Is IPL Hair Removal Permanent?

Nov 5, 2024

Part 1: Will I Really Get Permanent Hair Removal Results From IPL Treatments?

In reality, you may not really get permanent hair removal results from IPL treatments, no matter how consistent you are or how perfectly compatible your skin tone and hair colour is with respect to an IPL device or how expensive device you buy; it doesn’t matter because IPL has the power to give you long-term hair-free skin but not completely permanent results with the current technology.

Why’s IPL Not Really Permanent?

First, you should understand how IPL technology works. Every IPL device has an IPL bulb and a flash button so when you trigger that button, you’re basically flashing IPL beams. These IPL beams are supposed to penetrate our skin without causing any real pain and get stored in our hair follicles. Then later on, this light energy turns into heat energy and makes it so difficult for the hair roots to grow healthy hair that our hair starts shedding and new hair will take forever to grow back once you complete the treatment.

So the truth about IPL permanent hair removal is that it isn’t real at all. IPL beams will not kill the hair roots; instead, they’ll just make it so weak that it’ll take a very long time to grow new hair and since hair roots never die because of IPL beams, there’s always some possibility that new hair will regrow when the effect of IPL finishes.

Part 2: How Long Does IPL Hair Removal Last?

Usually, if we talk about the effective duration of IPL treatment, we can say that a lot of people can actually have years of hair-free skin and for that they first have to complete the treatment with a perfect consistency and then keep doing some maintenance sessions every week. But if you’re not consistent, you may not get even half a year of hair-free skin.

Am I Supposed To Do Maintenance After Completing My IPL Treatment?

Yes, that’s indeed so important because maintenance sessions will actually provide you with all the IPL beams that you need to keep your hair growth restricted. A lot of IPL users have said that their hair regrowth reduced massively when they were in the middle of their treatment. So if you complete the treatment and then do maintenance sessions, you’ll get more time with hair-free skin.

Part 3: What’s More Permanent Body Hair Removal: IPL or Laser?

We’d say that both are almost equally permanent body hair removal methods but still, there are quite a few differences between each of these methods that can help you make a better choice.

One of the main differences that we’ll get in a laser treatment is the way they treat our hair. So basically, laser treatments use lasers that penetrate our skin and target hair follicles. But when we talk about IPL, these IPL devices use Intense Pulse Rays that penetrate the skin.

What Are The Common Results That I’ll Get From IPL & Laser Treatments?

Normally, both IPL and laser treatments can work on the same hair colour and skin tones. Like, dark hair colours and light skin tones are fine for both the treatment types, but if we have light hair colour, red, blonde, or grey hair, they won’t get removed with either treatment.
If we talk about hair thickness and density, normally IPL and laser treatments can remove light and fine hair very quickly, but if we have thick and dense hair then it’ll take some time. Gradually, these treatments will first reduce the hair density and thickness but sometimes some stubborn hair still remains untreated even if our skin tone and hair colour are compatible with IPL and laser treatment. In that case, we’ll have to switch to electrolysis.

Part 4: Is IPL Permanent Hair Removal Safe?

Despite the fact that we use IPL devices at home and most probably alone, they’re still very safe. All you have to do is follow the instructions, know what you’re doing, and then set the intensity properly, and you should be fine.

A Few Common Side Effects

You can feel some hot sensation on your skin right after the treatment.
You may feel like your skin is a little more sensitive than usual but that feel should stay only for some time.
It’s quite possible that your skin has redness and inflammation if you’re not following the process right.

A Few Safety Guidelines

When we treat our hair with IPL, our skin gets hot, and washing your treated area soon after a treatment is not really advisable.
We encourage users to set the right intensity of IPL beams. High intensity doesn’t mean better results at all, instead, you might burn your skin with high intensity.
We recommend that you shave your treatment area on your treatment day so that more IPL beams can target your hair roots instead of targeting hair above the skin.
You should not forget to wear eye protection glasses or else you can damage your eyes without knowing. Most IPL devices come with eyewear in the package box.

Conclusion

IPL hair removal isn’t permanent at all and neither is laser treatment. But if we notice carefully, we’re getting almost similar results with IPL as compared to laser treatments and since IPL is so very affordable, there’s no harm in choosing IPL over laser for hair removal. But don’t forget to invest in a quality device rather than going for a cheap one because those cheap IPL devices won’t necessarily give you the right results you’re looking for.