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.
Ineffective laser hair removal may be a result of inappropriate wavelength, underpowered laser (low fluence or hand piece that requires replacement), underlying medical or hormonal condition (ie testosterone levels, et), or provider with not using appropriate technique or settings.
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.
There is such a thing as paradoxical increase in hair growth after IPL or laser treatment. That can happen if the settings were too low on the machine. It happens rarely and it would take longer than one week to see the increase in the hair growth. So it sounds like you are on the right track.
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.
Your IPL Treatment Schedule is Off.
We recommend doing at-home IPL treatment once a week for twelve weeks, or twice a week for six weeks. If you've been doing IPL for a long time but had long gaps in between treatments, that might make it so you don't see results as quickly.
Pre-Treatment Shaving
This simple step not only saves you time during your session but also ensures that the laser can target the hair follicles more effectively. By removing the hair above the skin's surface, the laser can penetrate deeper, leading to more efficient and long-lasting results.
Hormones can keep some hairs in the resting phase during hair removal treatments, meaning treatments wouldn't affect these follicles. Hormonal changes post-treatment could lead to hair regrowth as well. Simply put, hair growth is more complex than it seems.
If not in proper contact with the skin, the device will not flash. In the case of a red light, there is not full contact or it is an invalid skin tone. Step 4: For larger body areas use gliding mode: hold down the treatment button and glide along your skin.
You may be suffering from underlaying medical conditions. In some cases underlaying medical conditions, such as hormonal imbalance, PCOS may slow down the results of the treatment. As a result you may need more treatments compared to patients without these conditions.
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.
You Have a Hormonal Imbalance Affecting IPL Treatment
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.
IPL works best on light, untanned skin. IPL is less effective on dark skin as short wavelengths can lead to pigmentation changes. IPL is most efficient on darker hair tones. IPL does not work as well on blonde, red, and white hair.
Exfoliate gently
After about a week, begin exfoliating the treated area to help remove any dead hair. To avoid irritation, use a gentle exfoliating scrub or a soft loofah.
Although newer machines have the ability to target all hair colors and skin tones, IPL still tends to work better on thick, dark hair than it does on fine, lighter hair due to the way broad-spectrum light targets melanin pigment. And when it comes to skin tones, IPL is most effective on light skin.
It could indicate that the follicles were not sufficiently damaged during the procedure, which may necessitate further sessions or even alternative treatments, conducted with the same precision you'd expect from plastic surgery procedures.
Remember the laser light is attracted by the pigment of the hair. So due to the lack of pigment in grey/ white hair the laser isn't able to penetrate the skin. And therefore the procedure won't be effective.
IPL can damage pigmented ocular tissues such as the retina; therefore, eye protection with the appropriate optical density is critical for the patient and the IPL treatment provider.
Up to a few weeks after treatment, your skin will develop stubble or blackheads as a part of the shedding process that happens from hairs that were partially grown at the time of the procedure.
Pulling out loose hair after a laser hair removal session is not recommended. It disrupts the hair growth cycle; when hairs are loose it means the hair is in its cycle of removal. If it's removed before it dies on its own, it could stimulate hair to grow again.
We're talking skin irritation on top of just general ineffectiveness. Can you overuse at-home IPL? You can overuse at-home IPL. If you use your device too often, you won't speed up your hair removal treatments and could set yourself up for side effects.
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 do hairs 'grow' after treatment? Contrary to other treatments, hairs are not vaporised by IPL treatment. The hair follicles are killed by the heat but the hairs remain in the skin and often become attached to the epidermis. They will fall out after 1 to 3 weeks as the epidermis is renewed.
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.