Laser and IPL are both methods of reducing and preventing hair growth through techniques that disable the hair follicles. Both approaches use heat and light energy to disrupt and destroy the follicle under the skin, however, their methods are different and Laser Hair Removal is widely accepted to be the more effective approach.
In order to understand why Laser Hair Removal is more effective than IPL, it is important to understand how each technique works.
IPL HAIR REMOVAL TREATMENT
IPL (intense pulsed light ) produces a wide spectrum of light that shallowly penetrates the skin. This wide spectrum is diffused and does not target any specific aspect of the hair. Some wavelengths of the light are absorbed by the hair, resulting in heating and disruption of the follicle, while the rest is reflected away. Only some of the energy generated during IPL affects the hairs, making it a less efficient method of hair removal than laser treatment.
IPL can only treat pale skin and dark hair.
Diode laser treats all skin tones and hair colours.
Very often IPL is referred to as Laser treatment. This can be misleading, as the beam produced by IPL hair removal treatment is a wide-spectrum light and does not involve lasers.
LASER HAIR REMOVAL TREATMENTS
A laser produces a single, concentrated wavelength of light that penetrates deeper into the skin to reach the base of the hair follicle.
The wavelength used in laser treatment has been specifically selected to target the melanin in the hair follicle, unlike IPL, which uses a more scattered Beam approach where only some of the light is absorbed by the follicle. The narrow beam used in laser treatment is targeted, precise, and effective – all of the energy used in the treatment is being utilised for the intended purpose of hair growth reduction/elimination.
WHICH IS BETTER, IPL VS LASER?
As you can see from the methods by which the different treatments affect hair follicle disruption, Laser Hair Removal offers a more targeted and direct approach.
Laser Hair Removal also works on hair and skin tones that an IPL hair removal treatment is ineffective at treating, in particular, coarse thick hairs, dark skin tone or pale hairs, this is because the targeted beam reaches the follicle, while IPL light cannot effectively penetrate through these types of hairs to generate enough heat.
So why do some clinics have IPL rather than laser? One of the main reasons for this is to save on costs. A single IPL machine can treat a number of skin conditions, including excess hair, pigmentation, and capillaries, but does not treat them as well as a dedicated laser for the job, like Diode Laser for hair removal.
Because we use advanced Lasers we can treat all skin tones and most hair colours. Our commitment to patient care is exemplary, while our specialist grid system treats every millimetre of the skin, giving you the best possible results.
At Essex the Laser Lipo Clinic and at Cliff House Clinic we have both IPL hair removal treatments and the latest advanced laser hair removal system.
Our commitment to patient care is exemplary. While our specialist advanced grid system treats every millimetre of the skin, giving you the best possible outcome.
Recommended Laser Hair removal systems available in the UK
Soprano ICE & Diode 808 ICE laser
