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Some here, thank goodness, have already mentioned IPLs. What IPL have you found to be the best?
I’m looking to reduce wrinkles that would emphasize my masculine facial features. It would also help me look younger and healthier.
@samantha1975 OK, Samantha, there are home IPLs and commercial IPLs.
I use a home unit to eliminate body hair, not wrinkles. It does a decent job of that, in the long run
I do not use an IPL for wrinkles. Now, these are two different processes, so do you know for a fact that the light frequency range to remove hair is exactly what you need to remove wrinkles? The IPL frequency range to rejuvenate underlying skin cells may not be the same as the range to kill hair roots. It might be the same, but what if it isn't? I would have to research that question myself to get the correct answer.
From what I understand of what equipment that the professionals use, some wands can change the frequency range for different purposes, plus they are a lot stronger. A faster job, yes, but some flashes can hurt, too.
Edit:
Search for the National Library of Medicine.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Therapy
Anita Gade; Gabriella F. Vasile; Marc H. Hohman; Richard Rubenstein
From what I gathered from reading this, you need a professional to do the job right. The home units for hair should be inappropriate for what you need.
Samantha, I've no idea what IPLs are. But any advice on hiding wrinkles would be greatly appreciated xx.
@chrisfp99 IPL = Intense Pulsed Light
As I know them, for home remedy body hair removal, they are a small wand with a flashing head with a surface area of about maybe 2-3 sq inches.
You slowly go over the area where you want to remove hair and either press its trigger or set it to auto flash.
The intense light (don't look at the pulse) eventually will lessen / weaken or actually destroy the root that produces the strand of hair, with varying degrees of success. As you can imagine, your success rate will depend on how dark your skin and hair are and how resistant the roots are. Some areas are very resistant, so the home units take a while to be effective.
Commercial units have much more energy in each pulse and filters to get the light frequency right, to do the job more efficiently, so it's a cost / cost decision. Stronger units can feel like the frequent snap of an elastic against your skin. Do you lower your monetary cost by increasing the time necessary?
The non-professional units aren't that expensive, maybe less than $50, to maybe $500. If you don't fry the electronics inside by never letting it cool down, you will be able to make the wand last a long time. I bought the cheaper ones with which to learn and I am glad that I did because I fried a bunch of them. Inexperience has its own cost.
When it comes to effectiveness, your mileage may vary, but, so far, IPL on my legs and thighs has been pretty darned good, except for some very resistant areas above and behind my knees and thighs, and not too bad on the front of my shins. The next area that I want to focus on (pardon my pun) are my pectoral muscle areas up to my collar bones. You know, exposed areas first.
Beats shaving and getting hundreds of ingrown hair, but you need dark hair, to get them hotter.
Hi Samantha, although IPL or personal hair removal devices can affect your skin in different ways, my information is that they are primarily used to reduce hair growth. I have never heard of them being used to reduce wrinkles but I could be misinformed.
There are devices being sold that claim to reduce wrinkles and tighten skin but they don’t use high intensity light. Instead they use ultrasonic vibrations to penetrate the skin and stimulate collagen development which makes the skin appear healthier and tightens things up. As we age we lose collagen which is thought to be one of the reasons we get wrinkly as we get older. One of the other reasons is thought to be having children. 😀
I use the My Elos IPL which seems to be making progress reducing the amount of my body hair. Although they are cheaper than going to a spa and having several laser hair removal treatments, it is time consuming because it is less effective than the hundred thousand dollar machines they use in spas. IPL devices range from $100 to $500. You can often find them used for a fraction of the cost. I bought mine for $90. I hope this helps!
@leainvancouver Initially, I had been interested in IPLs as a means of reducing hair growth. Then, I learned from online research that they reduce wrinkles, etc. 🙌
@samantha1975 Really! Wow. Maybe that’s why I look younger! Thanks for the tip. I’ll look into it. It has a big effect on skin and hair, that’s for sure. I will definitely do some research.
@leainvancouver Edit: Start with the search words for the information that I posted, above.
@leainvancouver It is against CDH's rules to use an external link in our posts, so I posted search criteria.
Every report about actual results from using an IPL is that after initial enthusiasm comes the realization that it's just not doing the job. Note that the L in IPL stands for light, not laser. So you're just shining a bright light on the hair.
@jenna116 Hi Jennifer, results vary depending on many factors such as the quality of your IPL, your hair colour, your preparation, persistence and so on. I’m happy to report that it’s really worked for me, after having blown out a couple modules. 😉
Using IPL requires a fair bit of learning and experimentation, not to mention persistence again. After a year of going at it I’m happy to report that most of my hair has been nipped in their tiny buds and shaving is becoming a lost art. Once you get the hang of it, IPL is much cheaper than spa treatments and much more convenient. That said, it might not work for everyone.
Now I’ll start working on those wrinkles!
