If a Hair is Plucked Shortly Before IPL Treatment, Will It Still Respond?

It's best to leave the hair follicle untouched, so you shouldn't pluck it because that can damage the follicle. The IPL energy needs the follicle to be intact to be effective.

Whether laser or IPL laser hair removal, you should not pluck within two weeks prior to the treatment. If you do, there will not be a chromophore, that is, the target for laser absorption and the treatment will be less effective.

IPL, and laser hair removal treatments work by targeting the pigment within the hair follicle; presence of a hair shaft can diminish the efficacy of the treatment. In order to maximize benefit, we ask patients to come to the first treatment with hair intact in the area in question. Once the patient is evaluated, the region is shaved and the area treated. For subsequent treatments, we ask that patients shave prior to coming to the office. Plucking hair can disrupt the hair follicle and is discouraged while undergoing IPL treatment.

If the bulb of the hair follicle has been plucked, then this will render an IPL hair removal treatment useless. The bulb needs to be in the skin to achieve a desired result. I hope you find this helpful.

Therefore, do not pluck, wax, thread, tweeze, epilate, or do anything to remove the root of the hair before any hair laser or IPL treatments, for two weeks or more. The more mature, thick, and dark the root is, the MORE EFFECTIVE the treatment will be!
SHAVING the area to reduce the amount of hair sticking above the surface is actually helpful for the laser or IPL device, because it allows less light to be distracted by surface hair, and to get right to the root target.

In general it is best to avoid plucking, tweezing, waxing, or bleaching for at least 2 weeks prior to any kind of laser or IPL treatment for hair reduction. If the hairs are manually pulled from the skin then the laser or light device does not have a target and the treatment does not work. The hairs do not have to be long, however, you can shave or clip the area right at the surface. As long as the hairs are still in the skin the treatment should work. Good luck.

For IPL to succeed its light energy needs to find and destroy an intact hair follicle bulb in its growth phase. Plucking or waxing hair greatly reduces the target area for the light energy resulting in a disappointing IPL treatment. It is best to allow the Plastic Surgery / Dermatology office to do a superficial shave on you just before the procedure, reducing the available hair shafts but maximizing the visibility of the follicles to the IPL light energy.