With summer just around the corner, the yearly question of how best to get rid of body hair arises once again. Whilst shaving, waxing and epilators are all viable options, there is a relatively easy, pain-free and long-term solution that you might want to look into: IPL.
If you haven’t heard of IPL before, aren’t sure if it’s the right treatment for you, or don’t know how it works, then here’s everything you need to know...
What Is IPL?
Intense Pulsed Light is a form of light therapy that allows you to get rid of unwanted body hair. In fact, it is one of the most advanced methods out there.
How Does It Work?
You’ll need to bear with me here because it gets a little technical. Essentially though, IPL transfers light energy through your skin to the root of your hairs. That energy is then transformed into heat to weaken your hair follicles and stop them from growing. These hairs then fall out naturally over the next few days. Whilst IPL won’t stop your hairs from ever growing back, it does slow down the process. With regular maintenance, you can easily stay on top of it.
Insider Tip: IPL isn’t the same as laser hair removal. They both provide long-lasting results, but IPL is a lot cheaper and can be safely done at home.
What Are The Benefits Of IPL?
- It’s isn't very painful: IPL isn’t entirely pain free but it isn’t as bad as waxing either. Most people compare it to a quick elastic-band flick.
- It reduces hair permanently: Whilst IPL won’t get rid of your hair entirely, it does provide long-lasting results and reduce the number of hairs that grow back.
- It is easy to use: Initially, you’ll most likely need to commit to a 12-week treatment. After that though, you just top up about once a month and you’ll effortlessly keep hairs at bay.
Who Can Use IPL?
Unfortunately, this treatment doesn’t work on all skin tones or hair types.
If you have blonde, ginger, white or grey body hair, the treatment won’t work. You see, IPL treatments target the melanin in your hair (i.e. the pigments that make it dark) to stop it from growing back. If the hair is too light, there isn’t enough melanin to target, so the hair stays healthy.
Melanin is also responsible for darker skin tones. So, if you have very dark skin, there is a chance that IPL treatment may affect the melanin in your skin as well as that in your hairs, which could cause damage to your skin.
Basically, IPL works best for people with paler skin and darker hair.
Insider Tip: Many IPL devices can detect your skin tone and adjust the pulse so avoid causing any damage. If the light doesn’t flash at all, then your skin tone is probably too dark.
The Best At Home IPL Devices
Iluminage TOUCH Permanent Hair Remover
Featuring a breakthrough, patented Dual-Wave technology, this hair removal device combines optical Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Radio Frequency (RF) to heat the melanin inside your hair follicles and prevent future hair growth.
Each treatment session takes just thirty minutes. Better yet, it is FDA-cleared safe for use on all skin tones, face (below cheeks) and body.
Braun Silk·expert Pro 3 PL3132 IPL
In as little as four weeks, this device helps to permanently reduce hairs on the face, bikini line, underarms and legs. Whilst the gliding mode is the easiest way of targeting large areas, it also had a precision head to tackle smaller areas.
Plus, it boasts a SensoAdapt™ technology that automatically adjusts to your skin tone to provide a safer and more efficient hair removal experience.
Braun Silk·expert Pro 5 IPL
The newer (and slighter pricier) version of the product just above, this device is Braun’s safest, fastest and most efficient IPL.
Twice as fast as the previous model, the Silk-expert Pro can treat both lower legs in less than five minutes. On top of that, the compact design is smaller and lighter, making it even easier to use. Of course, the device still automatically adjusts to your skin tone and features both the large and precision heads.
And that’s everything you need to know about IPL!
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