DepiCool UK – Blog

We are often asked if IPL or in fact laser is suitable for blonde or grey(ing) hair. Unfortunately neither IPL nor Laser are suitable for this type of permanent hair reduction.

Why? IPL and Laser hair removal both work by the same process: this is namely by acting on the dark pigment in the hair known as “melanin”. The melanin absorbs the light and turns it into heat energy, and it is this process which eliminates the hair and prevents the hair from re-growing.
If the hair doesn’t have any dark pigment (melanin) for example it is grey, greying or indeed blonde or even auburn: then there is no melanin in place for the process to be effective and therefore the process will not work.

Synthetically dying the hair will also have no effect on the effectiveness of the treatment, in fact it is actually contraindicated and not something you should do before having an IPL session. Just because the hair appears darker, the melanin is still not contained within the hair follicle itself, and so therefore it will still remain ineffective.

If you are un-sure as to whether or not IPL could work for your particular hair colour, then do not worry! DepiCool offer a free initial consultation and patch test, whereby we run through a thorough health questionnaire and ascertain if the treatment is suitable for you. If this is deemed the case, then 4-5 beams of the Intense Pulsed Light will be administered on the skin in a non-obvious zone (for example the top of the leg). Dependent on your skin phototype you will be asked before commencing treatment to wait a desired amount of time, to ensure no adverse reactions occur and indeed that the treatment is safe: in instances of skin phototype 1-3 this is 48 hours and in skin phototypes 4-5 this is 2 weeks.
If you arrive for this consultation and the therapist thinks you are unsuitable for treatment, for example: you have blonde hair, then she would explain this to you at the time, however in most cases we do tend to address this on the telephone with our clients to save you both the time and inconvenience.
Yet in some instances clients have what they describe as “mousey” coloured hair, if you feel you fall into this category we would certainly recommend you to attend the free initial consultation and allow the therapist to see the zone concerned.

Clients should always remember that hair changes colour too dependant on the area, in most examples hair in the pubic and underarm regions is often darker and coarser than for example hair on the arms or legs. So for some people IPL is suitable in certain zones but not all zones, again this is something that can be assessed by our therapists during the free initial consultation.

Unfortunately IPL and Laser are both unsuitable for skin phototype 6: this is the darkest of the skin phototypes. The reason for this is that where the treatment works on the dark pigment in the hair, in a darker skin phototype there is too much melanin present in the actual skin: so this could indeed damage the skin itself, rather than delivering an effective permanent hair reduction treatment. For more information about hair removal and darker skin phototypes click here.

In essence: IPL and Laser hair removal work best on lighter skin and darker hair, but if you have any further queries relating to your treatment needs; please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team or call us directly on 020 3397 0084 where we will be only too pleased to assist you!


Author: Lauren Taylor – DepiCool UK