Many people have a problem with the hair on their body, even if it is not excessive. While the underarm and bikini line have been treated for hair removal for many years, in some people other areas also need to be treated. The trouble with most treatments is that the hair always grows back. That is why treatments such as IPL laser hair removal have become popular.
IPL – short for Intense Pulsed Light – hair removal is done by a special machine. Intense light rays are pulsed into the skin and these destroy the hair growing in the follicles. That hair will either fall out straight after the treatment or over the next few days. It is recommended to use a loofah in the shower to help the process.
More than one treatment is needed
What you may not realise is that one treatment is not enough. It only treats the hair that is in the follicle at the time. After a few weeks, more hair will start to grow into the follicle and make its way out the top where it becomes visible. That is why further treatment is essential, otherwise your first treatment – and cost – will just be wasted.
Eventually, with several treatments over the months you will find a big improvement in the amount of hair that grows out of the treated area. There will be much less hair and it will not be as long or as thick. Eventually up to 90% of the hair will be removed for good.
It is important to schedule treatments at the right time. If you have them too close together the hair won’t have grown back into the follicles yet, but leaving it for too long is also counterproductive.
How does IPL work?
IPL is a form of laser treatment that seeks out hair in the follicle. It damages the follicle and the hair so it falls out. It doesn’t work for everyone. People with light skin and dark hair get the best results. Very fine hair or red hair is not visible to the laser so it doesn’t work properly with that colour hair. It may not even work at all, depending on the skin colour.
How is it different from laser treatment?
IPL treatment uses a broad spectrum of light to treat a large area in one go. Traditional laser treatment uses a single ray of light that only treats one follicle at t time. This means a lot of applications are needed at each session and only a small area can be done each time. This type of laser treatment puts people more at risk of burns if not done by a trained and experience person. That said, it is also essential to have IPL treatment done by a trained doctor.
