Many years ago, I decided to start a journey to permanent hair removal on several parts of my body. I looked into having professional IPL treatments across large and small areas. I compared those prices with getting an at home- IPL device. After reading some reviews and talking to friends, I opted for the at home device for large areas and in clinic removal for my armpits.

I’m always on the hunt for a good deal, so I used Groupon (Groupon UK) for the at home device and for booking sessions in a clinic.

In Clinic Hair Removal

First, for the in-clinic session… it’s worth noting that I’m currently living in the UK. I read lots of reviews before carefully selecting a clinic that was reasonably close and one that was open late so I could book appointments after work. With my Groupon, I was entitled to 6 sessions on a small area. I opted for doing my armpits as I was told this area can be quite stubborn. Hair removal is tricky because it targets pigment. When you have dark hair and darker skin, it’s difficult for certain devices to effectively target the follicle without damaging the skin. The clinic I went to had reviews by “darker skinned” people, but as I’m in the UK, I am now assuming they were likely by Asians who were medium/tan complexion. Furthermore, the clinic staff were all white. They were lovely…but for the first 5 of my 6 sessions the device was set to an extremely low setting as they were scared to damage my “dark skin.” From all the research I’d done, someone with my skin tone- medium brown should have no real issues with hair removal. My 6th and final session was done by an older male clinician with more experience than the other staff members. He was a bit shocked that my previous sessions had been done with the device on such a low setting. He said I should have had more intense treatments by then. After 6 sessions (one per month), I saw next to no change in the density or growth rate of the hair in my underarms. I had the choice to continue with follow up sessions, but in the end choose not to since they weren’t experienced with diverse complexions. I essentially felt like I wasted over 6 months and a lot of time with undetectable results.

At Home Hair Removal

Now on to the at-home device. Again, I went to Groupon for the best deal. I looked at what was available and read reviews for each device on different websites. I selected the HoMedics Duo IPL Hair Removal Device. The model I own is no longer available, but I’ll link a few similar devices available from Amazon. The handheld device was simple and easy to use. It came with instructions, a charger, goggles, and attachment heads for the face or body. I’ve mainly used the device on my legs (just up to the top of my knees), my bikini line, and my belly button. The main difference between my at home device and the in clinic one is the DIY device hurt…a lot. It made me hesitant to use it because it’s one thing to let someone else inflict pain on you…but it’s something else all together to sit there and send little shocks down half your body. I think sessions are meant to be repeated every 3 weeks, but they way my pain tolerance is set up won’t allow me to do that. It’s probably been almost 3 years and I still have hair in those areas. That said, as inconsistent as I’ve been, the device works absolutely brilliantly. I have very large areas that are completely hair free. The places that do have hair left have a much slower growth rate than before and the hair is thinner. An added bonus is the scars I have from ingrown hairs (Keratosis pilaris) are less visible as the follicles have had time to heal. I will continue to use this when I pluck up the courage and I’ll see if I can make any difference in my armpits. I would 100% recommend an at home device if you feel confident enough to try it. It’s more economical than clinic sessions and you can do any area you want in the privacy of your own home.

I’ve included some pictures of my legs after a couple of weeks of hair growth. The dark spots are KP, not hair. It’s also worth noting that I have random blonde hairs all over my body. These were not effected at all by the IPL device. I’m not too bothered by this because they are only really visible in sunlight and they are very fine to the touch. PS, please ignore the ashiness.