IPL vs. Waxing vs. Shaving – Which is Best for Hair Removal
Hair removal is a common beauty hack that is carried out in different ways. You need to know about the significance and working of all hair removal methods. Some are painful while others are painless. Some are performed at home by yourself while others need professional skills to carry out.
Few hair removal methods remove hairs for just a couple of days while others work on hair roots and remove hairs permanently. In this race of different processes and techniques, it is quite difficult for you to select the right hair removal method depending on your traits.
Waxing, Shaving, and IPL are three different ways to remove hairs. They have different working, significance, and methods, therefore all will be discussed here one by one.
What is IPL Hair Removal:
IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Laser, which means there is a use of laser light to remove hairs. Laser is used in IPL devices and professional laser machines. IPL devices are handy small devices that are used to remove hairs permanently at home while laser machines are used in clinics and saloons under the professional supervision of skilled workers.
How IPL Works:
IPL emits a laser light energy of broad-spectrum visible light wavelength and when it hits the skin it is converted into heat energy. This heat energy has nothing to do with the upper skin layer rather it penetrates deeply into the skin and damages hair follicles to stop the growth of hairs.
Do you know how much time is needed to shred off hairs from the skin after damage to hair follicles? Well, the IPL hair removal process starts with the shaving or trimming of hairs from an area to be treated with IPL therefore you can have hair-free skin before IPL hair removal even.
In the next step soothing gel is applied on the skin and the IPL device is moved to that area, it emits laser flashes that damage hair follicles, and hairs are shredded off in 5-7 days. You need a continuous IPL session every 3-4 weeks to get rid of unwanted hairs permanently. You can read more details about what is IPL hair removal on social media platforms.
IPL at home and Saloon:
The area, skin tone, and texture of hair decide whether you do IPL at home or in the salon. The smaller area is treated at home with light to medium skin tone while the larger area is treated for hair removal in a saloon from light to darker tone. Furthermore, for IPL at home you have to purchase IPL devices while for IPL at the clinic or saloon, you have to pay for each session.
Shaving for Hair Removal:
The method of shaving is similar to trimming because in both ways hairs are cut from the skin surface. In shaving hairs are cut that are stuck out of skin and some skin cells are also removed along with hairs.
Therefore if shaving is done in the right way it causes exfoliation. Here hairs have intact roots therefore they grow out immediately in 3-5 days That is why it is called a temporary method of hair removal. It is a very easy and cheap way of hair removal and does not cause pain.
How Shaving is Done:
Shaving is done with shaving razors that are easily available in the market. First of all razor blades and skin to be shaved are disinfected, then a hydrating cream or gel is applied on that area to make it wet.
Now wet the razor too and start the area from top to bottom. After completing it, moisturise the skin and protect it from a harsh environment for a few hours.
Waxing for Hair Removal:
Waxing is quite different from shaving because waxing involves the pulling of hairs from the roots under the skin. It is a somewhat difficult and painful process. Hairs are removed from roots therefore it takes a longer period to grow hairs again about 7-10 days.
Although waxing is painful but is an easy and cheap way to remove hairs for a shorter duration. Waxing can be done at home and salons also offer waxing services.
How Waxing is done:
Waxing is done by applying wax or sugaring on hairs in the opposite direction to hair growth and then removed in the same direction. It is very painful because numerous hairs are plucked out of the skin at once.
What to Choose for Hair Removal, IPL, Waxing or Shaving:
Well, it is your personal choice because with IPL you can get rid of undesirable hairs permanently and can be done at home or saloon but it is costly, needs professional skill (for Saloon IPL), is only suitable for light to medium skin tone and takes longer time.
Shaving is done at home and you can get hair-free skin for just 3-5 days but it is an easy, cheap, and pain-free hair removal method. On the other hand, waxing is also cheap and easy but it causes pain, and hairs are grown again in 7-10 days.
