At-Home IPL or In-Clinic Laser: What to Expect From Each
An at-home IPL device removes about one hair in two, an in-clinic laser more than eight in ten. Why, for which skin, and when home is enough.
You may already have heard it: "That won't work on you." White, grey, very light blonde or red hair: laser does not treat it, and no setting changes that. Electrolysis does, one hair at a time.
It is slower, it takes patience, and Clinique DC does not offer it. We would rather tell you here than at a consultation, after you have paid to try. This article explains why laser has nothing to grab, how electrolysis does, what each one asks of you, and how to split the work when your hairs are not all the same colour.
Why laser cannot see a light hair
A hair removal laser sends light at a chosen wavelength that melanin absorbs. Melanin is the pigment that colours the hair. It heats up as it absorbs the light, and that heat damages the follicle. The principle is called selective photothermolysis: you pick a wavelength that the target absorbs better than the skin around it. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, laser hair removal gives its best results on dark hair.
A white or grey hair has lost its pigment. A very light blonde or red hair has too little. There is nothing to heat, so nothing reaches the follicle. Our laser, the Clarity II, combines two wavelengths, Alexandrite 755 nm and Nd:YAG 1064 nm (per the manufacturer). They exist to treat different skin tones, not paler hair: both look for the hair's melanin.
The pulsed light in home devices follows the same principle and hits the same wall. A more powerful device would not change that either.
One case is more common than people think: hair that turns grey along the way. What is still dark can be treated. What has already turned grey can no longer be.
Without melanin, the laser has no target.
How electrolysis reaches a hair with no pigment
Electrolysis does not use light. A fine probe goes into the follicle, and a current destroys the root of the hair. Since nothing depends on colour, a white, blonde or red hair is treated like a black one.
A laser pulse treats dozens of follicles. Electrolysis treats one, then the next. Our comparison of hair removal methods describes it this way: a current, one hair at a time, regardless of colour. How long it takes, how many sessions it needs and how it feels all follow from that single difference.
Laser and electrolysis, side by side
| Laser (Clarity II) | Electrolysis | |
|---|---|---|
| What does the work | Light that melanin absorbs | A current, delivered by a probe in the follicle |
| Hair treated | Dark, brown or black, well pigmented | Every colour, including white, grey, blonde and red |
| Speed | Dozens of follicles per pulse, large areas | One follicle at a time |
| Sensation | A brief burst of heat, built-in cooling | Often described as painful, a repeated prick |
| How long the result lasts | Lasting reduction: fewer hairs, not zero | Permanent |
| Number of sessions | 8 on average, sometimes up to 12 | Several, over a longer period |
| At Clinique DC | Yes | No |
The lines on speed, sensation and how long the result lasts come from our hair removal comparison. We give no number of electrolysis sessions: we do not perform it, so we have no figure to give you.
Electrolysis wins on hair colour and on how long the result lasts. Laser wins on speed and on how many hairs are treated at each visit. On dark hair the gap is clear: a small Turkish study (Görgü et al., 2000) treated one underarm with an Alexandrite laser and the other with electrolysis in 12 people. Six months later, the laser had cleared 74% of the hair against 35% for electrolysis, and worked 60 times faster. "Lasting reduction" means fewer, finer hairs, not no hair at all, and upkeep may be needed.
What electrolysis asks of you
Time, first. One hair at a time means a session whose length grows with the size of the area. Several sessions are needed, spread over a longer period than with laser. A small area, like the upper lip or the chin, stays reasonable. Entire legs, one hair at a time, are a different commitment.
Comfort, next. Electrolysis is not painless, and nobody should promise you that. It is a repeated pricking sensation, often judged more uncomfortable on large areas. Our comparison calls it often painful. Wondering whether you will tolerate it? Only a first session on a small area will tell you.
Special situations, like pregnancy or damaged skin, are checked with the person who performs the electrolysis. We have no rule to give you on that.
Dark hair here, light hair there: both together
The hairs on one person are not all the same colour. Legs are dark and the upper lip is light. The back is dark and a few beard hairs have turned white. In those cases there is nothing to choose between: each method takes the areas it can treat.
Laser takes care of the dark areas. It only acts on hair in its growth phase, and not all your hair is there at the same time, so several sessions are needed, spaced 4 to 6 weeks apart depending on the area, to catch every cycle. The average course is 8 sessions, sometimes up to 12. The Unlimited Zones plan ($497/mo for women, $697/mo for men, taxes extra) covers all your zones in the same session, one a month: it is the zones that are unlimited, not the sessions. It applies to zones where the hair is dark. On a light zone, it changes nothing.
Electrolysis takes what laser cannot treat. The order and the pace are decided at the assessment, not in an article.
And if your hair is only starting to turn grey? That is a reason not to wait on the zones that are still dark. A hair treated while it is dark is one less hair to treat later, one at a time.
Which method for which situation
| Your situation | What answers it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Dark hair, large area (legs, underarms, back) | Laser | Lasting reduction, 8 sessions on average, sometimes 12 |
| White, grey, blonde or red hair, small area | Electrolysis | One hair at a time, several sessions, often uncomfortable |
| Light hair, large area | Electrolysis, with a time commitment | Duration grows with the size of the area |
| Light hair, and you do not want electrolysis | Shaving or waxing | Temporary result: these methods do not act on regrowth |
| Dark zones and light zones | Both, each on its own zones | Laser only where the hair is dark |
The fourth line is legitimate. Choosing to do nothing permanent about light hair is a reasonable decision: shaving and waxing have to be redone, and our comparison notes that they do not act on regrowth.
What we tell you at the consultation, before selling you a session
We look at the colour of your hair on your skin, zone by zone, before planning anything. What we tell you up front:
- if your hair is too light for laser, we say so at that moment, and we do not sell you a plan;
- if only some zones are dark, we only plan laser for those;
- we do not offer electrolysis, and we tell you that before you plan anything;
- laser sessions are performed by a medical esthetician, with the settings reviewed at every visit.
No setting and no clinic gets around the fact that a hair with no pigment has no target. For what is light, the right answer is electrolysis. We do not perform it, so we cannot tell you what happens in someone else's treatment room. We can tell you which zones of your body belong to laser. To read more about what we treat, see unwanted hair and laser hair removal.
Questions we get asked
Why does laser not work on white or blonde hair?
It heats the melanin in the hair, and that heat is what reaches the follicle. A white or grey hair has no pigment left, and a very light blonde or red hair has too little. There is no target, and no setting changes that.
Is electrolysis really permanent?
Our comparison classes it as a method with a permanent result, unlike laser, which gives a lasting reduction. The principle is to destroy each follicle that is treated.
Can I do both on different areas of my body?
Yes, and it is often the right answer when the hairs are not all the same colour. Laser treats the dark zones, electrolysis the ones laser cannot see. Here, we only do the laser part. For the order and the pace, we look at them with you at the assessment.
Can laser become effective if my hair changes colour with age?
No. A hair that loses its colour gives the laser less to work with, not more. As long as a hair is dark, it can be treated. Once it is white or grey, it can no longer be.
Does electrolysis hurt more than laser?
Often, yes. Laser gives a brief burst of heat, compared to an elastic band snapped on the skin, with cooling built in on every pulse. Electrolysis is a repeated prick, one hair at a time. Sensitivity varies from person to person and from area to area.
Sources
- American Academy of Dermatology, "Laser hair removal: FAQs". Read the page
- Town G., Botchkareva N. V., Uzunbajakava N. E., Nuijs T., van Vlimmeren M., Ash C., Dierickx C., "Light-based home-use devices for hair removal: Why do they work and how effective they are?", Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, 2019, vol. 51, no. 6, pp. 481-490. Read the abstract
- Görgü M., Aslan G., Aköz T. and Erdoğan B., "Comparison of alexandrite laser and electrolysis for hair removal," Dermatologic Surgery, 2000, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 37-41 (12 people). Read the abstract
- Wagner R. F. Jr, Tomich J. M. and Grande D. J., "Electrolysis and thermolysis for permanent hair removal," Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1985, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 441-449 (review). Read the abstract
- Cynosure Lutronic, Clarity II product page (manufacturer). Read the page
