Top 6 Laser Hair Removal Machines of 2018

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Laser removal of the hair is considered to be the most effective hair removal method that many people undergo in order to efficiently remove unwanted hair in certain areas.

Whether you have thick hair or just a few that need to be addressed, you are a suitable candidate for this method.

The reason why laser hair removal is getting high popularity and has a good reputation is that it’s a better, more sophisticated way of hair removal. No pain of the wax strips, no annoying ingrown hair from the shaving that can cause breakouts and no hair growth for a much longer period of time compared to the aforementioned methods.

If all this has got you considering a laser hair removal treatment but you’d like to skip those expensive visits at your dermatologist’s office, I’ve got just the thing for you, or 6 of them to be precise.

This week we are reviewing the top laser hair removal machines for 2018. There are plenty of machines out there and they can all make this more complicated than it should be, so check out this list and pick whichever suits you best.

There are two things to consider regarding the success of the laser success with any machine.

• The tone of the color of your skin
• The color of the hair you want to remove.

So before we go into the reviewing part, let’s see some guidelines on what results you can expect based on those predispositions.

Choose Your Hair Color

Check out these shades to find the right tone. Note, if your hair has different shades along its length, use the hair color closest to the roots to make a judgment. If your hair falls between light brown to black it is very likely that the laser treatment will be effective.

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If your hair color is red or blonde, laser treatment might still work, but it will definitely be less effective and you will take a much longer time to see results. Note many people with blonde hair actually have darker e.g. light brown hair near the roots.

   

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If your hair color is white or grey, the laser treatment will more or less be ineffective.

What if your hair color is mixed e.g. brown with patches of grey? Then your results will likely be mixed as well. However, if your intention is to remove the more visible darker colored hair then LHR could still work for you.

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Choose Your Skin Color

Now that you know how your hair color will affect the results of your treatment, let’s take a look at skin color.

If your skin tone falls between white to light brown, then most LHR systems are safe for you.

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If your skin tone is medium brown or darker, most LHR systems are not safe for use on your skin. The laser energy (that is designed to target dark pigmentation) can damage your skin or cause de-pigmentation.

However, recently a device (that I’ll be reviewing below) has been designed for people with darker skin tones without the risk of depigmentation. So no worries, I’ve got everyone covered.

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If this somewhat worries you because you’re unsure of your skin or hair tone, don’t worry, all the machines we cover below have built-in sensors to determine whether your skin tone is suitable or not.

So if you are unsure, you can engage the sensors on a test patch of skin to confirm suitability. Also, all the machines below are FDA-approved which means that they won’t cause any harm to your skin in the short or long term run.

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Remington iLight Ultra

According to research and reviews, Remington iLight Ultra is one of the most cost-effective solutions for the treatment of extensive areas like the chest, back, and the legs, and now also cleared for face use.

PROS:

• The laser head is larger than other machines, making it ideal for treating larger areas like the legs or the back.
• You do not have to charge this device every single time you use it so it can be used for prolong time periods – users have reported using it for over 2 hours per session without issues.
• IPL systems are generally less intense than laser ones, however, Remington has enhanced the original iLight Pro with this Ultra version, greatly increasing its strength such that only 4 flashes are required per square inch of skin treated.
• Unlike cartridge systems that offer only about 1500 flashes per cartridge, this system uses a quartz that delivers up to 65,000 flashes meaning it can last 30 times as long as the regular cartridge.

CONS:

• You have to purchase a replacement quartz after using it for 65,000 flashes or so.

That said, Remington estimates that 1500 flashes can deliver 2-3 full body treatments, which means that a single quartz can last you 40 full body treatments on the low end. If you conduct 2 full body treatments per month, (covering the entire body like face, arms, chest, legs etc.) it means that each quartz can last about 2 years.

If you only treat parts of your body, e.g. your legs, you could easily double the lifetime to 4 years. Each replacement quartz costs about $80-$90.

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Tria Hair Removal Laser 4X

The Tria Hair Removal Laser 4X is great for areas that require precision like the face, underarms and bikini area; strong enough to remove even fine hairs.

Customer reports they have been hair free for up to 6 months in these problem areas after using the device for about 4 months.

PROS

• Lasting results: A clinical study of 79 subjects found a 70% average hair count decrease after the second treatment. In the same study, it was found that 3 treatments were all that was required to see a stable decrease in hair count over the next 12 months
• Does not require cartridge replacement unlike other machines
• Built-in skin tone sensor to ascertain suitability
• Ultra-portable cordless design & the small laser head makes it ideal to treat delicate areas or areas with contours like above the upper lip, underarm and bikini areas

CONS

• Some consumers find the laser head a little small for larger parts of the body like the legs, making those parts somewhat more time consuming to treat
• The device does not operate when being charged using the power adapter. This means that when used on the highest power setting, it can operate for a maximum of 40 minutes before requiring recharging
• This device is designed to last for 90,000 flashes. There is no replacement cartridge that can be purchased to extend its life after that and some consumers prefer a device whose life can be extended indefinitely.

To put things in perspective, other models that come with replacement cartridges typically last only 1,500 flashes per cartridge.

If you do the math, at an average of $30 per replacement cartridge, it would be way more expensive to buy replacement cartridges to obtain the same 90,000 flashes Tria delivers!

To be more specific, it is estimated that you need 3000 flashes for 2 full body sessions. This means that 90,000 flashes can give you about 60 full body sessions.

This translates to a lifespan of two and a half years if you do 2 full body sessions per month, and much longer if you only treat certain parts your body (for example if you only treat your legs, this device could potentially last you five years).

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Silk’n Flash & Go

Budget friendly, decent results, the following product is great if a lower price point is what you’re going after, yet it still delivers decent results.

This system is very versatile and provides excellent value for money. It is especially great if you are new to laser treatment and don’t want to spend too much on an expensive system, but still want something that can deliver good results.

People love Silk’n Flash & Go because it has a very straightforward point-and-shoot design and the treatment window (4 cm2) is sized such that it is convenient for treating both smaller areas (upper lip etc.) and larger areas like the legs.

As this device uses pulse light technology rather than a laser, it is virtually painless compared to professional treatment.

The only drawback people found was that it takes longer to see results compared to laser systems so you have to be more patient. But when you take the price into consideration, I guess the results are more than fantastic.

It will definitely save you thousands of dollars worth of professional treatment. Expect 80% reduction in hair growth in the areas that were treated, at the end of the first 8 weeks of treatment.

PROS

• Budget-friendly: you can pick it up for a little less than $200
• Can be used both on the face (below the cheeks) & body
• Virtually painless compared to laser systems
• Versatile: can be used for both face (below cheeks) and body treatment
• The 2018 model comes with an upgraded 5000-flashes cartridge (1000 previously) that can provide 5 to 6 full body treatments.

CONS

• Takes a long time to see results compared to laser
• Maintenance treatment may be required for areas with stubborn hair growth

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BellaLite By Silk’n

The Bellalite is fairly well loved by both ordinary users and dermatological experts as an ideal system for getting rid of hair at home. It is especially considered effective in getting rid of facial hair on the underarms.

What is more, the product reportedly works well for both men and women reporting that they were delighted with how the system produced discernible results.

Since it comes with two spare disposable cartridges, the device can be used for up to 6 months without the need to run into any maintenance costs. Its longevity is aided by the fact that it has been designed to cover a larger skin area than your typical system would and therefore each treatment uses much less power.

PROS

• Suitable for use by both men and women
• Uses state-of-the-art Home Pulsed Light (HPL) technology to guarantee effective removal of hair
• Comes with three laser lamp cartridges (1 preinstalled and 2 as replacements)
• Designed to cover a substantially large treatment spot. As such, it is one of the fastest devices you can use to remove hair at home, you need less than half an hour to treat the entire length of your leg for instance.

CONS

• Compared to laser technology, pulsed light is somewhat gentler, and it generally requires more sessions to achieve the same results as compared to a laser-based machine

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Silk’n SN-002 SensEpil All-Over Handheld Device

Users who fit the correct user profile recommended by the manufacturers (light skin and dark hair) invariably report consistently encouraging results.

Within a year of use, many report that hair reduction of up to 75% especially for those seeking to get rid of hair in the upper legs and bikini area.

The SensEpil is one of the cheapest, yet considerably effective home hair removal machines money can buy.

The downside of it is that the system does not come with a spare laser cartridge and within a couple of months, you will have to order a replacement if you want to continue with the treatment.

PROS

• Large treatment window for use on arms and legs
• Combo pack includes hair removal device + four cartridges
• Average, not so costly price
• Not painful
• Can be used on the face

CONS

• Utilizes HPL instead of IPL (less effective) corded operation
• Awkwardly shaped
• Machine overheats easily

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Iluminage Touch Permanent Hair Reduction System

As promised, we have included a very good device suitable for both light and dark tones of the skin without the risk of depigmentation. This breakthrough is possible because the Iluminage Touch Permanent Hair Reduction System uses a combination of IPL & RF (radio frequency) technology. It can be used on both the face (areas below the cheeks only) and the body.

This is an excellent product especially if you have darker skin and have been excluded from using traditional laser and IPL treatment.

This versatile system is designed for both face and body use. Its larger treatment area also makes it great for treating larger areas of the body like the chest, legs, and back.

Even though it has a relatively high asking price, we still think it is great value for money considering how long it can be used without having to purchase a replacement cartridge.

PROS

• Larger treatment window makes it convenient to treat larger areas like the legs and the back
• Comes with a 120, 000 pulse cartridge – that’s up to a few years of regular use
• Can be used even for darker skin tones

CONS

• Not as powerful as laser devices
• Relatively expensive – retail price is $449

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Treatment Tips

Alright, now that you have an idea whether LHR is right for you and which is the most suitable machine to do the treatment at home, here are a few more things I want you to understand before undergoing any laser hair removal treatment:

DO NOT

Wax, epilate or otherwise undergo any other hair removal treatment that removes the hair at the roots while undergoing laser treatment.

Your hair roots need to be present for laser energy to be absorbed and hit the hair follicles (the whole aim is to destroy the hair follicles).

If the entire hair shaft is empty, then laser treatment simply does not work. This is a major reason why so many people that attempt DIY laser hair removal fail.

Shaving is perfectly OK as the hair roots are left intact. In fact, what you should do is just to shave and clean the area before laser treatment.

DO NOT

Use on darker areas of skin: The skin on the genitals and anus tend to be darker and more sensitive so it is not recommended to treat those areas directly. If you have tattoos or birthmarks that are darker than surrounding skin, exercise caution and use the skin tone sensor on your device to check the area for suitability before proceeding.

The thickness of your hair may determine how fast you see results: In general, the thicker the hair you intend to treat, the faster you will see results.

Thicker hair has greater surface area and contains more pigment (color) that will absorb more laser energy compared to finer hair.

If you are treating fine hair, you may need to be more patient and go through more sessions to see results. You should go for a laser-system (which is stronger) rather than an IPL-system if you are treating fine hair.

Lastly, note that different people will experience different results. We are all unique, there are so many factors that will determine what sort of results you will get. For example, the size and shape of your hair follicles, the actual color of hair at the roots vs. the tips are but just a few factors that will determine how soon you will see results.

Let us know in the comments if you have any concerns or questions, we always answer!

To Your Silky Smooth Skin,

Monika