Are there a range of manufacturers to choose from?
Choice is important when choosing IPL hair removal and there are a range of manufacturers to choose from when you look to buy your IPL machine and equipment. There are a wide range of buyers for IPL machines, from beauty businesses to cosmetic surgeons and private buyers who are purchasing one purely for their own use. Whatever reason you are looking to purchase an IPL machine, the following advice should be considered before you make your purchase.
Look for some of the same things you would look for when buying or leasing any electronic or electric equipment. Look for a warranty – do they offer a repair service or do they offer a third party warranty to support your purchases and offer servicing.
Ensure that your IPL machine has enough power – look for a minimum of 35J/cm2 light energy, this will give better results from the light pulses. Check whether the supplier can provide the accessories you need in the future. There are a few running costs involved with IPL, one of which is the bulbs – manufacturers talk about the number of “shots” of light pulses that a bulb will do and that some will do many thousands of shots. However, it is worth noting that even if bulbs continuing working for thousands of shots, the product produces a weaker light pulse after a certain amount of use, which is known in the trade as the “popping point” so your bulbs will need refreshing regularly to provide the best possible results for yourself and your clients. As a general rule of thumb, change your bulbs after a maximum of around 40,000 shots. You will know if you do this that the machine is producing top quality results.
Wherever you purchase your IPL try and get the supplier to change your bulbs for you.
Always be careful if you are looking at second hand machines, it can be a false economy as you will probably have to change the bulbs and have the machine serviced before you use it, and you can never be sure how long the IPL machine will last – if you can afford it, it is better to buy new.
There are quite a few manufacturers and suppliers of IPL hair removal that offer the opportunity to lease a machine rather than buy which may be the right way forward for your cash flow so always be careful about the offers of a machine that can produce a very large amount of shots, the likelihood is that the quality of the results can be compromised by this. This problem can be compounded if your IPL machine is a low powered one, because they definitely will not produce many thousands of optimised shots.
Bulbs need changing, but the crystals inside the machines do not so check this with your supplier before buying. The crystals last the lifetime of the IPL machine.
Check that your supplier has not limited the amount of shots you can make with the machine. Some suppliers limit this and you have to purchase card top ups from them, even though the machine is yours.