Laser Hair Removal at a Clinic versus Using an At-Home IPL Hair Removal Device: What to Consider

Excess hair growth or unwanted hairs are a cause of concern, especially in women. Some women, due to their hormonal condition, grow thick unwanted hairs in the face or body. They go to great lengths just to remove this excess hair. Unfortunately, the hair grows back again within a short time.

 Today, women are looking at the rising popularity of laser hair removal and IPL hair removal. Laser or Light-based hair (LHR) removal is most commonly used as nonsurgical aesthetic cosmetic procedure done in beauty centers or skin clinics.  There are a variety of light sources used for dermatological procedures including:

• Normal mode ruby laser
• Normal mode alexandrite laser
• Pulsed diode lasers
• Long-pulse Nd:YAG laser
• Intense pulsed light (IPL) sources

 Each of these has numbers that will help you know the recommended one to use according to the kind and thickness of your hair as well as the color of your skin. The 755 nm or the 1064 nm is the measure of wavelength on how deep the light can penetrate beneath your skin.

 Hair removal with these optical devices uses the concept of photothermal destruction, which involves destroying the hair follicles to prevent hair regrowth using near-infrared wavelengths.

 Substantial evidence from studies shows that the treatments’ efficacy lasts for 6 months after treatment and 6 months and beyond for repetitive treatments with alexandrite, diode, and long-pulse Nd: YAG lasers. However, evidence has not been found for permanent hair eradication.

 As for intense pulse light (IPL), a study was conducted for 23 patients with Fitzpatrick type I-III for a single treatment and 48 patients with Fitzpatrick type I-V for two treatments. Results showed that for double treatment protocol =, a 64% hair clearance is immediately achieved.

 By the 8th week, hair counts were reduced to 42% and at 6 months, a reduction of 33% was achieved. The study concluded that the use of IPL is safe with minimal epidermal injury or pigmentation side effects.

 Recently, most practitioners recommend IPL over laser because it is more gentle and effective when compared to many lasers. Contrary to laser treatment, which emits a specific wavelength, IPL works by emitting scattered wavelengths.

 Here are the advantages of using IPL devices compared to laser hair removal done in a clinic:

• IPL removal is a lot cheaper than laser treatment done in the clinic.
• You don’t have to schedule a session and wait for your turn
• You can do it in your free time in the comfort of your home.
• No hassle of going to the clinic.

 Due to the popularity of intense pulsed light, more IPL devices for home use are being introduced in the market. For instance, EvenSkyn, one of the frontrunners in skin care devices, has introduced an exceptional IPL device for effective hair removal.

 The EvenSkyn Pulsar at-home IPL laser hair removal handset is handy and easy to use. It comes with an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide, so you don’t have to call your dermatologist for help. Unlike other devices, EvenSkyn has advanced features such as quartz core, 8 intensity levels, and effective cooling.

Now that you have the chance to take care of your skin without the hefty costs and the time-consuming trips to the cosmetic clinic, grab the chance to invest in convenience and efficiency with revolutionary solutions like IPL devices.

 

 

References:

Basel, Karger, 2011, vol 42, pp 111–121, https://doi.org/10.1159/000328272

Hair removal with a non-coherent filtered flashlamp intense pulsed light source^†Robert A. Weiss MD, Margaret A. Weiss MD, Sangeeta Marwaha MD, Allan C. Harrington MDhttps://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9101(1999)24:2<128::AID-LSM8>3.0.CO;2-M