Modern laser and IPL machines have significantly lessened in pain since their initial release on the market in the nineties; however, most still experience some level of discomfort on newly tanned skin.
Professional operatives acting under medical direction with customized equipment configured specifically to your skin type and hair colour have lower risks of side effects than doing it themselves.
Cost
Lasers and IPL are two popular cosmetic skin care and medical treatment technologies, but their functioning differs significantly. Both use light energy in different wavelengths to treat various conditions while decreasing unwanted hair, brown spots, or spider veins.
Light passes through the epidermis and heats up melanin pigment in hair follicles to cause them to close off, thus stopping hair growth. This non-damaging treatment is very effective but may take multiple visits due to cycles in hair growth.
Laser therapy is a more intense form of light-based therapy than IPL and can treat a wider variety of skin and hair color tones than IPL can. A laser’s focused light energy targets specific chromophores like hair follicles or pigment, making this approach more efficient at targeting those chromophores without damaging surrounding tissue.
Laser treatments offer clients a more comfortable experience as they do not cause blistering or burns like IPL treatments do. A cooling device is used during treatment to keep skin cool during laser pulse delivery; clients may experience temporary discomfort as the laser pulses come through but this should pass quickly.
Both IPL and laser treatments can be found at numerous beauty salons, spas, and dermatologist offices. Both options often come as part of package deals for hair removal; so it would be wise to consult your physician or dermatologist about which option might be most suited to your individual needs.
IPL works best on people with light blond to dark hair and is less effective on people with darker locks. Lasers tend to be more efficient as they target deeper, smaller pulses of hair growth. Furthermore, unlike IPL technology, lasers can treat larger areas such as brown spots and veins more effectively than ever.
Pain
Laser therapy treatments are highly targeted, with light beams focused on treating an exact area. This reduces discomfort and pain compared to IPL treatments that spread light over a wider area. When light becomes dispersed across an even greater surface area, discomfort becomes increasingly severe, particularly among individuals with darker skin tones who run an increased risk of burns during treatments.
Laser treatments offer effective ways to address sun damage, wrinkles, fine lines, acne scarring and tattoo removal. Furthermore, IPL and laser treatments may cause side effects like skin irritation, swelling and blistering which should be kept in mind during any treatments.
Laser treatments involve placing the skin under a cooling system to minimize discomfort. Once this has occurred, technicians use a small handpiece to apply treatment directly onto the skin – typically within 20-30 minutes and usually in clinical settings with trained dermatologists. Results typically last years.
Though laser treatments have long been around, their popularity and affordability has only recently grown more widespread and affordable. Thanks to advancements in technology, the cost of laser treatments has dropped considerably over time; leading to more people seeking out cosmetic procedures that reduce wrinkles, fine lines and other signs of aging while simultaneously decreasing scars.
IPL and laser hair removal share similar goals: they target melanin in hair follicles to cause it to break apart, effectively stopping future growth of that strand. While both types of treatments have proven their efficacy, IPL is considered less invasive; plus it also treats sun damaged skin. Plus it’s generally cheaper and can even be performed from home! Nevertheless, multiple sessions may be necessary before desired results can be reached; dermatologists can advise which method best meets their patients needs during a consultation and patch test appointment.
Results
Although IPL and laser treatments differ considerably in their functions, both offer similar results. Both treatments can permanently reduce hair growth in most skin types across a range of body areas including arms, legs and face. IPL/laser treatments both work by targeting melanin pigment that colors hair follicles; when light hits it it heats it up, damaging follicles so it stops producing new hair in that location and thus both should be followed up regularly with top-up treatments for maximum efficiency.
Contrasting with IPL machines that use broad spectrum light to treat multiple conditions simultaneously, laser treatments offer more targeted treatments that can address specific areas. They can even target specific chromophores like blood vessels or brown spots while IPL machines merely utilize one wavelength to cover all surface of skin.
Lasers provide more precise and consistent results than IPL machines, making them the ideal solution for more delicate areas such as the face or bikini line. Their more intense light beam can also speed up hair removal faster. Plus, laser treatments tend to cause less discomfort for patients during treatments.
Lasers offer another advantage for people with darker skin types: IPL treatments can often be less successful due to not distinguishing between melanin in hair follicles and skin melanin, and darker hair absorbs more light energy than lighter hair, rendering IPL less efficient.
IPL treatments go far beyond hair removal to address many other conditions, such as vascular lesions, sun damage and wrinkles. While other techniques like waxing and electrolysis may work to address some of these conditions, IPL tends to be cheaper than laser procedures.
Decisions on which device to use depend entirely on an individual’s needs and budget. For temporary hair removal with low pain tolerance, IPL could be your ideal solution; while permanent hair removal through laser therapy should be considered.
Side effects
Both laser and IPL work by emitting light that is absorbed by melanin found in your hair and skin, producing energy which heats it and destroys its source follicles, thus stopping further hair growth. Both treatments may produce mild side effects; with IPL you may notice skin reddening post treatment; for laser, it could look and feel similar to sunburn, with sensitiveness lasting a few hours or days post treatment before quickly subsiding; sun exposure should be avoided in this regard, along with exposure to hot water temperatures if at all possible.
Both treatments may cause pain, though laser is usually more effective due to its concentrated light pulses that do not spread as far. Modern machines use a cooling system which blows constant cool air over the area being treated, which greatly decreases its level of discomfort. Furthermore, most clinics provide numbing cream for patients who can only handle minimal levels of pain tolerance.
Always ensure the technician you see is fully certified to operate laser and IPL equipment, having received extensive training at a high standard, as well as receiving regular updates in order to guarantee safe and effective results. Inquire about their certificates in relation to the specific machine they’ll be treating with.
Keep in mind that both laser and IPL treatments only treat hair when it is actively growing, meaning you will require at least six sessions for optimal results. While some hair may grow back after treatments have ended, most should remain permanently dead; hence why some opt for laser over IPL due to its more permanent results; both treatments remain extremely safe when administered by experienced practitioners in reputable clinics or salons.
