Intense pulse light is used to achieve hair removal. It can treat all parts of the body for hair reduction and is achieved by debilitating hair follicle at the anagen or active phase of growth. This ensures a lack of regrowth from that site generally with no re-generation of hair. However, hair follicles operate on different growth cycles in a rolling pattern of activity across the body. As other hairs move into their Anagen or rapid growth phase, the follow-up laser appointment will capture and disable them.
Each treatment will result in less hair coming back, with progressively lighter in color, finer, and slower-growing. Four to eight treatments are required to affect all the follicles growing in an area and achieve satisfactory clearance. Individual results vary depending on medical and genetic factors. Lighter colored hair can be treated but may require more treatments than darker colored hair.