IPL is the cheapest light-based machine a clinic can buy that treats more than one thing. It will not remove hair as fast as a diode laser, but the same handpiece treats pigment, redness, acne and sun damage by swapping a filter, which is why it is so often the first device in a new room.
What it costs
| Class | Typical delivered price |
|---|---|
| Tabletop IPL, full filter set | $2,500–$6,000 |
| IPL inside a multifunction workstation | $12,000–$18,000 for the whole platform |
| Branded IPL systems | Several times more |
The LumaPulse IPL is $4,090 delivered, with seven filters and a 15x50mm window. The LumaFusion Quad puts the same filter range on a console with a diode laser, Nd:YAG and RF for $13,900.
What the filters decide
IPL is broadband light from a xenon flashlamp. A sapphire filter removes everything below its cut-off, so the filter decides what the treatment is:
- 420nm — acne protocols
- 510 and 560nm — superficial pigment, freckles, diffuse redness
- 585nm — redness and vascular work
- 640, 690 and 755nm — hair removal, with 755nm for finer hair
A machine with seven filters is a machine with seven treatment set-ups. Two or three filters is a hair and rejuvenation machine, nothing more.
The running cost nobody quotes
The flashlamp wears out. Every IPL lamp is rated for a number of flashes and then replaced, and that is the real cost per treatment. Ask for the lamp price and its rated shot count in writing, and divide one by the other. A cheap IPL with an expensive or short-lived lamp is not cheap.
A diode laser has no lamp; its bar is rated in tens of millions of shots. That is the main reason high-volume hair removal clinics choose diode.
IPL, diode, or both
- Mostly hair removal, high volume: a diode laser such as the LumaDiode TriWave.
- A mix of skin treatments and some hair: IPL.
- A general aesthetic clinic: both, either as two machines or on one multifunction console.
For the technical comparison, read diode laser vs IPL for hair removal. For individual vessels that IPL treats poorly, see what a 980nm spider vein laser costs.
