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.

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.