IPL Laser Hair Removal

Hair removal surgery called IPL, an acronym for “Intense Pulse Light” seems to be all the rage these days.  Many benefits of IPL over traditional laser treatment have been reported, including: flexibility with regards to skin and hair color, less damage to the skin, faster treatment due to larger coverage area, and lower cost. The links to IPL clinics on this site can provide more detailed information on the IPL process.

IPL Laser Hair Removal

After looking at the advantages of IPL as we mentioned above, why is it then lasers are still a popular option for hair removal?  Let us take a look at some of the facts as to why lasers are still in the game.

IPL and laser hair removal surgery both use light to damage the hair follicle and prevent hair re-growth.  The main difference between the two is the type of light used.  IPL uses a multi-colored (broad spectrum) light whereas a laser uses a single-colored (single-spectrum) light.  Because IPL does not use a single wavelength, it is not considered a laser.

The many wavelengths used by IPL makes it possible to get many effects at one time.  For example, an IPL treatment can provide hair, pigment, and vein removal all in one treatment.  However, being the power is spread amongst all of these wavelengths, the ability to perform one treatment extremely well is limited.

Laser treatment is very narrow but at the same time very precise.  This leads to keeping the treatment simple and more predictable with regards to the effects on the hair and the skin.  Where IPL is effective for general treatment of the skin, laser is better at targeting a specific problem.

It has been reported that IPL treatment is safer than laser hair removal while in fact the safety concerns are quite similar between the two.  With some machines, the power of the IPL light can even be more powerful than a laser increasing the risk of skin burns and pigmentation damage.

Even more importantly, being IPL is not a laser, the use of IPL is not being regulated leading to widespread and perhaps overuse of the technology.  Although medical-grade IPL machines are only available to the medical community, lower powered IPL machines are available to almost anybody.  Although these machines do provide less power; they are powerful enough to be dangerous.