Palomar IPL or ND-YAG Laser?

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
1

Hi, I apologize in advance if this question has been asked before, but I would like your opinion. I spent the last two days reading up on the various laser procedures and comparing my options (my head aches now). I went to a cosmetic surgeon yesterday and had a spot test done with the IPL. While the location offers both a IPL machine (Palomar) and a 1060 ND-YAG laser (Varia), the medical aesthetican recommends the IPL. I have type 4 skin (Asian) and did my underarms with a YAG laser before, with 90% hair reduction after 5 treatments. I’m looking to get my bikini line done. While I read the IPL is safer and can even reduce ingrown hairs (which I get a lot of down there), there seems also fewer studies supporting permanent hair reduction for IPL. While some professionals and consumers swear by it, there are also others who doubt that it is as powerful as a laser for permanent hair removal. So here is my question: should I try the IPL (which is supposedly safer and improves skin tone) or stick with the YAG which had worked well on me before? I am thinking maybe I should try the IPL for a while and if there’s no significant improvement do the YAG.

Any input appreciated, and good luck on your hair removal adventures!

2

Whatever they told you about the IPL machine is not any more true for an IPL than it is for a laser machine. Just sales tactic. What machine did you get results with before? Can you go to the same clinic? Where are you located? For a darker skin type like yours, I would go with a Yag, provided a knowledgeable clinic and machine and settings.

In general, IPLs actually have a bigger chance for burns on darker skin. This is explained in the FAQs.

3

Hi lagirl-I’m located in Pittsburgh. The clinic I went to before was in Boston (Laser Skin Center Medical Spa on Newbury) which I recently moved from. Does anybody know a good place to go to in Pittsburgh? Price is not a problem. I went to the Aesthetic Laser Center in Pittsburgh. Thanks for the heads up on IPL, lagirl.

4

Start by running a search here for your city or state and see if others have discussed places near you. Then, go to Candela Corporation website and run a provider search for GentleYAG with your zip code.