Is IPL Hair Removal Permanent? (2021)

Permanent hair removal is a phrase that is thrown around freely especially online and in hair removal marketing advertising. While electrolysis is the only method of hair removal approved as such by the FDA, it amazes me how easily you can find other products claiming to offer permanent hair removal.

Laser hair removal is often referred to as offering permanent hair removal and you may even read claims that Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) hair removal offers the same.

Is any of this true? Let’s take a closer look.

Permanent Hair Removal Timeline

A very brief history of permanent hair removal claims:

• Electrolysis was invented in the 1880s to remove ingrown eyelashes and was later approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as the first method offering permanent hair removal, possibly with repeated treatments.
  
• Laser hair removal first came into vogue in the 1960s but it wasn’t until the 1970s when it was noted that lasers being used to remove tattoos and lesions appeared to have the side effect of removing hair.
  
• In 1995, SoftLight became the first laser hair removal product approved by the FDA for that purpose and the manufacturer claimed permanent hair removal could be achieved. But 2 years later, studies showed that hair regrew and the machine was eventually withdrawn from the market.
  
• In 1997, the FDA approves several more laser and non-laser devices for hair removal that appear to offer better benefits that the earlier products. But without long term research, how can anyone claim to offer permanent hair removal?

Laser hair removal was one of those methods approved by the FDA for hair removal in 1997. But this time, the FDA suggested that permanent hair reduction was as good as a person could expect. The SoftLight debacle from several years earlier resulted in numerous consumer lawsuits when their hair grew back despite the manufacturer’s claims that this wouldn’t occur.

Is IPL Hair Removal Permanent?

IPL hair removal is generally considered to offer permanent hair reduction at best. In layman’s terms, you should notice a reduction in the unwanted hair that you have assuming the following occurs.

You will achieve best results if you:

• Schedule a series of visits over time to remove the unwanted hair.
• Have the IPL treatments done when hair is in the growth phase so it can be removed effectively.
• Visit a qualified practitioner who properly adjusts the machine and operates the machinery properly.
• Are in fact an ideal candidate for the IPL treatment ie. you have relatively light skin and dark hair.

In general terms, laser hair removal is often considered to be a better choice for long term hair removal because laser uses a focused, single beam which specifically targets hair. IPL uses a broad spectrum light which isn’t as focused.

Intense Pulsed Light Hair Removal Research

Recent research suggests that IPL may offer longer term hair removal than initially believed.

Specifically, IPL research from Denmark titled Intense pulsed light photo epilation turns out to be permanent at 5‐9 years follow‐up suggests that results might be better than expected.

With an average follow up time of 7.7 years, the study noted that an average hair reduction of 53.3% was achieved in 89.9% of the hair removal patients.

So hair reduction of over 50% was achieved in almost 90% of cases which is very significant. And this was noted over 7.5 years after treatment had been done on average.

The summary of the research was as follows:

The present study shows that Ellipse I2PL photoepilation is efficient and the registered efficacy is equivalent to what has been reported in 6 other articles with follow-up times of 8 to 18 months. Photoepilated facial hair reduction performed correctly has shown to be approximately 60% and unchanged after five to 15 full hair cycles, and thereby can be stated as permanent.

Skinflow.de

A final conclusion went on to say:

…facial hair reduction performed correctly (using correct pulse durations and light fluencies being in accordance to hair follicle thermal damage times) has shown to be approximate 60% and unchanged after five to 15 full hair cycles, and thereby can be stated as permanent.

Skinflow.de

So is IPL hair removal permanent? Assuming that protocols were followed correctly and assuming the IPL machine was properly set, a significant degree of permanent hair removal was noted by this research for the majority of chosen patients who were treated.

IPL vs Laser Hair Removal – What’s The Difference?

As the above diagram shows, IPL hair removal and laser hair removal are not the same even if just comparing the actual pulse of light hitting the skin and how it targets the unwanted hair.

IPL uses a broad spectrum light which doesn’t specifically target the hair(s) being treated but also hits the surrounding area of skin whether it has hair or not.

Laser hair removal uses a focused, single beam that hits the specific area being treated for hair removal.

Note too how the laser – depending on which of the four lasers are being used – penetrates deeper into the skin which can offer better long term results.

So while laser hair removal may take longer since fewer hairs tend to be treated at one time, the overall long term result might be better.

My IPL Hair Removal Experience

You can read full details of my Intense Pulsed Light hair removal experience that I’ve written about previously. In general terms I have no regret but it took me 16 visits over several years at considerable cost to remove unwanted back and shoulder hair.

And I didn’t achieve 100% hair removal. I didn’t expect that I would but it certainly did not occur so in that regard, expectations were met.

I can certainly say that years later, I did achieve some permanent hair reduction and possibly permanent hair removal. I have far less hair than I did before the treatments.

But since I never had laser hair removal to any degree (I had only 1 laser hair removal session before choosing IPL instead) I have no basis of comparison to say that one is better than the other.

FDA Premarket Notification Database

Part of finding a good, long term hair removal option is to separate fact from fiction and get beyond the marketing hype of permanent hair removal claims.

How can you tell if a home-based hair removal or other product has been checked and cleared by the Food & Drug Administration? Check out the FDA Premarket Notification Database to confirm that specific hair removal products you are considering have been approved and/or cleared by the FDA.

If you’d like to learn more about IPL hair removal, check out my complete Intense Pulsed Light page which discusses pros and cons and compares it to laser hair removal.