Basic IPL hair remover works well. FIDAC Model T2. A bit pricy for the basic functionality
The latest craze in hair removal is IPL: Intense Pulsed Light. Owing to improved light technology, handheld devices that can provide the requisite intensity light to perform IPL at home and at an affordable price are now available.<br /><br />I've tried a number of these IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) devices for hair removal. Compared to the others I've tried, this is one of the more expensive ones and doesn't seem to offer much in the way of differentiating functionality. As is typical, you get a IPL hair removal tool rated to around a million flashes. This one has a LCD counter of the number of flashes and the indicator of the power setting (1-5).<br /><br />Operation is pretty trivial: You plug in the power supply, (the hair removal tool is NOT battery operated; you must have it plugged in), you choose the power level (five settings, chosen by rapidly pushing the bottom of the power button)) and then you aim it at a body area with hair you'd like to remove. It is recommended that your body is freshly cleaned and that the hair be shaved before starting. You can choose either on-demand flashing (via the button in the middle of the body) or else automatic flashing when skin contact is detected. Switching between the modes is accomplished by a long press of the flash activation button. The mode is indicated by a symbol in the middle of the screen.<br /><br />The light is extremely powerful and could damage your eyes with continued direct exposure. Therefore, you should never look directly into the light and a cheap pair of folding protective eyeglasses are included in the box.<br /><br />The light is triggered by a touch-sensitive metal area in the front of the device. Using very slow-motion photography, I was able to capture a snapshot of the light (see photos). But the light duration is extremely short.<br /><br />You run the tool over the area where you want to remove hair, and make sure you exposure all the hair follicles in that region. You will not see any immediate results. The light signals your hair to stop growing, but it requires multiple treatments over several weeks before you will be expected to see results. Eventually, you should find a substantial reduction in the hair in the treated areas.<br /><br />In the box, you get:<br /><br />** IPL tool<br />** Power adapter<br />** Cheap pair sunglasses<br />** Inexpensive disposible shaver<br />** Instructions<br /><br />This device only offers one mode: Hair removal. Other IPL devices offer other modes (skin rejuvenation and acne treatment). Whether that's a loss depends on whether you believe those other modes really work anyhow. The jury is out. Another thing you don't get with this tool is any attachments that can make it easier to address certain body areas. Some IPL removal tools include these. The actual value of such tools is subject to debate and the fundamental functionality (which is a flash of high-intensity light) does not change.<br /><br />Overall, the device does what it promises to do. It's worth noting, though, that for a basic functionality IPL device, this one is priced higher than many. It's probably worth shopping around and comparing.<br /><br />Pros:<br /><br />** Hair removal IPL, simple to use<br />** LCD readout of number of flashes left and power level. Also indicates the mode (automatic, manual)<br />** Rated for 999,999 pulses (longer than you'd ever use it)<br /><br />Cons:<br /><br />** Somewhat expensive relative to other devices that only do hair removal IPL<br />** I prefer gun-shaped IPL tools to those, like this one, which are oblong
Rating: 4 stars