The differences between Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Treatment & Laser
Dec 21
2009
With one click on an Internet search engine for ´´laser and IPL´´ you can have approximately 1,120,000 results in under half a second. The other thing I find quite concerning is the fact that some of these results are for what appear to be prestigious clinics offering their services for “IPL Laser Hair Removal”.
Quite clearly to the uninformed consumer these services look like appealing methods of hair reduction. It was in 1997 IPL was officially approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) as a valid and safe technology for permanent hair reduction and in spite of common belief – Laser treatment and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) are in fact quite different.
If a clinic cannot recognise this one clearly defined difference, it does make me question what position they are to be treating me and giving clearly informed advice both pre and post treatment.
At DepiCool we pride ourselves on specialising in effective “IPL” permanent removal hair reduction, you will not find us advertising our services as anything else and we are fans of clear, concise information with no hidden costs. One thing is certain – we definitely know the difference between laser and IPL.
One of the key differences is the absorption of light by hair and skin; this is dependent on the wavelength (colour) of the light. IPL uses a much broader spectrum of light than laser. Thus IPL is suitable for a wider range of hair colours and skin types than laser. The broad spectrum of IPL light also results in the light penetrating skin across a wider range of depths resulting in a greater number of hair follicles being treated.
Aside of the technical differences, there are also some other noticeable differences, and some good reasons why you should not confuse laser and IPL.
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Laser |
IPL |
| How painful is the treatment? | Clients´ pain thresholds are individual; some report a stinging like being flicked with an elastic band whilst others say it is like a strong pinching affect. The darker the hair can mean it hurts more, but it is more effective. | DepiCool clients report that IPL treatment is in fact less uncomfortable than laser. Often associating the feeling to a very light ´pinching´ effect. |
| Can it treat dark skin types? | Laser treatment is recommended to treat skin types I –IV (1-4) | IPL can treat skin types I – V (1-5). So in fact one skin type more than recommended for laser, making it open to more clients. For more information visit our blog “IPL and darker skin Phototypes” |
| Long term Results? | IPL and laser both offer permanent hair reduction. | IPL is also considered the most cost efficient of the two treatments, although to maximise the effect of your treatment we do stipulate you respect the recommended time frame between your appointments. Your practitioner can discuss this more for your individual needs. |
| How long does each treatment take? | Lasers cover a small surface area compared to IPL, so therefore taking longer time to apply treatment to any given area and the longer time a client will be waiting for treatment to be completed. | Generally IPL treatment “heads” are up to 8 times larger than the small spot produced by lasers and therefore treatments are much quicker. |
| Can it damage my skin? | IPL causes less damage to the surrounding skin than lasers and, therefore, the risk of skin pigmentation / depigmentation is much lower. |
If you would like more information on the services we offer please contact a member of the team!
Author: Lauren Taylor DepiCool
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