Can I Shave Before I Have my IPL Hair Removal?

We disagree with both answers given so far. While it is true that you do not want to wax or pluck while undergoing IPL hair removal treatments, you absolutely want to shave the day of or the day before the treatment.

The reason you should shave the same day of treatment or the day before is that any hair above the surface of the skin can absorb energy from the IPL and thus increases the potential for a surface blister or burn. DEFINITELY SHAVE THE SAME DAY OR THE DAY BEFORE IPL HAIR REMOVAL TREATMENTS.

As an aside, if you want better results, you should consider lasers instead of IPL for permanent hair removal. Diode lasers (Lumenis Lightsheer) and long pulsed Nd:Yg lasers (Sciton, Laserscope, Palomar) are excellent choices depending on your skin type.

It is best to shave the day of an IPL or hair reduction treatment or else it will burn the hair (or may burn you) and also be more painful.  If you stopped waxing 6 months before the treatment that is good because it gives time for all your hair to grow back in, but you do want to be cleanly shaven the day of the treatment.

Here at Stillwater Plastic Surgery we ask that you stop shaving 2-3 days prior to your laser hair removal procedure.  The light that the laser uses to target the follicle needs to see that follicle for a successful treatment.  Therefore, slight growth is necessary.

It is usually recommended that you shave the day of or the day before your treatment. As mentioned previously, if the hairs are too long, they may absorb the energy from the IPL and increase chances of complications and possibly make the treatment more uncomfortable. In between treatments, you may shave, trim, or leave the hairs alone. It is not recommended to wax, pluck, or thread hairs in between treatments.

Thank you for your message! IPL can be performed for hair removal and typically multiple treatments are required. If the hair is too long in the area of treatment the IPL may burn the skin and may be more uncomfortable. We generally recommend shaving the day of the procedure. We want the hair just under the skin so that the light can target that rather than hair on the skin surface. We recommend you avoid waxing or plucking prior to the procedure however!