Which are the characteristics of the suitable IPL hair removal treatment candidate?
- Hair widespread over vast areas of the body
- Presence of hair in awkward areas (back, breast, chin, abdomen…)
- Desire to remove hair without pain
- Desire to significantly reduce the hair
In which cases the IPL hair removal treatment is more effective?
- When the skin is not dark or tanned
- The greater the contrast between light skin and dark hair, the better the results. New machines work well with other natural hair colors.
- When there are freckles or other skin spots (if there is a single mole, it will be covered)
- When the patient is stable in hormones (to avoid in future the growth of new, unwanted hair)
- When the hair are long at least 2 or 3 millimeters
IPL hair removal is not officially recognized by FDA as a permanent hair removal treatment. The only hair removal treatment that FDA considers permanent is electrolysis. Electrolysis is a very slow and a painful treatment, though.IPL is much faster, painless and in some cases permanent. In other cases the remaining hair are very thin and light or the loss of hair is permanent on 90% of the body (this is called semi-permanent).
What is the preliminary visit for?
Before each treatment with high intensity pulsed light, you must submit to a visit that the operator carries out to assess whether there are the necessary preconditions for the success of the session. She will test the effectiveness of the treatment on a small part to assess the outcomes and then proceed with the session.
How can I prepare for an IPL hair removal session?
The hair should not be uprooted or shaved, but must have a minimum length of 2 / 3 mm. It is wise to not present at the meeting with tanned skin.
What is the treatment like?
Before submitting the skin at the flash of high, intense, pulsed light, the operator shall supervise the implementation of a special gel that acts both as a conductor of light energy and as protection for the skin. Pulses of intense light are then “fired” from thehandpiece at regular intervals. Within minutes you can cover extensive areas (e.g. the legs), but also small ones as the upper lip or chin area.
The pulsed light works on the principle of selective photothermolysis, which affects only the target set by color. In this case, the target is the melanin in the hair bulb. The darkening of the hair will attract the beam, the beam will be conveyed to the bulb that will be destroyed by heat, leaving the surrounding tissues intact and without pain.
At the end of each session of IPL, gels and fallen hair are removed with a spatula, while the remaining hair will fall naturally within one or two days.
Which precautions should I follow after a session?
The only precaution is to not expose to sunlight or tanning lamps for a week.
Which results can I expect?
With this method only hair in the anagen phase are removed, i.e. all those who are in a growth phase. After about a month, the hair whose bulbs were not in the active phase at the time of previous treatment will grow and be ready to be treated byIPL.
The numbers of IPL hair removal:
- Duration of session: 20 minutes approximately
- Minimum number of sessions: 4 (monthly)
- Sun Exposure: Possible 7 days after the session