For more severe cases of excessive hair growth, home remedies, over-the-counter products, and even some prescription medications are simply not enough. In this case, an individual would likely need to consider a more advanced method of hair removal. The one that has provided the greatest benefits is laser treatment, something that has evolved into a miraculous treatment for a variety of health and skincare problems over the past several decades.
Specific to unwanted hair, IPL hair removal has been rated as the best solution. In fact, this particular treatment has actually been granted approval by the Food and Drug Administrative or FDA specific to permanent hair reduction. Now, while IPL hair removal does permanently reduce the volume of a person’s hair it cannot eliminate hair altogether. Even so, the results of this particular laser treatment are dramatic and for most people, well worth consideration.
What is IPL Laser?
Before providing information about the pros and cons of IPL hair removal, we first wanted to offer a brief overview of what this laser treatment involves. In simple terms, this laser device is designed to send out pulsed light that would be targeted to a person’s skin with unwanted hair. Because of the way IPL works, dark colored hair would be identified, targeted, and then the hair follicle impaired.
For about 10 days, hair that had been treated with IPL would actually fall out. While this is truly an effective approach, an important note is that most people need to undergo more than one treatment. Because hair grows out in different stages, a single treatment would not be able to impact hair in all stages. However, when performed by an expert and done in multiple sessions, the outcome would be favorable.
Pros of IPL Hair Removal
There are several benefits associated with IPL hair removal, with those considered most critical being provided below:
- Even though a person’s hair would not be completely removed, this particular laser treatment works so well that the skin treated would look and feel smooth. In fact, because the amount of hair removed is anywhere from 50% to 80%, transformation is obvious after a single treatment.
- Unlike other laser treatments for hair removal, IPL does not require a lot of hair for the process to work. In other words, most laser treatments mandate that the length of a person’s hair is between one-quarter and one-third of an inch long. However, with IPL hair removal, someone that actually shaved the day before the treatment would benefit.
- Another huge benefit of IPL hair removal is how fast the process goes. In comparison to other hair removal processes such as electrolysis, IPL can treat a large area of skin at once. In addition to this making the process faster, it also reduces the number of treatments a person would ultimately need, which also means a cost savings.
Cons of IPL Hair Removal
Along with all the benefits, there are a couple of negative aspects of IPL hair removal that should be understood to include those provided below.
- Although rare, there have been reported cases of burns, blistering, and scarring of the skin. However, these problems typically occur because the person performing the laser treatment does not have the appropriate qualifications for this specific hair removal process. For this reason, finding someone who is educated, trained, licensed, and experienced to provide IPL hair removal services is critical.
- Unfortunately, IPL is not a cheap method of getting rid of unwanted hair. In addition to the initial session being expensive, the cost increases as more treatments are needed to achieve the anticipated results.
- Finally, although IPL is a viable solution for many people who want to reduce or eliminate excessive hair, some people are simply not good candidates. The person with light skin and dark hair would achieve the best results in that the IPL laser would be able to detect the hair and target it.
Summary
For most people who undergo IPL hair removal, the results are more than anticipated. Keep in mind that there is a short period of healing but usually, redness, irritation, and swelling would disappear in a day or two.
