IPL hair removal is an effective treatment to remove unwanted hair. IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light, since the treatment uses light energy converted into heat. The heat damages the cells in the hair follicles so the hair fells and can’t grow anymore from that follicle.

During the process the skin in not harmed, occasionally swelling or a little discomfort may occur. The treatment can be permanent or semi-permanent, depending on several factors: the hair, the skin, the doctor who performs it, the machine used to perform it and how often it is performed. IPL hair removal does not work with red, gray or white hair. In fact, the perfect candidate for IPL hair removal are white skinned people with dark hair.

IPL hair removal is often confused with laser hair removal or electrolysis hair removal, and although all of them use light to remove hair, there are some differences. Plain laser hair removal (generally called just “laser hair removal”) is known to cause more pain and damage to the skin, has a higher percentage of hair regrowth and its not effective on all skins and hair. Electrolysis, on the contrary, is very effective and at the moment is the only option that US FDA considers as permanent. The disadvantages of electrolysis are that it is very slow, because treats each hair separately, inserting a needle in the follicle and burning the hair with an electrical charge applied to the needle, and its cost, which is very high. IPL hair removal works good with many types of hair and skin (especially with the new machines), it’s permanent or at least semi-permanent (that means that 90% of the hair can be permanently removed) and can be applied on large areas of the body at the same time, making it cheaper in the long run, as you will need less sessions.

In the first session up to 30% of the hair can be removed permanently but best results show after six sessions. Sessions should take place every month or so, so that the hair that are not permanently removed can grow and be treated again. One session usually lasts form 15 to 30 minutes depending on the area to treat.

IPL hair removal is approved by FDA and became commercially available in the mid ’90s, after 20 years of experiments. Pregnant or breastfeeding women should not undergo IPL since the effects on the baby are not known.