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8 best laser hair-removal and IPL machines to use at home

Discover mains-powered and cordless options  (iStock/The Independent)
Discover mains-powered and cordless options (iStock/The Independent)

If you’re looking for a painless, long-lasting hair-removal solution, put down the razors and waxing strips and consider investing in an intense pulsed light (IPL) technology device or lasers.

They’re designed to glide across skin and destroy hair roots via energy produced by light waves and, with continuous use, hair regrowth will reduce almost entirely. But they don’t come cheap, with machines often costing upwards of £150.

Lasers disable the pigment in hair follicles over time, by converting the laser beam to heat upon contact with skin.

Many devices on the market take just minutes to treat the face, underarms, legs and bikini line. However, for the best results, you will need to be committed, as many require a 12-week treatment programme, with top-ups, if necessary.

Your skin also needs to be as smooth as possible for each use to get the most effective results, so have your razor at the ready in between treatments.

How we tested

In our lengthy testing period, which spanned more than three months, we measured each device by how easy it was to set up and use, any sensation felt during use, value for money, how quickly we saw results and the rate of regrowth. Here are the eight that made our cut.

The best IPL and laser devices for 2022 are:

  • Best IPL machine overall – Bondi laser hair removal handset IPL machine: £299, Bondi-body.com

  • Best IPL machine for fast results – Philips lumea BRI/923 IPL machine: £290, Argos.co.uk

  • Best IPL machine for legs – Sensica sensilight pro IPL hair removal device: £284, Currentbody.com

  • Best IPL machine for first-time users – SmoothSkin bare+ ultrafast IPL hair removal device: £172, Currentbody.com

  • Best IPL machine for underarms – Silk’n infinity permanent hair remover IPL machine: £159, Silkn.co.uk

  • Best corded IPL machine – Braun silk expert pro 5 IPL machine: £300, Boots.com

  • Best cordless IPL machine – Philips lumea 9000 IPL machine: £389.99, Amazon.co.uk

  • Best IPL machine for laser hair removal – Tria hair removal laser 4X IPL machine: £325, Triabeauty.co.uk

Bondi laser hair removal handset

One of the more affordable models on the IPL market is this Bondi laser handset, created by Trish Coulton, who has more than two decades of experience in hair removal. The protective sunglasses are a nice touch, especially as the flash is quite bright, and many of the more-expensive devices we tried didn’t include a pair.

It has eight intensity settings and a simple setup process: plug it in, pick your setting, press the head flat on the skin and press the black button to zap the hairs. Suitable for sensitive skin, it’s also designed to target light brown, medium brown, dark brown and black hair, and while it’s completely painless, it emits a slight warmth with no discomfort.

This device is recommended for use once or twice weekly for 12 weeks. After three weeks, our reviewer began to see sparser hair regrowth on their legs and under their arms – the speediest we’ve ever experienced with an IPL machine. This is perfect if you’re keen to enjoy the long-lasting, painless results of IPL without the lengthy wait to see hair becoming sparser, shorter and slower to grow.

Read the full Bondi laser hair removal handset review

Buy now £299.00, Bondi-body.com

Philips lumea BRI/923

The setup for this machine is simple: plug it in, press the on button on the head and take your pick from five intensity settings. It’s surprisingly lightweight and, despite being corded, isn’t restrictive to reach trickier areas, such as the back of your legs. To efficiently treat each area, it needs to sit flat on the skin before it flashes, and there’s a handy white light on the back of the device that indicates when it’s working.

It’s almost painless, delivering a slight warm sensation between settings one to four, but by five, there is a pinch, though not so strong we had to stop. The head that comes attached is perfect for gliding over larger areas, such as the upper and lower legs, but for underarms the precision head is ideal – just stamp it, wait for it to flash, then lift. It’s efficient but not built for speed, so you’ll need about 30 minutes to treat legs.

As the flash is very bright, we would have liked a pair of protective glasses included for the price. Lastly, it requires use every fortnight for the first four treatments, then a touch up every four weeks. That big gap in between means it can be easy to forget when you next need to treat body hair, so we’d recommend setting a reminder in your calendar to stay on top of it.

That said, we saw our hair begin to decrease in density and thickness after three treatments, which is faster than most of the devices we tried.

Read the full Philips lumea BRI/923 review

Buy now £290.00, Argos.co.uk

Sensica sensilight pro IPL hair removal device

Sensica’s device is much larger than many on our list and a tad bulky, balanced out by its cordless design, which helps to target harder-to-reach areas and enables the freedom to use it in any room, rather than having to sit by a plug socket.

As soon as it landed on our doorstep, it was ready to be used straightaway, with a skin tone detection option and six energy settings to use. There’s two heads to pick between, a large treatment window and a precise head, which combined can be used on legs, arms, stomach, back, shoulders, bikini area, underarms and face.

For the most effective treatment with every use, the machine head needs to be flat on the skin, and there’s a handy pulse and glide mode, which enables you to slide it across skin without needing to continuously press the button – perfect for larger areas, such as legs. Simply press the button down for three consecutive pulses. For smaller sections, such as underarms, Sensica recommends using a stamp motion, pressing the button each time.

Despite its large size, it’s not difficult to use or manoeuvre around the thighs, shins or contours of your underarms. Within four weeks, we saw our hair becoming less dense with slower regrowth, with each treatment being painless.

Read the full Sensica sensilight pro IPL hair removal device review

Buy now £379.00, Currentbody.com

SmoothSkin bare+ ultrafast IPL hair removal device

This chic black-and-gold corded design won top marks for its compactness, fitting perfectly in the palm and being easy to store. The accompanying instruction booklet is easy to follow and perfect if you’re a first-time user of IPL and are keen to get it right.

To use, press the button at the centre of the device until it flashes white, then place it flat on the skin. It will flash red if it’s not laying flat, so you are always aware when it’s working or if you need to readjust the position. With each treatment, it gets easier, and we loved using this while watching Netflix, as there was a little warmth, but besides that, no painful sensation at all.

Our reviewer found when treating the underarms, the best way to effectively treat the area is with a stamping motion rather than gliding it across skin, which works better on the legs. After two treatments, our hair was growing back thinner, and by week three, it grew back but seemed unable to get longer than the initial prickle a few days after shaving. By the time week six rolled around, hair regrowth had dramatically dwindled.

Read the full SmoothSkin bare+ ultrafast IPL hair removal device review

Buy now £172.00, Currentbody.com

Silk'n infinity permanent hair remover

This corded device comes in a padded protective box, which makes it easy to store when not in use. The simple design is lightweight enough to operate with one hand, pressing down continuously on the large button.

While there are five intensity settings with the machine, they can be customised using the Silk’n infinity app. It also enables you to set reminders for your next treatment, a feature we loved, as it’s easy to forget.

Surprisingly, when placed flat on the skin, the flash is not so bright that it hurts your eyes, but if you have sensitive eyes, we’d recommend using it during the day. Silk’n uses eHPL, a mix of galvanic and optical energy, which widens your pores and lets the light reach hair follicles without any irritation.

By week four, we saw underarm hair thinning, and after treatment five, regrowth was minimal. It’s totally painless and reasonably priced for its fast results.

Read the full Silk’n infinity permanent hair remover review

Buy now £295.00, Silkn.co.uk

Braun silk expert pro 5

This is one of the chicest devices we tried, arriving in a soft suede, zipped, compartmentalised pouch, making it easy to store and one of the less bulky devices we tried. It’s incredibly lightweight with slick gold detailing, and a lengthy cable, so, while it isn’t cordless, it’s not restrictive. It also has an accompanying blue-and-green Venus razor – an ideal added touch for ensuring your skin is smooth before use, which is vital to see the best results.

It’s very easy to use, with just three settings, and while it’s a tad noisy, it’s extremely reactive, taking us only 15 minutes to glide across top and lower legs, underarms and face. There’s a precision head that you can switch out (it clicks on and off with ease) when treating smaller areas, such as the face or armpits. As pleased as we were with it, we would have liked to have seen a pair of protective glasses included.

Progress was slow and subtle but, if you stick with it, we found hair regrowth was sparser and thinner, particularly on our underarms by week five.

Buy now £300.00, Boots.com

Philips lumea IPL 9000

This newer IPL device from Philips is much larger than the lumea BRI/923 we tried, more expensive and comes with greater versatility. There are specific detachable heads designed for the face, legs, bikini and body – each head comes with a helpful diagram, so you always use the right one. There’s also a quilted bag included for easy storage (although fitting it all in was a tight squeeze).

The biggest difference is the size – this design is a third bigger, but not hugely heavier, with double the amount of detachable heads. Secondly, this one can be used both corded and cordless – ideal if you want the best of both worlds. The skintone sensor is a clever feature, being able to recommend the best intensity setting out of the five available, depending on skin tone. The interface is more detailed than any other we tried, but not overly complicated. At the back of the head of the device, there’s a light strip that will flash white when it has full contact with skin, and orange if your skin is too dark to treat.

While we found this effective at reducing hair regrowth, it did take six treatments before we noticed a real difference, slightly longer than the others on our list. We did enjoy using the Lumea app to schedule treatments and set reminders, making it easy to stay on top of scheduling its next use. As useful as the cordless offering is, we did find using it corded worked better, as the flashes emitted faster, speeding up the treatments, although we did love having both as an option.

Buy now £389.99, Amazon.co.uk

Tria hair removal laser 4X

This cordless laser device is another big design with a fast setup and it took our reviewer less than 30 seconds to get zapping. To start, turn it on and hold the red light at the base (the skin sensor) on the area you want to treat. Once it’s beeped twice, it’s safe for use. There’s five intensity settings, which can be adjusted by pressing the pink button, and Tria recommends placing the laser head across the skin in overlapping circles. The head is a small circle, which does take some patience when treating your legs and underarms, and diligence is key to avoiding varying hair growth.

In terms of sensation, this one was painful, delivering a hot sensation on level three, and by level five, it had increased to a pinching, sharp sting that was less painful than waxing but painful nonetheless. With frequent use, this did subside slightly, as there’s less hair to zap with each treatment.

You’ll know you’re using it correctly when it beeps (it needs to be sitting flat on the skin), and it emits a different sound if it’s not placed properly. The LED display will also tell you when you’ve stamped each area and will keep a tally. We began to see results by our sixth treatment, with fewer, thinner and sparser hairs. Our only gripe is that it recommends using it with Tria’s calm soothing gel (£50, Triabeauty.co.uk), which, despite the cost of the machine, doesn’t come included.

Read the full Tria hair removal laser 4X review

Buy now £325.00, Triabeauty.co.uk

Home laser and IPL hair removal machine FAQs

What is IPL hair removal?

IPL stands for intense pulsed light. It’s a type of light therapy used to treat unwanted hair. It works by targeting a specific colour in your skin, and the higher the contrast between your skin and hair colour, the better, which is why it is often said to be most effective on those with light skin and dark hair. When the skin is heated, it destroys the hair follicle to prevent the hair from growing again.

What is the difference between IPL hair removal and laser hair removal?

IPL is similar to a laser treatment. However, a laser focuses just one wavelength of light on your skin, while IPL releases light of many different wavelengths. Plus, the light from IPL is more scattered and less focused than a laser. They both, however, penetrate down to the second layer of your skin (dermis) without harming the top layer (epidermis).

Are home IPL machines safe?

The light from an IPL at-home machine is much less concentrated than salon treatments, so they can be used safely in the comfort of your home, so long as you follow the manufacturer’s guidance.

How often can you use a home IPL machine?

It actually depends on the body part that you’re concentrating on. Most instruction manuals recommend using the home IPL device once every four weeks, to catch the new hair that is starting to return in its growth cycle.

For legs, it is once every eight to 12 weeks as the hair growth rate on this body area is much slower. It’s worth noting if you’re anxious to exceed these time frames, it won’t speed up hair loss, in fact, it will probably do the opposite and may also lead to irritated skin.

How do at-home IPL machines compare to salon treatments?

Home IPL devices operate at a lower intensity than those used professionally, therefore, their ability to disable the hair follicle sufficiently is less than a salon treatment. However, it goes without saying the convenience of being able to carry out the treatments at home, in your own time, is a gamechanger for long-term hair removal. Plus, there is a substantial financial difference, as professional in-salon treatments tend to be very costly.

What to consider when buying an IPL hair-removal device

  • The number of treatment heads: If you plan on using the IPL device on small areas, such as your bikini line or face, check it comes with an attachment that can work on this size of area – it’ll be more efficient.

  • Speed: The shorter the time between flashes, the faster the treatment will be.

  • The number of flashes: This is the number of times the device can emit a flash of light – while most machines have a minimum of 100,000, once this runs out, you’ll have to replace the lamp. For some devices, you’ll be able to buy replacement heads, but others, notably the reviewed Sensica sensilight pro IPL hair removal device (£284, Currentbody.com), have an unlimited number of flashes.

  • Skin and hair colour: Not all devices are compatible with all skin and hair colours, so it’s worth making sure the IPL device you intend to buy is right for you. Similarly, keep an eye out for an automatic skin-tone sensor, which will mean the IPL device can detect the optimum intensity and safest settings for your skin.

  • Cordless or corded machine: Some IPL devices are cordless, which can make them easier to use and transport.

  • Treatment area size: Depending on the size of the area you want to treat, you’ll want to consider the size and power of your IPL device. If you’re treating a large area, such as your legs or torso, it’s best to consider a machine that is not battery powered, as it can take a while to recharge cordless models.

The verdict: Home laser and IPL hair-removal machines

Over the course of a three-month-long testing period, the standout winner was the Bondi Laser hair removal handset. Great for beginners and the time conscious (or the lazy!), it had a fuss-free setup, and we saw fast results.

It was one of the only devices we tried that included a pair of protective glasses, but it also delivered no discomfort and can be used twice a week, which sped up how fast we began to see a reduction in hair regrowth.

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