Phillips Lumea Hair Removal System With IPL Technology – A Comparison to Clinic offered IPL
Jun 10
2010
DepiCool have been in the hair removal industry for years, and we have a proven track record for successfully depilating our clients both in the UK and Spain. Given this we are in a good position to give you the honest truth and comparisons with home devices such as the Phillips Lumea verses the service in a professional salon such as DepiCool! May I add there are a lot of things to think about!
In today’s economic environment we are all more cautious about watching the pennies, and since the introduction of devices such as the portable hand held IPL: we have had more people questioning whether or not they should opt for this type of device or visit a clinic (be it ours or anyone else’s). We do pride ourselves on honesty and we would never offer an opinion a product we have not tried, but what we would do is ask you to consider some of the comparative issues in order to make a suitable conclusion yourself about which option is better for you.
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Phillips Lumea Hair Removal System With IPL Technology
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Clinic Hair Removal with a qualified practitioner |
Conclusion |
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| Quality of the machine |
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DepiCool machines for administering Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment:
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You would be carrying out your own checks on a Lumea machine, and machine upkeep and maintenance is critical for safe and effective IPL treatment. If this is not performed properly – it could cause adverse reactions.
To depilate the legs we recommend a 45 minute session which would cover half of the legs. (For example the lower legs) A further 45 minute session would be needed to treat the upper legs. We appreciate this is both tedious and time consuming: so we would recommend splitting these sessions. With the Lumea you would have to, as each charge reportedly lasts 15 minutes as an average – so that’s 6 recharges for a full leg depilation, with 1.5 hours needed between each for a full recharge) The DepiCool Machines have a high energy output making repeat sessions only necessary a third of that compared to the Lumea. |
| Quality of the results
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Phillips claim:
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DepiCool offer:
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Phillips are not advertising “hair free skin” between treatments or even hair free skin everyday. Yet this device is not for smooth skin: it is marketed for “hair removal” – For more information about laser vs. IPL and why IPL is suitable for hair removal and permanent hair reduction click here. But remember the reason you would opt for either service is for hair removal – not for an exfoliation! |
| Cost of the Machine V Cost of the service at a clinic
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£399 is the cost for the Phillips Lumea Machine. | £49 flat rate per area is the cost for IPL depilation at any DepiCool centre; this is a saving of up to 60% compared to local competitor salons! | DepiCool – £49 x 8 = £392 for one area of depilation
Lumea – £399 one off fee |
| How many sessions will I need? | The Phillips team recommends using the Lumea every 2 weeks for the armpits and bikini area and every four weeks for legs. | As an average IPL administered in a beauty centre such as DepiCool would need 6-8 sessions for all body areas. (More information is offered on an individual basis to clients at the initial consultation and Patch Test) | For the Lumea using the recommendations you will over the course of a year is an average of 26 times for the armpits/bikini and 13 times for the legs, compared to 6-8 sessions on average for a DepiCool client. The device is not suitable for other body zones (such as the face) Whereas IPL depilation in a DepiCool or registered salon can treat any manner of area; from inside buttocks, upper lip, chin, chest, back etc. |
| Safety in both instances
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NB: Home use appliances should conform to The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 and The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 |
In order to offer safe and effective IPL treatment DepiCool offer the following:
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The DepiCool IPL machine is certified to commercial standards, ISO 9001 and compared to safety regulations for a “home use appliance” such as you toaster the standards are much more strict and regulated.
Home devices are also not monitored by a Governing body, and can indeed be applied by a non qualified individual: this can obviously increase the risks of burning and adverse reactions being created. Both options provide clients with take home leaflets advice. |
| Potential Risks |
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In all instances of administering a light source to the skin, the same way as when we expose our skin to sunlight or UVA/UVB rays – there is a burning or adverse event risk. In order to safely administer IPL treatment you should consider the following:
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The makers of the Lumea machine claim the following: so let’s take the time to break this down into more detail:
| Phillip´s Claim
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Analysis |
| “enables you to be free from unwanted hair and enjoy smooth skin every day”
“You can enjoy smooth skin even between treatments”
“Silky Smooth Skin everyday”
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The process of hair removal with IPL involves the light source being applied to the desired area. The client should note that unlike Laser the hair is not “melted” instead it prevents hair growth from the root. In order for the hair to be removed the hair will need to “fall” and this means it will technically need “grow out” and leave the body. So between treatments you may experience some hair re-growth until you have completed your course of treatment. This is quite normal, and clients will experience thinner hair and hair becoming more prone to breaking away.
To guarantee “free from unwanted hair” it is more accurate to say hair removal would be an 80-90% permanent hair reduction. The Lumea is not an exfoliation device – so it should have no effect on the smoothness of you skin on a day to day basis or even between treatments. |
| “Repeating this treatment every two weeks for the armpits and bikini area and every four weeks for legs will keep your skin smooth everyday.” | At a DepiCool centre, as mentioned previously we recommend an initial gap of 6 weeks between treatments of a body area which gradually increases the more you progress through the course of your treatment. Treatment would not need to be repeated as regularly as 2 weeks in the example of the Lumea. The DepiCool machines have a high energy output (maximum energy 48J/cm2), which ranks them among the strongest and fastest available in the market, especially compared to a home portable device. |
| “specifically for safe, gentle and effective home use on underarms, bikini area and legs.” | The Phillips website states you cannot use this area for Facial Hair removal. Whereas treatment in a salon would allow most body areas to be depilated, including facial zones. |
| “No replacement bulbs or contact gel required.” | DepiCool machines are serviced regularly and machine heads are changed to maintain optimum results. Treatment is also applied with a cooling gel to ensure that the client experiences minimum pain, and so that the practitioner can clearly see which areas have been depilated to prevent over lapping of pulses. |
| “Philips Lumea works effectively on (naturally) dark-blond, brown and black hair.” | IPL works best on lighter skin and darker hair. This is because there is more melanin (the dark pigment) in a darker hair; this is why treatment on dark skin phototypes is not appropriate as there is too much melanin in the skin itself, which can lead to adverse reactions. |
| “It allows women to safely and effectively prevent hair re-growth in the comfort of their own home” | What about men? The Phillips website quotes “Phillips Lumea is not designed for men. It is specifically developed for women and doesn’t take into account the specific biological differences such as hair density, which might require different technical specifications.” Unlike salon treatments which can effectively treat both men and women. |
So my overall conclusions: I think basically you get what you pay for! Phillips may be offering female clients access to previously high market end hair removal device, but also the device is not as powerful as that as the salon alternative, and what about the men out there who want to benefit form the luxury of hair removal?!?!
I think its great that with the Lumea you only have the one off payment of £399 but now with salons such as DepiCool offering flat rate IPL hair removal at often 60% cheaper than other salons; and with a qualified practitioner and registered centre – this makes for a strong competitor!
My advice: Now the research and knowledge has been examined make sure you take the time to read it and opt for the most suitable option for your circumstances, and remember: if in doubt – DepiCool offer a free patch test at any of our centres!
For more information please feel free to contact a member of the team! 020 3397 0084 or email us info@depicool.co.uk
Author: Lauren Taylor – DepiCool UK
Sarah’s Treatment Diary
DepiCool recently ran a competition offering the opportunity to win a free course of IPL permanent hair reduction and removal at our London Kings Cross store!
We ran the competition whilst exhibiting at the London ExCel Franchise show, and are pleased to be able to provide you an update on the winner!!
The lucky beneficiary is Sarah Tozer who will now receive six free sessions of IPL treatment to aid her quest to get glam this summer!
DepiCool will be updating Sarah’s treatment diary to follow her progress and capture her views on the treatment from an honest client perspective! So far initial thoughts look good! Sarah recently commented; “On arrival the therapist was very welcoming and explained the procedure in detail!”
Here at DepiCool we pride ourselves on offering the most competitive prices in the market without compromising on client treatment quality or experience. All our stores are CQC (Care Quality Commission) approved, welcoming, professional, and with fully qualified therapists holding a wealth of knowledge on the IPL and beauty industry.
DepiCool are looking forward to welcoming Sarah back to our Kings Cross centre later this month and hearing how her treatment is progressing… so watch this space!
Author: Lauren Taylor – DepiCool UK
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