Should you’ve scrolled via BeautyTok just lately, there’s a robust chance you’ve come throughout an enthusiastic evaluate of an at-home IPL hair removing machine. The principle claims: These handheld devices can zap away undesirable hair and it received’t develop again immediately—or perhaps ever. We haven’t vetted each single a type of movies, however analysis suggests these TikTokers could be onto one thing.
IPL, or intense pulsed gentle, is a broad wavelength of sunshine. Meaning an IPL machine releases a number of kinds of gentle—crimson, yellow, inexperienced, and infrared—that collectively can goal completely different parts of the pores and skin, together with melanin (the pigment that offers pores and skin and hair a specific colour) and hemoglobin (a protein in blood cells that may contribute to pores and skin redness—or lack thereof). 1 Due to that, IPL can affect blood vessels, darkish spots, and hair follicles.2 “IPL hair removing works by concentrating on the pigment within the hair follicle, heating it, and in the end destroying the follicle,” Aanand Geria, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based mostly in Verona, New Jersey, tells SELF. 3
You may get IPL hair removing as an in-office remedy, throughout which a dermatologist, nurse, or licensed laser technician strikes a big handheld machine alongside the pores and skin. You can even do it your self within the consolation of your personal lavatory utilizing these smaller gadgets that will have popped up in your social media pages.
You’re free to do no matter you please with your personal physique hair, in fact, however if you happen to’re searching for clean pores and skin from a hair-removal technique that’s longer-lasting than others you may’ve tried (like waxing or shaving), IPL hair removing might be for you. Maintain scrolling to be taught extra concerning the potential advantages and dangers of IPL hair removing (it is not for everybody!), the way it compares to laser hair removing, and methods to prep your pores and skin for IPL remedy.
IPL vs. laser hair removing | IPL hair removing outcomes | IPL hair removing uncomfortable side effects | IPL remedy prep | The underside line
What’s the distinction between IPL and laser hair removing?
Each IPL and laser hair removing depend on gentle to wreck hair follicles, as SELF beforehand reported. Skilled-grade laser and IPL gadgets additionally usually have built-in cooling programs to lower the danger of burning and relieve ache. The principle distinction is that laser remedy makes use of a selected wavelength of sunshine meant to solely goal melanin, whereas IPL is a broadband of sunshine with a number of wavelengths and endpoint targets (once more, that gentle reaches each melanin and hemoglobin, which is why IPL may also deal with some types of hyperpigmentation like melasma and birthmarks, in addition to spider veins).2 Laser hair removing additionally tends to be barely dearer: about $300 to $400 per in-office session, in accordance with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. IPL hair removing could value between $150 (for a facial hair removing session) and $300 (for physique hair removing), however the worth depends upon the dimensions of the remedy space.
IPL could require extra periods, nonetheless—anticipate to e book 4 to 6 20-minute appointments each three to 6 weeks to finish the IPL remedy cycle. To match, laser hair removing may solely contain two to 6 periods each 4 to 6 weeks to see outcomes, per the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Neither remedy is everlasting everlasting, however the outcomes for each IPL and laser hair removing can final for months, and each gadgets are FDA-approved for decreasing the quantity of hair regrowth over time.4
The IPL remedy may prevent some discomfort in comparison with laser, although.5 With IPL, your practitioner will usually apply a chilly gel to the realm earlier than the remedy to offset the warmth radiating from the IPL machine. With laser hair removing, individuals who have delicate pores and skin and are solely concentrating on smaller areas (just like the underarms) may obtain a numbing gel beforehand, however pain-wise, that may not offset the depth of the laser. (On that word, for the most secure laser remedy, you must all the time go to a board-certified dermatologist who’s skilled in working with these gadgets, as really useful by the AAD.)
Again to prime
What are the potential advantages of IPL hair removing?
Analysis means that in-office IPL remedies can cut back hair progress by as much as 77% in only one month.6 Skilled IPL gadgets are extra highly effective than their at-home counterparts as a result of they emit extra gentle vitality, Dr. Geria says. Nevertheless, IPL hair removing gadgets designed for residence use may also ship promising outcomes: One 2019 examine discovered that customers had an 80% discount in hair progress (particularly on the legs, armpits, and bikini space) greater than a yr after they stopped utilizing an at-home machine.7 And one other small examine revealed within the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology confirmed that individuals skilled a 78% discount in hair progress in simply 4 weeks of utilizing a house machine.8