Hair removal with a second generation broad spectrum intense pulsed light source — a long-term follow-up

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing demand for safe and efficient hair removal. Although long-term hair removal has been demonstrated using lasers and non-coherent light sources, permanent hair removal has been difficult to claim due to the long growth/rest cycle of normal human hair follicles. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate bikini line hair removal with a second generation intense pulsed light (IPL) source. METHOD: Ten females (20 bikini lines) with dark hair and skin types II-IV were treated with an IPL (600 nm) four times with a 1-month interval. Counting of the hair follicles was carried out with a computer imaging system before treatment, and 4 and 8 months after the treatments. RESULTS: Hair reduction of 74.7% (SD +/- 18.3%) was seen 4 months after the treatments and 80.2% (SD +/- 20.3%) 8 months after the last treatment. Only minimal side effects were noted and no pain or other discomfort was registered during the treatments. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that this new IPL system is both efficient and safe for hair removal. Because the follow up period of 8 months is twice the cycle time for hairs in the bikini line area, the obtained hair reduction in this study was long-lasting.