Ever thought about IPL permanent hair removal? IPL is one of the newest technologies applied to hair removal. Intense Pulsed Light is applied on the skin and converted to heat energy. The burnt hair falls and in the damaged follicle no hair can ever regrow. That’s why it’s called permanent hair removal. Although the great majority of people can submit to IPL, and the results say that just in the first session you can reduce your unwanted hair by 30%, there are some factors to consider before submitting to it. These factors make the difference between a complete satisfactory process and poor results. Let’s take a closer look.

The candidate for an IPL hair removal treatment must be in good physical, mental and emotional conditions and understand the benefits, the risks and the characteristics of the IPL treatment. It is important to ask a doctor that can provide information on the treatment and help determine if you’re the right candidate.

One of the most important factors to be a good candidate is he color of the hair. As a general rule, the contrast between the natural color of the hair and the natural color of the skin is the key to effectiveness and general satisfaction. A combination of light skin and dark hair is perfect to obtain good results. Although dark skinned and light haired people can get good results, the IPL hair removal treatment can be less effective. Also gray, colored and blond hair can avoid to reach good results.

Another factor to determine who is a good candidate for an IPL hair removal treatment is the thickness of the hair you want to remove. Thicker hair are easier to remove than thinner ones. Thin hair require multiple treatments and even with that results can be poor.

Women that want to submit to an IPL hair removal treatment must talk to their doctor before taking a decision if they are or could be pregnant or are breastfeeding. Also people taking medicines for acne could talk to a doctor before submitting to IPL laser hair removal.

Is Intense Pulsed Light effective to get rid of unwanted hair? Which are the characteristics that work better with the process? Which hair are easier to remove? Which skin guarantees the best results? What is phototype? Which are the phases of the hair growth? Why is not good to perform IPL laser hair removal regardless of the hair phase? If you’re planning to undergo IPL hair removal and wondering if your physical characteristics fit for a secure and satisfactory treatment, read on.

The IPL hair removal treatment is effective, but there are conditions that make the removal harder, especially if the hair to be removed are very thin or very light.

IPL cannot be done on tanned people or with high skin phototype (sensitivity to sunlight). Also pregnant or breastfeeding women should avoid the treatment.

The described above are general limitations. The results anyway depend on the personal characteristics of each individual. The IPL hair removal process will be more or less effective depending on these characteristics:

• Colour of the hair:
  The darker are the hair, the better will be the removal. Light is absorbed by the melanin, and dark hair have more melanin than lighter ones.
• Skin phototype:
  Dark skins can suffer burnings during the IPL hair removal process because contain more melanin. A high concentration of melanin is good in hair, not in skin.
• Thickness of hair and density:
  A higher density of hair is beneficial for IPL hair removal because more energy is attracted and this helps its destruction.
• Hair growth phase:
  Depending on the growth phase in which the hair is, the energy of IPL will be more o less strong. There are three phases. The better phase is the one called anagen. Here are the details:

1. Anagen phase: is the active growth phase. In this phase hair are completely outside and contain the bigger quantity of melanin.
2. Catagen phase: Is a regression phase. The lower part of the hair stops to grow but it is not removed and the follicle is reabsorbed.
3. Telogen phase: Is also a regression phase. The older hair fall to prepare the growth of the new ones.