In December 2006, Palomar Medical Technologies announced that it had become the first company to receive US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval for an over-the-counter, home use, light-based hair removal device, allowing the device to be sold directly to consumers in the United States upon launch. The device, registered with the FDA as the ‘ABC Hair Removal System’ is composed of a base unit, umbilical cord, hand piece, chiller system with chiller coolant, cleaning wipes, ABC lubricant, power supply and safety components. It is rumoured to be a diode laser which will cost in the region of $1,200 (approx. £600) and is being developed by Palomar and commercialised in conjunction with The Gillette Company, already famous as the leading manufacturer of razors. So far, no device has actually been launched.
In 2003, a team of American dermatologists, engineers, and executives, who were previously behind the development of the Lumenis diode laser LightSheer back in the early 1990s, went on to found SpectraGenics. They then began the development of its flagship diode laser device for home use, TRIA, which was subsequently launched in the UK in early 2007. TRIA also received FDA approval as an over-the-counter, home use, light-based hair removal device in February 2008.
The device which is compact, hand-held and rechargeable offers 3 settings (high, medium and low) for the level of energy delivered, which can be chosen by the user based on their own comfort levels, although the higher setting is likely to produce the better results. There is no requirement for gels or chilling components.
In clinical trials it was shown that the device was not only safe and effective for home use, but that users experienced both excellent short-term, single-treatment hair removal and excellent sustained hair removal with periodic treatments. The only observed side effect was mild-to-moderate redness, which typically resolved in less than 30 minutes, and slight pain during treatment.
In 2008, the Silk'n "Home Pulsed Light" system was launched in the UK. The Silk'n at-home hair removal system was developed by the same scientists and engineers who built Intense Pulsed Light technologies for professional in-clinic hair removal systems.
Silk'n is based on Intense Pulsed Light and is designed to safely remove unwanted hair on both men and women from their underarms, bikini lines, legs, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders, feet and hands. When directed at the site of unwanted hair, the intense pulsed light energy is absorbed by the hair’s black or brown colour, disabling the hair follicle with little discomfort and with no harm to the surrounding skin.
There are now many different types of home use IPL and laser hair removal devices available to buy, many from high street chemists and online retailers.