Patient Resources – Hair Removal

RealSelf.com Answers from Dr. Verebelyi

• Which is the best hair removal treatment – laser or IPL?It really depends on the wavelength as to whether these are effective hair removal devises or not. IPLs have actually been studied for years as hair removal devices. For instance Cutera offers an IPL which the provider can select one of three separate wavelength ranges. Range A is around 770nm which acts much like and Alexandrite laser that works best on lighter hair and lighter skin types. Range B is around 810nm and acts like a Diode laser which works better for medium skin types and slightly darker hair. Range C is around 1000nm and resembles an 1064nm Nd:YAG which is safe and effective even on patients’ Fitzpatrick V type of skin. I have used this type of IPL for a few years with excellent results. If you compared the A setting (about 770nm) with an Alexandrite laser (755nm) I think you would find that they are either equal or the actual laser may work about 10 percent better. However, this is a nice trade off when you consider the safety and versatility of the IPL device. I have taken care of many patients that were burned with a laser that they never should have been treated with in the first place simply because the provider did not have any other light sources at their disposal.