Does the Remington at-Home IPL Machine really Work? Part 1.

Summer Essentials

by BR Natalie

"Hey Nat, do you want to test the latest at-home IPL machine?"

Yeah ok, my job has it's moments. 

Here's the deal.  Summer is coming which means we're going to start upping our hair removal game, right?  Well the people at Remington wanted an honest opinion of the Remington i-LIGHT® Pro+ Face & Body machine so they came to us.  Apparently we're known for opinions... And we told them - if you ask us to try out a product, we will write about it.  And we will tell the world what we think - the good, the bad, and the hair razing.  

The Long Winter.

When asked if I wanted to try out i-LIGHT my answer was a very enthusiastic yes.  Coincidentally The Husband had stroked my leg the night before, prompting me to realise I was still the proud owner of Winter Leg Hair.  Ok, who am I kidding.  When it comes to my legs, it's pretty much always Winter.  My legs are Narnia.  Anyhoo.

Turns out, it's really hard to take pictures of hairy legs.  Even for the pros.

I didn't always rock Winter legs.  Over the years, like lots of women, I've tried many a different kind of hair removal.  I remember begging my mum to wax my legs when I was 14.  She obliged and ended up sitting on my leg to hold me still.  I decided I was more the shaving type of girl.  When I was 21 my mum bought me an epilator.  I used it once.  On one leg.  Actually half a leg.  I began to suspect my mum was a sadist.  When I was 26 my sister began training in Beauty Therapy and I let her practise waxing on me.  And then I had kids, and between them and the full time job, Winter arrived. 

The key points to take from my IPL journey thus far.  1.  I'm time-poor.  2.  I'm a wimp.  

What's in an acronym?

While waiting for the i-LIGHT to arrive I decided to jot down what I knew about IPL.  IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light.  The technique uses various light wavelengths to disable the hair follicles and permanently reduce hair growth.  It only works on dark hair and fair to medium skin tones. It used to be an expensive, salon only treatment, but a couple of years ago, at-home models began appearing in places like Farmers.  

Stock image of the i-LIGHT

I'm going to be trialing the latest model to market - this one has a 50% bigger 'window', so you can treat a larger area in one pulse, it has near-to salon strength, and the bulb is an infinity bulb - you won't have to ever replace it.  It retails at $899.99.  Yeap, the price makes me nervous too.  

I spy an i-LIGHT.

When the i-LIGHT arrived I immediately opened the box and had a read of the included literature.  The routine was pretty simple, 3 sessions over 4 weeks.

On day 1 I am to shave and treat the area with the i-LIGHT.  I repeat this on day 14 and again on day 28.  In between I can shave if I want.  What will happen is - the light pulses will disable my hair follicles, these will then push out over the following week or so.  It'll look like my leg hair is growing as usual, but the hair will actually fall out.  Gone.  Forever.  I initially do three treatments over four weeks because I need to treat the hairs at the right stage of growth - body hair doesn't grow in sync, but in 3 sessions I should have disabled the majority of hair follicles.

What stood out to me most was this statement:

In clinical trials on the body, treatment sites showed up to 94.3% fewer hairs twelve months after just 4 weeks of treatment.

Wait a minute!  A year of full leg, underarm and Brazilian waxes costs around $1600.  For a fraction of this, I can be mostly hair-free in just 3 sessions?!  Really?!

And so, my IPL journey begins.

Ok, I've read the literature, I'm wowed by what the i-LIGHT claims it can do.  I guess it's time to shave and take it out for a spin.  

Will it work?  Will it hurt?  Let's find out!

Ooo-er, have any of you guys tried IPL before?  Did you go to the salon or did you try it at home?  Do you have any questions you want Natalie to answer during her trial of the i-LIGHT?  Ask away!

Images: Chelsea Anderson Photography & Design

The Remington i-LIGHT® Pro+ Face & Body was given to Natalie to try out.  No compensation for Natalie's opinions was given, as always, her thoughts are her own.