IPL Hair Removal Tips: Pre and Post-Care for Best Results

Are you wondering why your skin keeps getting irritated or why you never get the results you desire after your IPL sessions? Do you feel like it is actually the inefficiency of your IPL device even if you got one of the best ones in the market? Well, we assume it is the technique rather than the device providing under-satisfactory results.

What to do to get the correct technique that makes your skin hairless with no side effects? There are several things you can follow before and after the treatment to get the best results. Thus, we are here with some simple tips and tricks to ensure that your high-quality device gives you equally high-quality results.

Right here are some do’s and don’ts of pre and post-IPL care for best results. So, without wandering about, read through this article to expertise the art of IPL hair removal.

Pre Care of IPL Hair Removal Treatment

What To Do

Get a Premium Device

First things first, you need a high-quality IPL device before anything for effortless and long-lasting hair removal as it ensures your safety and significant results. While killing hair follicles with heated light is the feature of all IPL devices in the market, they differ with respect to treatment modes, safety mechanisms, painless technologies, duration of treatment, and time to see results.

So, you must prioritize your needs while buying any IPL device for a worthy experience.

Check Skin Tone Compatibility and Read Instruction Manual

All IPL devices work on the mechanism of the difference between skin tone and hair color. Tons of charts are available on the Internet and some even come with the device.

So, check out if your skin tone and hair color fall in the compatibility category to prevent the wastage of money on a device that won’t work for you. Also, read the instruction manual of the device to know more about its features and get the best of it.

Start at the Lowest Intensity Level

IPL devices have several levels of intensity based on how much energy and streams of light they give out. Most devices also come with sensors to automatically adjust the intensity level to skin delicacy and tone.

But if they don’t, start with the lowest intensity level to check out your tolerance and prevent skin burns. Then gradually increase the levels to the optimum level for effective hair removal.

Cleanse and Exfoliate the Skin

Just like before applying makeup, skincare, or even removing unwanted hair, you need to cleanse your skin thoroughly before IPL treatment as well.

So, wash your face and body to remove any makeup, residues, creams, serums, or impurities on your skin. You can also use exfoliate your skin 1 day before your treatment to minimize or prevent any complications.

Shave the Skin

You need to decrease the length of unwanted hair for IPL rays to successfully reach the bottom of hair roots without being obstructed by the hair above the skin’s surface.

So, after cleansing, right before the hair removal session, shave the area to be treated to prevent the singing of hair, burning smell, and ineffective IPL results.

Keep the Skin Dry

IPL hair removal works best when your skin is free of moisture and completely dry. So, make sure there is no existence of moisture on your skin because it can interfere with IPL and make it less effective.

Also, try to do your treatment in a cool environment, both physically and mentally. So, that there is no sweating and your skin is kept dry the whole time.

Protect Your Skin from Sun

Continuous or prolonged exposure to the sun can result in skin tanning in addition to burning the skin and making it sensitive. This can make your IPL treatment painful and also can damage your skin without removing much of the hair.

So, try to stay indoors as much as possible and make sure to wear a liberal amount of sunscreen every day for at least 2-4 weeks before treatment.

What To Avoid

Plucking, Waxing, or Tweezing Hair

As IPL reaches hair roots through hair, removing hair from the roots will do no good, and hair will grow back normally. So, you should avoid plucking, waxing, or tweezing for 1 week before starting your IPL hair removal treatments and shaving it off right before the treatment.

Spending More Time Than Required

You must flash the light only once or twice in one area. Even if IPL light uses low energy, it is still heat and radiation. Overuse of IPL devices can damage the skin, burn it, and form blisters.

Also, try to keep the stamps closely distant so that you don’t miss any spots.

Continuing the Treatment When it Hurts

IPL is designed to save you from the pain caused by laser hair removal. Although IPL hair removal is associated with mild stinging, irritation, or discomfort, it is not meant to hurt you.

So, if the irritation or stinging exceeds your pain threshold or you feel hurt, immediately stop using IPL and consult your doctor.

Makeup and Active Skincare Ingredients

Makeup can interfere with IPL hair removal. So, it is best to be bare-faced before your session. Also, stop using skincare products with active ingredients like retinol 1 week before the commencement of your sessions. Because they can make skin sensitive and irritable.

Lastly, stop using any self-tanners or getting a natural tan 1 month before the treatment because tanned skin tends to absorb more radiation.

Using On Tattoos, warts, Birthmarks

Tattoos, warts, moles, and birthmarks contain a large number of pigments that absorb a high amount of light rays and cause more harm than good. So, do not even get the IPL device near the skin with hyperpigmentation.

Post Care of IPL Hair Removal Treatment

What To Do

Clean the Device

Cleaning the device after each session is imperative to protect your skin from any residual bacteria or impurity invasion each successive session. Additionally, it improves the longevity of the device.

Moisturize the Skin

Skin becomes red and at times irritated after an IPL session. So, it is advised to apply moisturizing cream or lotion like aloe vera to calm your skin. It also supplies nutrients and water to your skin to keep it healthy and smooth.

Apply Cold Compresses

If you use an IPL device with no cooling or pain-preventing technology, you might end up with post-treatment discomfort and a constant heating sensation in the skin. It is not always the case.

But if you come across anything like that, apply a soothing cold compress over the affected area to feel better. You can also wear a deodorant to keep your skin cold, dry, and fragrant after the treatment.

Protect it From Sun Exposure

Just like you protect your skin from UV radiations of the sun before the treatment, you need to keep your skin safe from direct sun exposure after treatment as well.

Although skin protection from the sun is essential even in a normal routine, you must take extra care for 1-3 days after your IPL hair removal treatment.

Stay Patient

IPL hair removal is not a one-time procedure. It takes a few months to get the desired hair removal while using IPL hair removal devices as only a fraction of hair is vulnerable to being damaged by IPL at one time.

So, you must stay patient and stick to your treatment schedule till the end. And if you leave the treatment in between, the lost hair follicles will begin to regenerate.

What To Avoid

Removing Hair Until it Falls Off

As many hair strands continue to grow after your initial session, it gives you displeasing hairy patches. But you must not pluck or wax such hair in between the treatment sessions.

However, if such hair is thick and you want hairless skin urgently, you can shave it before your next treatment session.

Anything That Makes You Sweat

The skin is temperature and sweat sensitive for about 48 hours after an IPL session. So, you should not take hot baths, go to the sauna, or do exercise for 2 days or until your skin sensitivity is gone.

If you do it, it can cause swelling, redness, and tenderness.

Anything with Harsh Ingredients

Again, you should let your skin breathe and relax after the not-so-mild IPL hair removal sessions. So, do not use any physical or chemical scrub as it can peel off the skin, skincare with active ingredients like glycolic acid as it can add to skin irritation, bleaching creams as they activate reactive oxygen species, and harsh body soaps.

You should also try to avoid makeup for at least 1-2 days. Instead, go gentle on the skin and use mild and nourishing products.

Conclusion

Although IPL hair removal is considered an affordable, gentle, and relatively painless alternative to laser hair removal, the wrong use of IPL devices can get you in trouble. So, there is a pre and post-care regimen you can follow in your IPL hair removal sessions to ensure that your hair removal procedure goes gently and safely.

We have talked about the before and after routine of IPL hair removal to get the best results.