An at-home "laser" hair remover is in most cases not a laser but an IPL device: a flash lamp with a broad spectrum of light and a power many times lower than a salon machine. It works, but in its own way: with regular use once a week, for months on end, the hair gets sparser and finer, and after a break it comes back. A salon laser destroys the follicle over a course of 6-10 sessions and then needs one or two maintenance sessions a year. Let us go through it in detail: how IPL differs from a laser, whether it works, whether it hurts, what about the face and contraindications, what is cheaper and how to choose a device if you do buy one.
Home IPL device or professional laser equipment
First: the light. A laser gives precise wavelengths chosen for hair pigment: on a hybrid device those are the alexandrite, diode and neodymium ranges, each with its own job. An IPL device gives the blurred spectrum of an ordinary lamp, 475 to 1200 nm, of which the hair absorbs only a small part, and the rest heats the skin. That is why IPL is weaker by nature and is tolerated worse on dark skin.
Second: the power. Home IPL devices deliver 4-7 J/cm², the rare home diode lasers up to 20, a salon laser 10-40 and more, and at a precise wavelength rather than a blurred spectrum. A home device weakens the follicle, a salon one destroys it.
Third: cooling and control. In a salon the handpiece cools the skin at the moment of the flash, and the specialist sets the power for your skin type and watches the reaction. At home there is no cooling, you pick the power yourself on a five-step scale, and the skin sensor simply blocks the flash if the skin is darker than the device allows.
There are real home lasers too, diode ones, but they are few, they cost more and their power is still capped so that the device can be sold without training.
| What we compare | Home IPL device | Salon laser |
|---|---|---|
| Light | broad lamp spectrum, 475-1200 nm | precise wavelength: 755, 808-810 or 1064 nm |
| Power | 4-7 J/cm² | 10-40 J/cm² and more |
| Skin cooling | none | contact cooling at the moment of the flash |
| Who sets the power | you, 5 steps | the specialist, for your skin on that day |
| Dark skin | the sensor blocks the flash | works, long wavelengths |
| Result after six months | sparser, finer hair, shaving every 1-2 weeks | a course of 6-10 sessions, smooth skin with no razor |
| What comes next | flashes without end, growth returns after a break | 1-2 maintenance sessions a year |
| Time on lower legs in the first year | 10-20 hours | 3-7 hours |
| Price | 8-15 thousand Kč for the device | from 800 Kč per session, depending on the area |
Does a home IPL device work
Yes, but with very low efficiency, and a home device does not give the result a laser gives. You need three conditions: fair skin, dark hair and discipline. Flashes once a week for the first 4-8 weeks, then once every two to four weeks, and so on indefinitely. After two or three months the hair gets sparser and finer, and you shave once every week or two instead of every other day. That is all: smooth skin with no razor, as after a salon course, a home device does not give, and after a break of a couple of months growth returns almost to where it started.
The studies have numbers too. In a 2023 paper in PLOS ONE the participants were randomly split into two groups: one was treated with a home IPL device, the other with a salon diode laser, six sessions each: the home device removed 46-52% of the hair, the laser 85-88%. Only 15 of the 30 women completed the study, though, and the hair was counted three weeks after the last session, that is before the regrowth typical of home devices begins.
It does not work on light, red and grey hair, like any laser, and on dark skin, because the sensor will not release the flash.
Sources: PLOS ONE, 2023
Does IPL hurt at home
Less than in a salon, and that is bad news, not good. A home device feels like a warm snap because its power is many times lower: the less energy reaches the follicle, the less you feel and the less result you get. On the top setting in the bikini area and underarms it stings noticeably, and the cooling that takes most of the sensation away in a salon is missing at home. If you add power "to make it work", you get redness and marks, not a result.
Home IPL on the face
Most devices have a separate face attachment, and manufacturers allow the upper lip, chin and cheeks below the cheekbones. Eyebrows, eyelids and everything around the eyes are off limits: the flash is dangerous for the retina. The face responds worst of all: hair on the upper lip and chin is hormonal and fine, and home power is not enough for it. The usual outcome after six months: the hair is slightly lighter, but you still shave or pluck. And it is the one area where burn marks are visible to everyone, not hidden under clothes.
Contraindications and safety: is IPL harmful
There is no evidence that IPL harms your health: the light is not ionising, it goes only millimetres into the skin and does not affect the organs, blood or hormones. The danger is different: burns and marks on the skin when the device is used against the instructions. Its contraindications are the same as for a salon laser, only there is no specialist next to you to check them:
- pregnancy and breastfeeding: manufacturers forbid it outright;
- a fresh tan, sunbeds and self-tanner: a two-week pause;
- dark skin, skin types V and VI: the sensor blocks the flash, and if you trick it you get a burn;
- tattoos, moles, pigment spots: cover or go around them;
- inflammation, cold sores, eczema, psoriasis in the area: until healed;
- photosensitising medication, retinoids, some antibiotics: ask your doctor;
- epilepsy and light sensitivity: do not use.
Sources: Cancer Council Australia, American Academy of Dermatology
What never to do: do not raise the power to "speed it up", do not flash the same spot twice in one session, do not work on the face without goggles, and do not trust the word "laser" on the box: check the specifications for what is inside, IPL or a diode.
How much time it takes
Both lower legs at home take 30-40 minutes flash by flash, arms another 20, bikini 10-15. Once a week for several months, then once every two to four weeks with no end. For the lower legs alone that adds up to 10-20 hours in the first year, and up to 30-40 with arms and bikini. A salon course on the lower legs is 6-10 visits of 30-45 minutes at intervals of 4-5 weeks and more, 3-7 hours in total, and then one or two visits a year.
What is cheaper
A device costs 8-15 thousand Kč, has a limited number of flashes and takes your time. A salon course on the underarms starts at 800 Kč per session, the bikini line at 850, the lower legs at 1900, and that is the price of a result you do not have to maintain every week. On one small area the device and the course cost roughly the same. On several areas the salon is usually cheaper, because the device's flashes and your time are spent on each of them.
How to choose an IPL device if you do buy one
There are plenty of popular models on the market: Philips Lumea, Braun Silk-expert, Ulike, and among home diode lasers the Tria. Look at the specifications, not the brand:
- Power in the specifications: at least 5-6 J/cm² at maximum, otherwise the device only warms the skin.
- A skin tone sensor and five or more power levels: without them a burn is easy to get.
- Lamp life: from 300 thousand flashes, otherwise it will not last for the legs.
- A face attachment and a bikini attachment with a smaller window.
- A 3-4 cm² flash window for the body: the smaller the window, the longer the session.
- Return period: look for the longest, 60 days or more. The hair's response shows only after two or three months, and in a short window you will not know whether the device works.
- Not a laser "by name": a real home diode laser costs twice as much and is still weaker than a salon one.
When a home device makes sense and when the salon is better
A home IPL device is justified in three cases. One or two small areas, fair skin, dark hair and the willingness to do it once a week without skipping. Maintenance after a salon course: the odd hair once a month with a home device instead of a visit. And situations where the salon is out of reach: too far, no time, not wanting to show the area to another person. In these cases IPL replaces the razor, not the laser.
The salon, if: legs, arms, several areas at once, at home that is tens of hours. Dark or tanned skin: a home device will either block the flash or burn you. Face and neck: they need precise power, not five steps. Coarse dark hair in the bikini area and underarms: home power is enough to weaken it, not to remove it. And if you need the result by a date: a holiday, a wedding, summer. A home device will not make the date, a salon course is planned around it.
How we handle it
In our practice we have had clients who came after a home IPL device: the hair had become finer but had not gone, and on a salon course those areas respond like any other, there is no such thing as "getting used to it". We do not talk people out of home devices: for maintaining the result after a course they are fine, and a few of our clients do exactly that. But the course itself is better done on a salon laser: a hybrid device with alexandrite, diode and neodymium ranges and contact cooling does in 6-10 visits what a home IPL spends years on. Come for a free consultation, the specialist will look at your skin and hair and tell you whether the home option suits you or not!
Reviewed by: MEDULLA team