IPL stands for intense pulse light. It consists of a beam of light that targets the melanin in the hair shaft. Energy from the beam of light is converted to heat, which disables the hair follicular cells responsible for hair growth. Intense pulsed light (known as IPL but mistakenly referred to as a laser) systems emit powerful pulses of filtered light that penetrate into the hair to penetrate melanin and over time, fade the hair.   To achieve long-term hair reduction, this procedure heats up the hair and destroys the cells responsible for hair growth. On the market, there are many systems marketed as IPL machines, yet many don't use the trademarked technology of IPL and work on other theories, so the results aren't consistent.