Is it necessary to wait between IPL and laser hair removal?

Hello, it is best to wait five weeks in between treatments. On average, a hair growth cycle occurs every five weeks.

Hello lolaraschke, and thank you for your question regarding transitioning from IPL hair removal to professional diode laser treatments.

If you’ve been using an IPL device at home, it’s a good idea to wait at least 2-4 weeks before starting professional laser hair removal. This waiting period allows your skin and hair follicles to recover from the effects of IPL and ensures that your skin is in the best condition for the diode laser treatment.

Here’s why waiting is important:

IPL and lasers target the same hair follicles. If IPL has recently been used, the hair follicles may already be damaged, making it harder for the diode laser to effectively target and treat them.
Skin sensitivity: IPL can temporarily irritate the skin. Starting laser treatments too soon can increase the risk of side effects such as redness, irritation, or burns.
Hair growth cycle alignment: Both IPL and diode laser treatments are most effective during the active (anagen) phase of the hair growth cycle. Waiting ensures that more hairs are in the optimal growth phase for laser targeting.
If you’ve noticed any skin irritation or redness from the IPL treatments, it’s important to wait until your skin is fully healed before starting professional laser treatments. Always inform your laser technician about your IPL usage so they can tailor the treatment to your skin’s condition and hair growth patterns.

I hope this answers your question and helps you plan your transition to diode laser hair removal. Good luck!

Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

We suggest that you wait 4-6 weeks until you get laser hair removal from the last time you used IPL. Our Cutera Coolglide is a 1064 wavelength Nd:YAG laser with which a beam of concentrated light targets the melanin in the hair follicles and vaporizes them. Only certain hair follicles are in active growth phase at a given time. The active growth phase of hair follicles are 4-6 weeks. You would want to wait 4-6 weeks between treatments to target new hair growth.