Laser or IPL for fair skin, dark and coarse hair on bikini line, which would be best? Which is less painful?

Question

Hello. I'm wanting to get laser done on my bikini area. I have dark, course hair that grows fast. Also now have ingrowns from waxing. For my skin and hair type, what would be the best type of hair removal? Laser ( diode) or IPL? The clinics around me use IPL or one clinic has the diode but they don't have the best reviews. I tried them once for facial hair and worked at first then grew back. Probably from hormones though

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

Diode, alexandrite and yag lasers work best for hair removal. Keep in mind, it will take a series of treatments and some people need treatments to maintain. I recommend getting a formal evaluation with a laser hair removal expert. Best, Dr. Emer

Mark Taylor, MD · Answer

Removal of dark hair on fair skin works better with laser than IPL in most cases.  Lasers can be pulsed to be more comfortable and also easier to cover the area completely during each treatment. In most cases, I would use a 755nm alexandrite laser.  1064 Nd:YAG and an 810nm diode laser can also be very effective if the best settings are used. Cooling and choosing the best pulse durations will also make the treatment more effective and also more comfortable.   IPL is usually a bit more cumbersome to use and may be more painful.  This depends on the experience of the laser doctor or technician.

Jodie Reinertson, MD · Answer

That is such a great question.  IPL is not nearly as effective as a laser for hair removal.  A laser is able to more accurately target the hair, as it is one wavelength.  If you have fair skin and dark hair, I would actually suggest and Alexandrite Laser, which is 755nm wavelength.  Hair removal with any device will be uncomfortable at times, but you should be able have your technician numb you prior to treatment if it is not tolerable for you.  We also use a zimmer, which blows extremely cold air during treatment, to help with comfort. I hope that helps!

Katherine Dee, MD · Answer

Great question. There are so many lasers and IPL machines being used for laser hair removal-- is there a difference in pain and effectiveness? The answer is a slightly complicated no and yes... I will answer both as a physician and user of LHR, having had many treatments with many different devices in different areas of my own body.
First pain: pain is related to the sensitivity of the area of the body (for me face does not hurt hardly at all, underarms a little bit and bikini a lot!) and settings. You turn up the settings on any device, it will hurt more. You turn them down, they hurt less but are less effective. I have demoed various IPL machines and many different lasers. One alexandrite laser was shown to me as "less painful" but that one was just as painful as any other. The bottom line is that hairs burning up are painful when this happens in a sensitive area and less so in areas with fewer nerve endings.
Second effectiveness: They all work well when you have dark hair and light skin. They ALL have to be turned down when you have darker skin, and most you must not use on very dark skin. Most clinics do not have an Nd-Yag laser for hair removal-- but that's the one you need if you have very dark skin. But if you have light skin, any will work well.

Rebecca Gelber, MD · Answer

Lucky you! Your skin and hair type make you an ideal hair removal candidate - pretty much any laser or IPL should work well. For your hair/skin, since both will work, it is more a matter of the clinic. All lasers are not the same and ditto all IPLs - you can have a very inexpensive, old one of either or a new, high powered one. It is also very much dependent on the skill of the operator. Bad hair removal is dangerous, so for this, really do look at reviews and experience of other patients to guide you.

Laser or IPL for fair skin, dark and coarse hair on bikini line, which would be best? Which is less painful?

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