How to make IPL more effective?

Author: Eddie Fritsch  |  Last update: Wednesday, July 9, 2025

3. Start at the Lowest Intensity Level
  1. Cleanse and Exfoliate the Skin. Thoroughly cleanse your skin before your IPL treatment to remove makeup, residues, and impurities. ...
  2. Shave the Area.
  3. Keep the Skin Dry. IPL works best on dry skin. ...
  4. Protect Your Skin from Sun Exposure.

How can I improve my IPL results?

Maximize Your IPL Photo Facial Results With These Five Tips!
  1. Protect yourself from the sun. One of the most important ways to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. ...
  2. Don't smoke. ...
  3. Treat your skin gently. ...
  4. Eat a healthy diet. ...
  5. De-stress.

How to make IPL most effective?

For best results, IPL treatments should be repeated every fortnight, up to six times. You will start to see results after the third treatment. A treatment schedule can help you maintain this rhythm. This is especially helpful if you're treating different areas of your body.

Why am I not seeing results from IPL?

Answer: IPL procedures can be underpowered It sounds like you may have had too low of a power setting on your IPL OR the IPL that was used is not able to deliver enough power. It is very important to discern your Fitzpatrick skin type and then set the laser accordingly so you will A.

How can I speed up my IPL healing?

Speed up healing after IPL therapy: Use mild cleansers and moisturizers daily on your skin. Apply a sunscreen with a minimum of 30 SPF. This protects your skin from UVB and UVA rays.

IPL "Hair Removal" Does More than Just Remove Hair... (Intense Pulsed Light / Home Hair Removal)

Can I overuse an IPL?

Overusing an IPL device is a major no-no. It can lead to side effects that range from minor irritation to long-term skin damage.

How to tell if an IPL is working?

You will notice that the hair growth after four weeks of IPL treatment will be lesser and thinner. After completing a session of 12 weeks, the hair growth will reduce completely, providing you with silky, smooth skin for a longer time. However, you may have to continue touch-ups as needed.

Does IPL sometimes not work?

If you've found yourself wondering, “Why is IPL not working on my hair” it could be due to your skin and hair type. IPL can be challenging to use for certain individuals,4 so it's important to know what skin types will achieve the best IPL experience: IPL works best on light, untanned skin.

What happens if you don't shave properly before IPL?

Shaving before your IPL hair removal treatment helps the light beam to focus in on the hair root. When using IPL, you'll need to shave less and less as your treatments go on. As the hair follicles will be empty, you'll notice fewer ingrown hairs and less stubble 'shadow'.

How long does it take for capillaries to disappear after IPL?

As a general rule, the smaller the capillaries, the quicker they are to clear up. Typically, you won't start seeing results until two to four weeks after the first treatment, as it can take the body's lymphatic system that long to remove the dead material.

Can I IPL my pubic hair?

First things first, let's answer a pressing question: can you use IPL on the bikini area safely? Yes, you can! That is, as long as you have a device, like the Philips Lumea IPL 9000 Series, that has a specific attachment designed to work with the contours of this area of your body.

What are the do's and don'ts of IPL?

Avoid sun exposure for at least five days. IPL treatments increase your skin's sensitivity to UV rays, making it more prone to damage, hyperpigmentation, and irritation. Protect your skin by wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen with high SPF, even when indoors if near windows, and seek shade whenever possible.

What is the success rate of IPL?

In a retrospective study of patients with refractory dry eye who had exhausted conventional treatment and elected to receive intense pulsed light and meibomian gland expression (IPL/MGX), 58% of patients' symptoms improved from as much as 25% to more than 50% after treatment.

Why do spots get darker after IPL?

Here's why: The Pigment Reaction Process: IPL targets the melanin in the dark spots or your skin, then breaks it down into smaller particles. These particles temporarily sit on the skin's surface, causing the pigmentation to look darker than before.

Can I do IPL at home twice a week?

You're not allowing the necessary hair growth needed for IPL and laser hair removal treatments to work best. How often can you use IPL devices at home? You can use IPL devices at home up to twice a week over the course of about 8 weeks.

Why does IPL take so long to work?

However, the full results may take several weeks or even months to become visible. This is because IPL works by targeting the underlying structures of the skin, such as collagen and blood vessels, and stimulating the body's natural healing processes.

Can I trim instead of shave for IPL?

How should skin/hair be prepared prior to using IPL? “You should shave or trim the hair down to skin level, we recommend our clients shave the area the day before,” says Thomas. “That said, some at home devices may give you different preparation advice so always follow the instructions.”

Why can't I use IPL every day?

Using IPL too often can be ineffective and painful. IPL is most effective while your hair is in the growth phase –if you treat your skin multiple times a week, your hair can become dormant and IPL treatment won't work as well. Additionally, while IPL is a gentle treatment, too much of it can be a bad thing.

Does IPL work if you pluck?

Refrain from plucking, waxing or bleaching the area.

Plucking, waxing and bleaching reduces the effectiveness of the treatment. If you do pluck, wax or bleach the IPL treatment will not be as effective and you will require additional treatments.

How can I improve my IPL effectiveness?

Avoid sun exposure: Direct sunlight can increase the risk of complications and make the treatment less effective, especially when you're receiving IPL for sun damage. Avoid sun exposure and tanning beds before your session. IPL skin treatments work best on pale skin.

How can I speed up my IPL results?

After your IPL treatments you should do the following: Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate: Your skin may be drier than usual after treatment, so apply a gentle moisturizer frequently to combat excessive dryness. By keeping your skin hydrated, you can speed up the healing process and see results more quickly.

Why is IPL not working on my chin hair?

You Have a Hormonal Imbalance Affecting IPL Treatment

This may be the case if IPL's not working on facial hair. A hormonal imbalance (especially involving a higher level of testosterone, which encourages hair growth) can result in coarser, faster-growing hair that is more difficult to remove.

Can you overuse IPL?

IPL technology targets hair follicles, and excessive use doesn't speed up results. Hair needs a day or two to grow between sessions to absorb the light effectively. Flashing an area more than twice in a single session is overkill. Using the device too frequently can actually hinder progress and cause side effects.

Why is my IPL not removing hair?

Another common reason why IPL hair removal doesn't work boils down to hormones. While IPL can be a great fit for PCOS hair removal, in other cases hormonal conditions can lead to ineffective hair removal. This may be the case if IPL's not working on facial hair.

Do you need to numb before IPL?

An IPL treatment takes about 10 minutes to perform. It will feel like little hot pinches on your skin. Sometimes patients are given a numbing cream to apply to their face for 20 – 30 minutes prior to the treatment to lessen any discomfort.

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