What’s the difference between Laser and Intense Pulse Light (IPL)? LASER is a very special type of light that has three characteristics that separate it as the brightest, most powerful light known to mankind. LASER light is monochromatic (i.e. one colour) so this means nearly 100% of LASER light is ONE pure colour. Intense pulse light (IPL) is NOT monochromatic, meaning that IPL has many different colours and only a small percentage of these colours are effective in the treatment of hair reduction. LASER is collimated meaning it’s slow to diverge or spread out. This makes LASER light very powerful as nearly 100% of the light can be effective in the treatment of hair reduction. IPL is NOT collimated and so therefore is quick to spread out making it less effective in the treatment of hair reduction. Finally LASER is coherent meaning that the light is totally reinforcing and doesn’t cancel itself out whereas IPL is NOT coherent and is NOT reinforcing making it less effective in the treatment of hair reduction. Clinical Studies (link to studies) have been performed comparing the effectiveness of LASER versus IPL in the treatment of hair reduction and we feel that LASER is far more effective at hair reduction than that of IPL. Intense Pulse Light (IPL) has its place in the cosmetic market as it is effective at removing some types of sun damage when used by competent trained users. LASER stands alone as an effective treatment for hair reduction, vascular treatments and pigmentation caused by sun damage due to the reasons already stated and we believe that you deserve the best treatment possible so contact your nearest Candela LASER clinic today for a consultation. For more information, please download our Clinical Paper No. 1 here. You will need the latest version of Adobe Reader to view the document.