How Many IPL Sessions are Required to Achieve Almost No Hair?

Unfortunately, no one can say for 100% how many sessions it takes for any device to remove almost all of someone’s hair. There are many factors to consider which are related to you and your hair, as well as to which device you are using. On average, we tell almost everyone that 4-6 treatments are needed at monthly intervals to effectivelyremove most all the hair. But there are newer machines in 2014 which work faster and may be more effective which means less pain and less treatments, so consult with your board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon and find out what they are using, how new it is, and how experienced they are with it. Laser hair removal is a great procedure – lasers and IPLs work. Good luck with it.

Our regimen is 4 sessions one month a part and one more session in 6-8 months if needed. Hairs go through cycle of growing and rest stages and only when they are growing, they respond to IPL or laser treatment. One month a part should get majority of the hairs at their growing stages but some may grow later as far as 6-9 months.

Dark hair on light skin is the easiest hair to remove.  If the skin is darker and the hair lighter, it becomes much more difficult to remove hair safely with IPL.  IPL devices vary greatly in power, wavelength of light and operator knowledge.

 Often IPL is not the best device for hair removal in certain skin types.  Dark hair on dark skin is best removed with a long-pulse Nd:YAG laser.  

Under ideal conditions six to eight treatments will remove much of the hair permanently, but the range of treatments for all skin and hair types is quite variable.  I would recommend going to a hair removal center that has both IPL and extensive laser technology to make sure you get the right treatment for your individual needs.  Also choose a doctor with extensive experience such as a cosmetic dermatologist whose practice is dedicated to cosmetic laser treatments.