Best home IPL hair removal for blonde, red, grey & white hair

This guide explains why most home devices won't work on fair hair, how a few do work, what each is like to use, their pros & cons, & results you can expect.
This roundup is about the best at home IPL devices for fair hair that's blonde, red, grey or white by Wearebodybeauitful.com

by | March 20, 2023

Most at home IPL and laser hair removal devices won't work on fair hair because it lacks the dark melanin pigment needed to make it work. But you do have a few options. Learn more in this Wearebodybeautiful.com roundup...

What a bummer…

So, you thought you’d give at-home laser hair removal a try because you want long-lasting silky smooth skin. But now you’re vexed because most devices won’t work on your blonde, red or white hair! Arrggh!

Relax. You do have a few options to try. This guide explains all, and shortlists the best home-use devices to try on blonde, red, grey or white body hair. Check out the contents below…

What you’ll learn in this guide:

For fair hair colours light blonde, red, grey & white

Colour circles showing light blonde, red, grey & white hair colours

The first part of this guide is about home IPL and fair hair. It explains how some special IPL technologies do work on fair hairs, and what to expect if you choose them.

The second part shares the pros & cons of the  4 best devices to try for proven at-home hair removal results for blonde, red, grey and white body hair.

About home IPL & fair hair

A bit about hair colours

Natural hair colours are either black, brown, blonde, red or white (this includes grey too).

Two types of melanin pigment in the hair follicle determine your hair colour. The pigments are eumelanin and pheomelanin.

Eumelanin is either black or brown. Lots of black eumelanin makes hair black and brown eumelanin makes it brown. There are many shades of dark hair and it’s the amount of these pigments in the hair which determines how dark it is. Eumelanin is also found in blonde and red hair colours but in much smaller quantities.

Black & brown strands of hair have black and brown eumelanin pigment, red hair has red pheomelanin, and blond hair has yellow pheomelanin. Most at-home devices need black and brown eumelanin to work, but some will work on fair hair. Find out the best home laser hair removal for blonde hair, red and grey too in Wearebodybeautiful’s guide.

The different types of melanin in your hair and follicles determines your hair colour.

Pheomelanin is either yellow or red. Unsurprisingly, it makes hair blonde or red. And there are loads of shades here too. Red colours include many variations of titian, copper, orange/ginger, red, and deep red. With more brown eumelanin in the mix, you also get light to dark auburn colours too.

Blonde hair shades contain yellow pheomelanin and some eumelanin. But, compared to dark hair, the levels of pigment are much lower overall. And the varied ratio of these pigments results in loads more shades from dark blonde to white blonde.

If there’s a higher ratio of eumelanin, you get cooler medium to dark blonde shades. Whereas a higher pheomelanin ratio makes shades of awrm golden blonde. And low levels of both make light to white blonde.

And of course, with both yellow and red pheomelanin, you get the rather beautiful and rare strawberry blonde colour. This golden blonde and red combo-colour has the highest overall amount of pheomelanin.

And finally, white hair has no pigment. It appears ‘colourless’ because the follicles have zero melanin pigments. Light reflecting off the hairs gives them a greyish to pure white colour. Greying comes with age, as cells in our hair follicles slow down and eventually stop producing any pigment.

White and grey hair has no melanin pigments, neither dark eumelanin or red/yellow pheomelanin. It has no pigment at all! Reflecting light off the hair makes it look grey or white. Find out the best home laser hair removal for grey hair, in Wearebodybeautiful’s guide.

Grey and white hair has no pigment at all.

The hair on your head can also differ from the colour of your body hair, and your body hair can be a different colour in one body area versus another. So, for laser and IPL, check the colour of the hairs in the body areas you want to be smooth.

Why most laser & IPL won't work on fair hair

Black or brown body hair with lots of black or brown eumelanin responds best to home laser and IPL hair reduction. That’s because the eumelanin absorbs the strong IPL and laser light energy, which then heats up and damages key areas of the hair follicle. After several sessions it slows and stops your hair growth.

Pheomelanin in blonde and red hair doesn’t absorb the light energy. So, IPL and laser won’t work on hair colours with mostly these pigments.

So, at-home brands use colour charts to help you understand which hair colours have enough eumelanin for their devices’ work on. Like this one, from Sensica:

IPL hair colour chart from Sensica showing the IPL works on light brown to dark black hair, but not on light blonde, red or white hair.

Hair colour chart example from Sensica - check your body hair colour against it

The charts typically show it works on colours black, dark brown, through to light brown and dark blonde (1 to 4 above). Colours it won’t work on are light blonde, red and grey/white (5 to 7).

Now, this is helpful if your body hair colour closely matches a swatch in the chart. However, there are oodles more colours and colour combinations for blonde and red hair not shown in these charts. And some may have enough eumelanin in them to work.

And that’s why some brands also say in their FAQs, whilst black and dark brown hair have the most melanin and respond best to treatment, it can work on other hair shades and colours too if they have enough eumelanin in them. So, this includes light browns, many blonde shades and auburn hair too.

Red hair samples from left to right: strawberry blond hair has both yellow and red pheomelanin with just a teeny bit of eumelanin. Red hair has mostly red pheomelanin and just a teeny bit of eumelanin. Auburn hair has both eumelanin and red pheomelanin. There's more red pheomelanin than eumelanin, but there may be enough in the hair for IPL to work.

Red hair shades: IPL hair removal could work on auburn hair shades.

Shade of golden/warm blond hair; from very light blond, golden, dirty, honey, and dark blonde shades. They have more yellow pheomelanin than eumelanin. The darker shades and some lighter shades may have enough eumelanin for the IPL hair removal to work.

Golden blonde hair shades: IPL hair removal  works on mid and dark blonde, and could work on light blonde (but not white blonde).

Shades of ash / sandy blond hair; from very light blond, light ash, mid blondes to dark ash blonde shades. They have more eumelanin than yellow pheomelanin. The darker shades have enough, and some lighter shades may have enough eumelanin for the IPL hair removal to work.

Ash blonde hair shades: IPL hair removal  works on mid ash and dark ash blonde, and could work on light ash blonde (but not white blonde).

A few years ago, Smoothskin suggested you could try their powerful Muse model on light blonde hair because it may have enough eumelanin pigment (but not on white blonde hairs). However, it could take a few to several extra sessions to match the results on darker hair. They suggested their worldwide 90-day money back guarantee allows you to try it for a few months, and return it if you don’t see results.

The skin and hair colour chart from the Smoothskin.com webiste, with '?' next to light blonde hair colour and skin tones I to V. Plus a note you can try it risk-free on blonde hair."

An old chart from the Smoothskin website suggesting try it on light blonde body hairs with the 90 day money back guarantee.

Smoothskin no longer promote this with the latest powerful Pure and Pure Fit model (which has the same IPL power range), but there’s nothing stopping you trying this on blonde or red toned body hair. If you’re prepared to put the effort in you could see results within the money back guarantee period. However, be prepared you may not, and it’s unlikely to work on white blonde or pure red body hair.

So, if you want a sure choice before you put in the effort, check out the next section.

How some do work on fair hair colours

For blonde, red, grey and white hairs you can choose IPL devices with a special patented technology called Elōs.

You'll find this tech in Illuminage and Me IPL devices. It's clinically proven to work on fair hairs.

Let's look at how it works now.

How Elōs technology works on fair hairs

Elōs IPL hair removal is the only one clincally proven effective on blonde and red hair. That’s because it doesn't rely solely on dark melanin pigment in your hairs.

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Grey hairs too?

White/grey hair participants weren’t part of the Elōs clinical test. However, because it's not reliant on dark pigment in the hairs, it will work in exactly the same way on white and grey body hairs.

It works in two ways:

A hair in the follicle

#1 Pluck or wax

You must pluck, wax or epilate your fair hairs immediately before your session. This way, the IPL energy targets the small, dark blood droplets left behind in your follicles after they’re pulled out. The blood droplets absorb the IPL energy and convert to heat, thus damaging the follicles.

Radio Frequency electrial current icon

#2 Radio Frequency current

Elōs also sends a type of electric current called Radio Frequency (RF) into your skin. The IPL and RF work even better together to heat your hair follicles, even if they lack dark eumelanin pigment.

Radio Frequency works like this...

RF is a painless electric current sent through your skin from one electrode to the other. The spacing of the RF electrodes is just right to send the RF current down to your hair root depth. You can’t feel it at all. But as it flows through your skin, the RF encounters resistance and this creates heat in your tissues.

The 2 silver RF electrode bars on the top and bottom of the flash window send the RF current into your skin, creating a circuit from one electrrode to the other.

Two silver RF electrodes either side of the flash window create the RF circuit through your skin

And it works so well with the IPL because warmer structures are less resistant to electrical current. This means, as each IPL flash heats the blood droplet and the surrounding follicle, it draws the RF current towards it. This then concentrates around the follicle, right where it’s needed. So, your follicles get an extra dose of heat from the RF. This gradually damages areas of the hair follicle and slows your hair growth.

This is how Elōs works without relying on melanin-rich hair. And explains why it should also work on white/grey hair too.

The Iluminage Touch device comes with an epilator attachment so you can flash and pluck in one go. Yikes.

Pluck, wax or epilate immediately before your sessions. The Iluminage Touch has an epilator attachement for dual pluck-and-zap action (ouchie).

However, because the blood droplets are so small, it’s less efficient versus on eumelanin-rich dark hair. Therefore, you must zap each treatment area 2 or 3 times per session to ensure the follicles get a big enough dose of heat. And, during the start-up stage, you must wax/epilate/pluck and zap hairs several times to be effective.

So, prepare yourself you’ll need over double the recommended sessions. There’s more on this next.

What results will I see & when?

All home laser and IPL devices recommend a start-up treatment schedule, followed by less frequent maintenance sessions.

The below table shows the advertised treatment schedules for the proven Elōs devices. Remember, you must pluck, wax or epilate immediately before sessions with the Elōs Iluminage & Me devices.

At-home device # of start-up sessions Frequency Top-ups
Elōs technology in:
Iluminage Precise Touch
Me Chic
Iluminage Touch
Me Sleek
7 on dark hair
(shaved before zapping)

14+ for fair hair
(plucked before zapping)
Weekly As needed.

NOTE: Iluminage shares for the first 6 or 7 weeks, you can use their devices 2 to 3 times per week on your face.

It will take several weeks of sessions before you’ll notice slower and softer growing, or fewer hairs. So be prepared for the extra time and commitment!

👉 Although not published anywhere today, Iluminage previously shared with me that you’ll need at least double the start-up sessions (14+) to see results on fair hair with the Elōs devices.

So, keep going until you're happy. Then switch to top-ups. On dark hair, brands suggest these monthly. However, you may need them more frequently, every couple of weeks or so. As you notice any growth, pluck your hairs and zap them.

p

A tIP...

With the Iluminage & Me Elōs devices your reduction in growth rate and hair thickness is not as obvious as it is on shaved hairs. Therefore, it may seem like it’s not working. But stick at it!

Results range from total smoothness, to slower growing, much finer hair that’s easier and less time consuming to manage. And remember, inactive hair follicles can wake-up and sprout new hairs. So, you’ll need to shave/pluck and zap them as they appear!

How to stay safe

The Elōs devices are safe for ALL skin tones.

Before you start your sessions, read the user guide carefully. There’s an important list of warnings and reasons you may be unsuitable to use home laser and IPL devices. Such contraindications include pregnancy, breastfeeding, diabetes, medical & skin conditions, photosensitising medications, chemical peels and more. Stay safe and learn more about home laser & IPL safety and contraindications here.

Female figure outline

Female

Women can use these devices from the cheekbones down.

Oultine of a male upper body

Male

Men can use them from the neck and down.

❌ Don’t use them on the male beard or face!

Please don't...

DON'T...

DON'T use these devices on your genitals, anus, nipples, or on birthmarks, moles, or large freckles.

You must also do a skin sensitivity test in each treatment area. Follow the instructions in the user guide, and wait the specified time. If you have no skin reactions, proceed with your treatment. Do another skin sensitivity test after sun exposure or recent tanning.

⏱ Sensitivity test duration: 30 mins

You must also protect your skin from sun exposure before and after your sessions. Sunlight and tanning increase your skin’s sensitivity and so the risk of skin reactions and side effects.

❌ Not safe on recently tanned skin

☀️ Avoid the sun for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after your sessions. Cover up or use SPF 30+

What do they feel like?

You’ll hear the cooling fan whir and a small pop or click with each IPL flash. The IPL flashes are bright but harmless when flush against your skin. You don’t need protective goggles. If you find the flashes irritating, wear sunglasses to help ease the glare.

The Elōs IPL intensity ranges from a low 2 to a medium 4J/cm2 . The flashes are gentler than with other IPL devices so the flashes feel warm. Start on low for your skin sensitivity test and move up to medium and high only if it's comfortable.

The flashes can feel hotter on more sensitive areas of your body.  For me, it feels most intense on my thighs and ankles. Most brands liken this sensation to an elastic band snapping against the skin. It’s instantaneous, uncomfortable but bearable.

Based on the online feedback, you’re more likely to feel a sting if your skin is a darker tone. If this happens, just lower the intensity level a notch. Also, try starting with your face and more sensitive areas when the flash window area is cool.

Possible skin reactions & side effects

Hot, tingly, red, dry or itchy skin are all common skin reactions. They usually fade within 24 to 48 hours. Sooth them with ice, a cool face cloth, cooling water sprays, Aloe Vera gel or a non-scented moisturiser. If they don’t fade, go see your doctor.

p

Sun safety

Remember, you must avoid the sun, cover-up or wear a sunscreen SPF30+ to protect your skin from skin reactions and side effects.

Side effects are rare but can occur. They include temporary or permanent patches of light or dark skin, burns, excessive redness and swelling around your hair follicles, blisters, and scarring. In these cases, consult your doctor.

Another extremely rare side effect on the face and neck is called Paradoxical Hypertrichosis. Paradoxical Hypertrichosis is increased hair growth in the treatment areas. The reasons behind it are unknown but it’s thought to occur more frequently in users of Mediterranean descent, and/or with underlying medical conditions such as hirsutism.

Best home laser hair removal for blonde hair, red & grey too

The Iluminage and Me brands with Elos tech are the best at-home laser hair removal for blonde hair, red and grey too. They’re clinically proven to work!
This device works on dark hairs (black, dark brown, mid-brown, dark blonde) and fair hair colours (light blonde, and red). It wasn't tested on white or gray body hair but will work by the same principle. You must wax, epilate or pluck fair hairs before use.

For all fair hair colours (light blonde, red, grey and white) try at-home IPL devices with Elōs technology.

For face, small and large body areas choose the Iluminage Touch or Me Sleek. For your face and small bits choose the Iluminage Precise Touch or the Me Chic.

They’re clinically proven to work on fair hair if you pluck/wax/epilate your hairs immediately before your sessions. Keep reading for the pros & cons for each...

1. Iluminage Precise Touch & Me Chic

"Safe & effective for ALL skin tones & ALL body hair colours, & best suits face & small body areas"

The Iluminage Precise Touch (& Me Chic) is safe for ALL skin tones, including the darkest.

4.3 / 5

Face & small bits
(not legs!)

💰💰💰

Safe for ALL Fitzpatrick skin tones:

Colour swatches of the 6 Fitzpatrick skin tones from light (I) to darkest (IV)

Works on ALL hair colours:

This device works on dark hairs (black, dark brown, mid-brown, dark blonde) and fair hair colours (light blonde, and red). It wasn't tested on white or gray body hair but will work by the same principle. You must wax, epilate or pluck fair hairs before use.

Iluminage Precise Touch & Me Chic deals

I earn a small commission when you shop via my links. Thank you for your support!

🇺🇸 United States

Iluminage Precise Touch:
Lookfantastic
SkinStore.com

Me Chic:
Lookfantastic

🇨🇦 Canada

Iluminage Precise Touch:
Lookfantastic

Me Chic:
Lookfantastic

🇦🇺 Australia

🇳🇱 Nederland

🇩🇪 Deutschland

🌏 International

Iluminage Precise Touch:
Lookfantastic
SkinStore.com

Me Chic:
Lookfantastic

Change shipping country & currency at page top.

🇭🇰 Hong Kong

🇸🇬 Singapore

I recommend the Iluminage Precise Touch and Me Chic as top options for best at-home laser hair removal for blonde hair, red or grey too. They're especially good if you’ll treat your face and/or small body areas. That’s because they're clinically proven to work on blonde and red hair (white and grey works in the same way) they give decades of flashes for small areas, and are particularly suited to facial use.

If you’ve missed how these work on fair body hairs, find out here.

Top options for the best at-home laser hair removal for blonde hair, red and grey too are the Iluminage Precise Touch & Me Chic IPL + RF hair removal devices

Iluminage Precise Touch & Me Chic best for fair body hair colours and face & small areas

The Precise Touch and Me Chic are mains-powered hand-held devices, each with a slightly different shape. They’re very comfy to hold and easy to position. The small flash window is the perfect size for your upper lip and is easy to flash around your chin and jaw too. It’s also good for underarms and bikini line.

The small flash window on the Precise Touch and Me Chic is the perfect size for your upper lip and is easy to flash around your chin and jaw too. It’s also good for underarms and bikini line.

The angled small and precise flash window is perfect for your face and smaller body areas.

These are decent quality, although the mains-cable is a little thin and tangly. However, you get ample flashes for face and smaller areas lasting around 10 years of monthly use. They’re not suitable for legs and large areas as it uses up too many flashes and takes ages with the small flash window.

You must remove fair body hairs at the root before using the Elōs devices. So, epilate, pluck or wax immediately before your session. Make sure your skin is clean and dry before you start.

Press the elos button to cycle up through the intensity levels and back down to one.

Choose from the 3 Elos levels LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH.

They’re very simple to use too. Choose from the three Elōs intensity levels, then position flush on your skin. Wait for it to flash then move to the next spot. There’s no flash button to press – the flashes come on skin contact. Cover your skin in adjacent flashes, then repeat for a total 2 or 3 passes. It’s quick on face and small body areas. You can treat facial hairs 2 or 3 times per week if needed.

Results on fair hair

It's vital you epilate, pluck or wax before each session.

The standard treatment schedule is to treat weekly for seven sessions. However, Iluminage previously shared with me you'll need double that at 14+ sessions on fair hairs you pluck/wax/epilate. So, keep going until you get your desired results. But be prepared for the extra effort.

You may use the device more frequently on facial hair if needed – up to 2 to 3 times per week.

Once smooth, switch to top-ups as frequently as you need them, typically every month or so.

Iluminage Precise Touch & Me Chic Summary

The Iluminage Precise Touch (& Me Chic) is a top choice especially for facial and small areas hair removal. The clever combined IPL & RF mean it’s gentle and safe for ALL skin tones, including the very darkest. And it works on ALL body hair colours too, including blonde, red and grey hairs if you pluck before hand. However, it takes twice as long to work on these fair hair colours. 

Here’s a quick summary round-up of my test scores, and pros and cons to help you decide.

The Iluminage Precise Touch (& Me Chic) is a top choice especially for facial and small areas hair removal.
Lamp lifetime

⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡

The flashes last for 10+ years of monthly sessions for face & smaller body areas (bikini line & underarms). That’s more flashes than you’ll need for decades of smooth skin.

Ease of use

👍👍👍👍

Decent quality, simple, precise, comfortable & fast to use on your face & small areas. Gentle, no stinging sensation. For fair hair removal, you must pluck/epilate/wax before zapping.

Effort & Results

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Medium & gentle power IPL. Seven weekly sessions for smooth skin, then top-ups every month or so to stay that way. You may need a few more for dark skin using the low intensity level. And results take weeks longer (14+) on fair/grey body hair!

Pros

  • Decent quality & comfy
  • Small accurate flash window & easy flashes
  • Decades of flashes for face & small areas
  • Clinically proven & FDA cleared for ALL skin tones
  • Clinically proven to work on blonde & red hair (grey works in the same way too)
  • Works even if your dark facial hairs turn grey
  • You can pluck, wax, or epilate hairs before sessions
  • FDA-cleared & CE certification

Cons

  • The Precise Touch is expensive at full RRP
  • No money back guarantee
  • Several more sessions than advertised for fair hair users
  • Not suited to large areas & legs
  • No longer available in the UK

If you need more info, check out the full Iluminage Precise Touch review. But if you’ve found this review helpful and are ready to buy, please support my reviews and shop via my links. I earn a small commission, but your price stays the same. I really appreciate your support 🙏!

2. Iluminage Touch & Me Sleek

"Safe & effective for ALL skin tones & ALL hair colours, & suits face, small or large body areas"

Iluminage Touch IPL works on shaved, waxed, epilated or plucked hairs

4.1 / 5

Face, small bits, legs & large areas

💰💰💰

Safe for ALL Fitzpatrick skin tones:

Colour swatches of the 6 Fitzpatrick skin tones from light (I) to darkest (IV)

Works on ALL hair colours:

This device works on dark hairs (black, dark brown, mid-brown, dark blonde) and fair hair colours (light blonde, and red). It wasn't tested on white or gray body hair but will work by the same principle. You must wax, epilate or pluck fair hairs before use.

Iluminage Touch & Me Sleek deals

I earn a small commission when you shop via my links. Thank you for your support!

NOTE: The Iluminage Touch and Me Sleek are both mains-power devices which use Elōs technology. Both are safe for ALL skin tones and work on fair hair as well as dark. Their branding and looks are slightly different, but they work in exactly the same way.

🇺🇸 United States

🇨🇦 Canada

🇦🇺 Australia

🇳🇱 Nederland

🇩🇪 Deutschland

🌏 International

Change shipping country & currency at page top.

🇭🇰 Hong Kong

🇸🇬 Singapore

Choose the Iluminage Touch and Me Sleek as other top choices for best at-home IPL hair removal for fair hair, that's blonde, red or grey. They're clinically proven to work on blonde and red body hair (and white and grey works in the same way). The design and operation is best if you’ll treat large areas like legs and torso, as well as small bits such as face, underarms and bikini line.

If you missed it earlier in the article, learn how Elōs technology works on fair body hairs.

Top options for the best at-home laser hair removal for blonde hair, red and grey too are the Iluminage Touch & Me Sleek IPL + RF hair removal devices for larger body areas as well as small

Different brands and look, but by the same manufacturer with patented Elōs technology.

It’s a mains-powered base unit and corded applicator design, which whilst slightly outdated, is robust and very comfortable to use. The applicator-cord is durable, long, and supple, and the applicator itself compact, lightweight, and easy to manoeuvre around your body. The medium flash window (3cm2) fits most body areas, and it has an additional precision cap which covers half the window for easier flashes on your upper lip.

A robust, simple and comfy, if slightly outdated corded flash applicator and base unit design on the Touch and Sleek Elos models

The angled small and precise flash window is perfect for your face and smaller body areas.

There are two Touch models; one with 120,000 and the other with 300,000 flashes. The first lasts around 2 years of monthly whole-body sessions and so is probably best for face and small areas. The latter around 5 years. This is decent enough, and you can buy replacement flash cartridges, but they're a little expensive.  However, the Me Sleek gives unlimited flashes so this is a longer lasting investment from the start.

You get a 1 or 2 year warranty with the Touch and Sleek depending on where you buy them. But, unfortunately, there’s no money back guarantee with either of these models.

You must remove fair body hairs at the root before using the Elōs devices. So, epilate, pluck or wax immediately before your session. Make sure your skin is clean and dry before you start. Depending on how you feel about epilating, the Iluminage Touch comes with an optional epilator attachment you can use at the same time as you zap. Ouch.

The lowest ELOS level and indicator light selected on the Iluminage Touch control panel.

Start LOW and progress up to Med or HIGH only if comfortable

It’s simple to use. Just chose your Elōs intensity level and place the flash window flush on your skin. Wait for it to flash then slide to the next position, covering all your skin in adjacent flashes. It flashes on skin contact, so there’s no button to press. Then, repeat for a total 2 or 3 times in your treatment area. 

The flashes are consistent so you can work to a steady pace. And it’s easy to get a flash too. However, it takes a while to cover your whole legs because you must do multiple passes. On the lowest intensity (with fastest flashes) it takes me around 20 minutes to flash one meticulous full leg with 2 passes.

Results on fair hairs

It's vital you epilate, pluck or wax before each session.

The standard treatment schedule is to treat weekly for seven sessions. However, Iluminage previously shared with me you'll need double that at 14+ sessions on fair hairs you pluck/wax/epilate. So, keep going until you get your desired results. But be prepared for the extra effort.

You may use the device more frequently on facial hair if needed – up to 2 to 3 times per week.

Once smooth, switch to top-ups as frequently as you need them, typically every month or so.

Iluminage Touch & Me Sleek Summary

The Iluminage Touch and Me Sleek are easy to use, quality devices. But they really stand out because the clever combined IPL & RF mean it’s gentle and safe for ALL skin tones, including the very darkest. And it works on fair and grey hairs too but only if you pluck/wax/epilate before hand. They’re the only devices clinically proven to do so.

Here’s a quick summary round-up of my test scores, and pros and cons to help you decide.

The clever combined IPL & RF in the Touch and Sleek mean they're gentle and safe for all skin tones, including the very darkest. And the design is good for both large and small areas.
Lamp lifetime

⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡

The Touch’s flashes last around 5 years of monthly whole-body sessions. That’s long enough to get you smooth and stay so for many years. Replacement cartridges are available, but rather pricey. Or choose the Me Sleek with unlimited flashes so you'll never run out!

Ease of use

👍👍👍👍

Simple to use with a lightweight corded applicator. Flashes with skin contact, so no button to press. Very comfortable to use, average speed sessions and gentle on the skin. Wax/epilate or use with the epilator attachement (touch onl) for fair/grey hair removal.

Effort & Results

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Medium & gentle power IPL. Seven weekly sessions for smooth skin, then top-ups every month or so to stay that way. You may need a few more for dark skin using the lower intensity level. And results take weeks longer (14+) on fair/grey body hairs!

Pros

  • Nimble applicator, robust & easy to use
  • Flashes on skin contact, no button to press!
  • Use LOW intensity for dark skin, this also gives the fastest sessions
  • Me Sleek gives unlimited flashes
  • Clinically proven on ALL skin tones including the darkest black
  • Clinically proven to work on fair body hairs (blonde & red, but grey works in the same way too)
  • FDA-cleared & CE certification

Cons

  • The Touch is expensive at full RRP
  • No money back guarantee
  • Slow & time consuming sessions vs rivals
  • Longer than advertised results for fair hair users
  • Some Touch models give fewer flashes (you can buy replacement cartridges but they're pricey)

If you need more info, check out the full Iluminage Touch review. But if you’ve found this review helpful and are ready to buy, please support my reviews and shop via my links. I earn a small commission, but your price stays the same. I really appreciate your support 🙏!

Laura Gladman
I'm a bit obsessed with at-home beauty devices. It's a habit I've had for around 9 years now. I love the science, testing and reviewing them, and sharing my experience and feedback on my site Wearebodybeautiful.com. I'm also a crazy dog lady, and I don't care.

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The Braun Pro 5 IPL is a super choice for silky-smooth skin on your face and small or large body areas.

Hair removal

Learn all about at-home skincare & anti-ageing devices

Anti-ageing & Skincare

Learn all about period pants

Period pants

Learn all about at-home Radio Frequency skin tightening

Radio Frequency

Learn all about at-home red and NIR light therapy

Red & NIR Light

Learn all about at-home microcurrent devices

Microcurrent