“Does home use IPL hair removal cause side effects? Does at-home laser hair removal cause cancer?”
These are the commonly asked questions by some. We fully understand your concern as IPL hair removal may be a new concept for many, especially when it is being used privately at home rather than being done by a professional at a salon.
Before we shed some light on this topic, we want to clarify that the technology used in both the Shero IPL hair removal handset and Salon grade is the same, just in different intensity levels. If used as instructed our handset poses no risks to the user and is very safe to use. It is FCC, CE and RoHs certified for safe use.
Does IPL Hair Removal Cause Cancer?
While there are many known cancer- causing foods, substances and habits in our daily life, IPL or C-IPL isn’t one of them. Scientific studies have shown no reports of IPL causing skin cancer to our body.
Let us help you better understand how the IPL hair removal device works, and erase some of the fears you may have sitting at the back of your head.
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) was invented in the early 90s after its predecessors (There were different types of clinical lasers invented from the 60s to 80s). And IPL has been improved ever since!
The Intense Pulsed Light belongs to the safe spectrum of visible light. Moreover, IPL has been used widely in clinics to treat various skin issues like broken blood vessels, brown spots, fine wrinkles, freckles, redness from rosacea, scars, spider veins and so on.
One important difference could be whether the home use IPL hair removal device is made sure to not emit harmful UV rays because some still do and many sellers are unaware of it.
Our handset also ensures that all UV wavelengths are filtered by blocking wavelengths below 550 nm from the IPL spectrum. This is done to prevent the light doing damage to the outer layer of the skin, this means your handset will never cause long-term complications caused by UV exposure such as skin cancer, skin aging etc.
Source: https://www.vlanj.org/eye-safety-in-the-sun/
Let’s say you have purchased an IPL permanent hair removal handset that doesn’t emit harmful UV rays, there are still some common adverse effects following treatment and they are generally both mild and transient.
IPL or C-IPL are not for everyone, therefore, taking precaution and equipping yourself with knowledge of Do’s and Don’ts will prevent some serious side effects or injury. Read below to find out what is normal and what is not when you begin your IPL hair removal treatments.
Normal Symptoms Before and After IPL Hair Removal Treatment
What is normal when using an IPL permanent hair removal?
- Slight tingling
- Gentle pulses of warm sensation that go away quickly
- The feeling of rubber band snapping at your skin, some described it as “electric shock”. You will not likely to feel this at level 1 or 2 unless:
- 1) You have previously used skincare containing harsh chemicals
2) Your skin tone is dense with melanin (This may indicate that the technology is not suitable for your skin tone). Refer to the skin tone chart here. - Some burnt hair smell
- Some hair (if you did not do a clean shave) will curl up after undergoing the IPL flash
What is normal after IPL hair removal treatments?
- Some hair can be detached from the follicles by gently rubbing them
- Slight redness on the skin that goes away within few hours to a few days
- The sensation of a “very mild sunburn”, warm and a “very slight tenderness” depending on the level settings and what you do before the treatment and after. (Do avoid going out into the sun or use acidic skincare/harsh chemicals a day before IPL or any laser treatment.)
- Some people’s skin will be more photosensitive. Try to avoid the sun and apply sunscreen.
Serious IPL Hair Removal Side Effects We Want To Prevent
Rarely, Salon’s IPL or laser hair removal can result in the side effects below, it’s more uncommon for home-use IPL or C-IPL to result in these too:
- Unbearable pain, discomfort or tenderness
- Red skin that may last for some time
- Crusting, blistering, bruising or swelling of your skin
- Lightening or darkening of your skin
- Burns from the IPL or laser’s heat.
- Scarring
- Bacterial Infections
We hope this article provides enough insight for you about the possible side effects as well as what are normal and what are not when undergoing an IPL hair removal treatment.
Shero works hard in bringing the best type of home use IPL to reduce the discomfort and possible side effects by taking out the harmful UV from the IPL. We have also recently introduced the new cooling feature in Shero ICE to make every flash count during your hair removal treatments.
Feel free to reach out to us on Instagram if you have any questions regarding permanent hair removal!
Source:
- Laser Hair Removal.
- What are the side effects of laser hair removal?
- History of laser and IPL
- IPL Hair Removal: What are the risks and benefits
