LASER and Intense Pulsed Light also known as IPL hair removal treatments are the safest, fastest, most effective method to permanently reduce unwanted facial and body hair for men and women, under the right conditions.
- What is IPL Hair Removal?
- What can it treat?
- What are the benefits of having IPL Hair Removal?
- Why have IPL Hair Removal with CosMedical Skin Solutions?
- Is your skin suitable for IPL treatment?
- Contra-indications (Reasons you may not be suitable)
- How many treatments do you need and how often?
- How do you prepare your skin?
- Who will perform your IPL treatment?
- What does IPL Permanent Hair Removal feel like?
- What can you expect after the treatment?
- After care
- Possible side effects & complications
- How do you maintain the results?
- How much does it cost?
- Call us or book online
- Important Information!
Before and After Pictures
Click the image to see the description and enlarge.
What is Intense Pulsed Light or IPL Hair Removal?
IPL and LASER hair removal treatments use specific wavelengths of light to heat the pigmented cells in the hair during its active growing stage without affecting the surrounding skin. This heat radiates to the surrounding stem cells that form the hair, and if enough heat is produced it will destroy them.
An average of 70% to 95% hair reduction can be expected, and what is remaining is generally lighter and finer. No IPL or LASER system can achieve 100% hair removal.
This will not work if you have white, grey, light blonde or red hair or if the hair is lighter than your skin colour.
Note: IPL hair removal treatments can provide permanent results as effective, if not better than LASER hair removal if certain factors are applied simultaneously. These are essential to achieve permanent results, safely and effectively within a reasonable number of treatments.
If not, you will only temporarily retard the hair growth, which will slowly return once your series of treatments ends. (See Important Information below).
What Can It Treat?
IPL Hair Removal is most effective on darker hair with lighter skin types. It can be used on darker skin and lighter hair, though more treatments may be required.
What Are The Benefits of IPL Hair Removal?
- No need for messy waxes or gels
- Permanently reduce unwanted dark facial and body hair
- No embarrassing stubble
- Great for sufferers of ingrown hairs
- Clean, smooth skin at any time
- Stop or reduce the frequency of shaving
- Feel cooler and more comfortable
- Be ready for any occasion.
Why Have IPL Treatment with CosMedical Skin Solutions?
- Our Medical grade IPL treatments will provide permanent results and not just retard the growth.
- We recommend 3-6 treatments spaced at the correct interval times, which is often 3 months apart.
- You don’t need 10-14 treatments every 3-6 weeks as recommended by most clinics!
- We are fully qualified and highly experienced Dermal Therapists and IPL & LASER Safety Officers.
- Our Director has more than 20 years industry experience and has performed well over 20,000 IPL treatments for photo-rejuvenation and permanent hair removal in a medical setting, and is also an experienced IPL trainer and assessor.
- We provide you with a comprehensive consultation so you can make an informed decision.
- We provide test spots to reduce the risk of complications and optimise results.
- We are one of the few exclusive clinics in Perth to use the StarLux 500 IPL & LASER platform by Palomar Medical Technologies. It incorporates the most advanced technologies proven to achieve better results than most gold standard LASERS and allows for fewer treatments, and provides safer, more comfortable treatments.
- We are results driven! Just see our testimonials and view before and after photos of our actual clients. (See below.)
Is Your Skin Suitable For IPL Treatment?
| Skin Type | Classification | Colour | Indication for IPL |
| I | Always burns easily and never tans | White | Best skin for IPL treatment |
| II | Burns easily and tans minimally | White | Good skin for IPL treatment |
| III | Sometimes burns and tans gradually | White | Good skin for IPL treatment |
| IV | Burns minimally and always tans | Moderate | Acceptable skin for IPL treatment |
| V+ | Rarely burns, naturally dark skin | Dark Brown+ | Not recommended for IPL treatment |
Contraindications (Reasons why IPL may not be suitable for you)
- Recent sunburn
- Unprotected sun exposure or solarium use 4 weeks prior to treatment
- Pregnancy
- History of seizures
- Severe dermatitis or eczema (within the treatment area)
- Active infections
- Roaccutane use in the last 6 months
- Herpes 1 or 2 (within the treatment area)
- Very dark skin
- White, grey and red hair
- Removing hair by the root in the treatment area e.g. waxing or tweezing 4 weeks prior to treatment
- Photo sensitising medications are best avoided.
How Many Treatments Do You Need and How Often?
Hair grows in 3 phases. IPL can only treat the hair within one of these phases called anagen. This is when the hair is growing and there are actively dividing cells in the hair follicle.
At any given time, there is only a certain percentage of hair in anagen. This is why IPL must be performed over a number of sessions with a specific time span between treatments to achieve the best result.
The number of sessions required depends on your hair and skin colour, and how your body responds to the treatments. The following is used as a guide only.
| Hair Colour | Skin Colour | Estimated number of sessions |
| Dark | I, II and III | 4 – 6 sessions |
| Medium | I, II and III | 5 – 7 sessions |
| Light | I, II and III | 8 – 10 sessions |
| Dark | IV | 6- 8 sessions |
| Medium | IV | 8 – 10 sessions |
| Light/Grey/Red Hair | Any skin colour | IPL is not effective |
The length of time the hair is in anagen phase will differ on each region of the body. This determines the ideal time between each treatment session.
- Facial Hair is between 4-6 weeks
- Body Hair is between 10-12 weeks
*Treating body hair at 4-6 week intervals, as most clinics do is completely ineffective, as you should be experiencing a hair free period, so what are they treating?
How Do You Prepare Your Skin?
- Discontinue sun exposure 4 weeks prior to your treatment.
- Do not use fake tan 1-2 weeks prior to your treatment.
- Use an SPF 30 daily.
- Do not wax, tweeze or pluck the hair for 4 weeks prior to your treatment.
- Shaving or depilatory creams are fine and you will need to shave the treatment site before your IPL hair removal session.
- If you have a history of herpes close to the area being treated, it is recommended that you take antiviral medication before the treatment. (This will be available from the chemist).
- You will need an initial consultation and test spots performed within 3 days of your treatment. In some cases for small areas, treatment may possibly be done on the day.
Who Will Perform My IPL Treatments?
Your IPL hair removal treatments will be performed by one of our Dermal Therapists, who are all qualified and experienced IPL and LASER safety officers.
What Does IPL Permanent Hair Removal Feel Like?
Each pulse of light usually feels like a hot elastic band snapping on your skin. This is due to the light converting to heat in the targeted cells. Due to the advanced technology of the StarLux 500, patient comfort is substantially better than any other medical grade system.
What Can You Expect After The Treatment?
- Most people will experience a sunburn like sensation that lasts 2 to 5 hours and is often associated with mild to moderate redness. The treated area is generally sensitive to heat for 2 days following treatment.
- The skin may appear spotty, this is inflammation caused from the heat absorbed in the hair follicle and can last 2 to 24 hours.
- Treatment of pigmented lesions may occur simultaneously. The lesion may go darker, sometimes almost black, then will fall off within 7 to 28 days (depending on the area of the body) or it will just gradually fade. We do not treat over moles or raised lesions.
- The hair will appear to grow (though very slowly) for 2 to 4 weeks and should then fall out; this is the treated hair being pushed out of the follicle, not new growth. Any hair that does not fall out was either too fine, too light, too deeply rooted or possibly wasn’t treated.
- The hair will then fall out and you should experience a hair free period for approximately 2 to 4 weeks.
- After this, new growth will start to appear, though there will be a certain percentage of hairs that don’t grow back. This percentage will increase with each session.
- Between treatments, growth can be shaved but not waxed or tweezed. We prefer it if you don’t touch it if possible, so you can observe the process and ensure the hair is falling out.
After Care
- A sunburn-like sensation is expected for about 2-5 hours after the treatment. If this is uncomfortable apply cold compresses or ice to the treated area.
- Your skin maybe temperature sensitive for the following 2 days, so do not use very hot water for your shower or bath.
- Please protect you skin from the sun!
- Do not exfoliate the skin for 1 week after the treatment.
- Your skin may be more sensitive to certain skin care products so please use the products provided to you.
- Do not pick blisters or skin crusting if they occur as this may lead to a scar!
- If you have any questions or concerns, please call the clinic.
Potential Complications
Unfortunately, there are some potential complications with IPL treatments. At CosMedical Skin Solutions we perform test spots within 3 days of your actual treatment, to allow an accurate evaluation of the skins response. This optimises the outcome and significantly reduces potential complications, which include:
- Prolonged redness and swelling lasting up to 4 days may occur.
- Darker patches of pigment on the skin may occur a couple of weeks after treatment. This can last from 2 weeks up to 1 year. However there is a special cream we can use to reduce the pigment. You are more at risk of this occurring if you have a darker skin type. (this is not the immediate darkening of pigment we expect when treating pigmentation).
- Whiter patches on the skin can occur. This can last 2 weeks up to 1 year though also has the potential to be permanent. You are more at risk of this occurring if you have a darker skin type.
- Blistering rarely occurs and will usually settle within 2 hours with application of ice. If you do get a blister, it is important that you don’t pick it as it may leave a scar.
How Do You Maintain The Results?
In most cases, additional treatments are not required. Though if new growth has occurred due to hormonal changes, medication or illness that wasn’t there during the initial treatments, further treatment can be provided when needed.
How Much Does IPL Permanent Hair Removal Cost?
If you would like further information, we recommend you come and see us for a consultation where we will discuss this in more detail, provide test spots and are happy to answer any further questions you may have.
Call us on (08) 9300 3663, or book your initial consultation online now.
*Important Information
Intense Pulsed Light is currently unregulated in Australia. No qualifications or experience are required to provide IPL treatments, and anyone can buy cheap substandard machines.
This has unfortunately led to the majority of IPL providers in Perth having no qualifications and using equipment without knowledge of the skin, or basic light physics. This is regularly resulting in permanent scarring, long term complications with no permanent results even after having a large number of treatments.
Increase your chances of a successful and safe treatment by ensuring the following:
- Your provider should be experienced and hold formal qualifications such as a Dermal Therapist or an IPL & LASER Safety Officer so you can be confident they understand this process thoroughly, and can perform treatments safely and effectively.
- Medical grade equipment registered with the TGA that will produce enough power to achieve permanent results, and incorporates advanced technology to provide safer, more comfortable treatments.
- Optimal treatment settings should be determined with test spots within 3 days of your first treatment, and the settings used will produce enough heat to destroy the stem cells that form the hair, but wont damage the surrounding skin.
- Treatments must be performed at the correct interval times to ensure your hair is in the active growing stage, otherwise it is completely ineffective!
Ensure you do your research before choosing your provider and remember there’s a reason why many places are so cheap. Don’t spend hundreds and often thousands of dollars on ineffective treatments or risk permanent scarring.
