Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Technoloy

About 3 years ago, Boots, the mega UK beauty retailer, released a machine called Boots Smooth Skin Hair Reduction System on the British market. The portable home machine claimed to use intense pulsed light (IPL) technology to reduce and eliminate hair growth. It instantly caught attention. Someone created a Facebook group where users reported their weekly experience, shopping threads buzzed about it, women blogged about their IPL journey.

Boots Smooth Skin Hair Reduction System (Original)

Everyone had one big question at the time: "Does it work?" Reviews at that point where mixed. IPL as a home product was a new introduction to the beauty market. It was clear that a portable IPL machine would be nowhere as strong as as IPL machine at an aesthetician's office. Critics question if the machine worked at all.
Even though I was a poor graduate student at the time, I was immensely interested in the Boots Smooth Skin system. After my family and friends talked some sense into me... I decided it would be prudent to wait and see if anyone had any lasting or noteworthy results.

Now that home IPL machines have been on the British and American market for several years, many users have noted the same thing about all the systems....

It kinda works.

Boots promised users permanent hair removal after 6-12 weekly sessions. Other systems have similar claims. Most users have noted that once they stopped using their IPL system completely, their hair grows back within months (from 1 to 6 months depending on the person). There are handfuls of people who also reported that their sessions have successfully left them with bald patches. A teeny tiny few have claimed to be completely hair free.

Though I am still interested in home IPL systems, my interest for those currently available on the market waned. Inexplicably, I received an IPL system for Christmas. With that I have decide to dive into the world of IPL and test this product myself.

Photo courtesy of Boots.