde or gray hair, as they do not have dark colored melanin to absorb light. There are also difficulties in the case of people with dark skin, since there is not much difference between the color of hair and skin. In both cases there is a risk of side effects, such as redness or burns.
IPL at home vs. other methods
The main difference between IPL treatment and laser hair removal from beauty clinics is the duration. While laser hair removal provides concentrated light on the desired area, IPL, on the other hand, disperses concentrated light over a wider area of the skin. The scattered light, not being as powerful as the focused laser beam, will not be as effective as the laser light. Additionally, laser hair removal devices are much more powerful than at-home IPLs.
While a laser hair removal session lasts approximately half an hour, when using IPL hair removal at home we will need more time to remove excess hair in the same area, or more sessions over more days. This means that, for example, while laser can provide permanent hair reduction with six to eight sessions, we may need to repeat IPL hair removal once or twice a week, which are the manufacturers’ recommendations. With this frequency, it may take several months to notice hair removal, although there will always be variations between each case.
While in a professional setting the laser application is supervised by trained personnel, home IPL devices are designed to be safer in the hands of anyone. This means that manufacturers intentionally reduce the power of the light. Greater security is offset by the need for more patience and commitment to see results. In addition to skin tone, the effectiveness of IPL hair removal is also influenced by hormonal and genetic factors, meaning that some people may experience less pronounced or slower hair reduction than others.
One of the benefits of IPL hair removal at home is that the application is comfortable and minimally painful compared to professional laser hair removal or methods such as waxing. Most modern devices are equipped with cooling systems and intensity adjustment options that allow the treatment to be adapted to each person’s comfort level, reducing the sensation of heat or discomfort during use. But be careful, there is always a small risk of side effects, such as redness, irritation or temporary hyperpigmentation, in which case it is advisable to stop the treatment and consult a health professional.
IPL hair removal devices for home use can represent a significant initial investment when compared to shaving, waxing, or hair removal creams. These are devices that are between 100 and 500 euros. However, the savings occur in the long term, especially when compared to the cost of laser hair removal, which can be much higher. Furthermore, no hair removal method is permanent, and although hair reduction can last several months or even years, it is common that periodic touch-ups are needed, in which case we will already have the device at home and no additional outlay will be necessary.
Home hair removal with IPL devices has been studied and has been found to produce permanent hair reduction in 80% of cases one year after treatment. The key is patience and perseverance, since this method requires several sessions to show visible effects.
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