Remington IPL5000 i-LIGHT Hair Removal System

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

The price you pay for hairless perfection?, 1^st February 2010

Review By Steven Chapman "steve_142"

Remington iLight IPL5000

The price you pay for hairless perfection?

OK, so as a man, body hair is one of those sort-of taboo subjects. Some of it is perfectly acceptable - if not actually desirable in many respects - take chest hair for example. Not loads of it, but often a nice manicured chest-lawn goes down well. Back hair however is another matter, and some blokes out there are terminally afflicted by it. Most though, will either be lucky enough to not really be affected by it, or just have the odd smattering of not a lot near the shoulders.

Something along the lines of this iLight device could prove useful instead of the once-a-month manscaping exercise that I conduct.

OK, so the device itself comes well packaged and presented. There isn't much to it, just the device and it's cradle. The manual is more like a long list of warnings and "don't use if..." comments. I must admit, after reading the third page of warnings I was beginning to think I shouldn't dare turn it on. I was starting to think that the actual percentage of the population that could actually qualify to safely use this device would be tiny.... But as I have pale but normal skin, dark hair, and am not pregnant or on any medication, I figured I should be ok.

A friend of ours happened to have one of these very same products so I conferred with her on her impressions of it, and they were strikingly similar...

On flat surface skin, the device seems to be quite good to use. It's easy enough to figure out, and you track the system over the skin to cover all the areas you want to treat. You have to shave the area before you do the treatment, but after about a week to 10 days, the the area seemed to show signs that it had been effective. How long it will remain like that I don't know exactly, but the signs are positive.

One of the problems arises when you forget where you've been with the device and you go over an area again, which can cause a slight discomfort. I don't know if I've done myself any harm by doing so, but unlike shaving, where you can see where you've been, the iLight treatment is effectively invisible, so doing it yourself if you're not too careful, could result in over-doing things and making mistakes.

The other key problem is that not all areas that people would like to treat are flat and as easily accessible, making the iLight awkward. Bikini Lines and armpits so I'm told, are a tricky affair, and our friend advised that she gave up in these areas and went back to more traditional methods.

I suppose the other downside is really the time factor. Creeping slowly over all your unwanted hairy bits can take a fair while.

And then there's the price...

In a nutshell, if you've got a lot of time and patience on your hands, and maybe even someone to actually help you do the treatments, or maybe if you only have smaller areas that you'd like to treat, then you might be ok with this - provided of course that you fit all the criteria of suitable users of this device (won't work on blonde or red hair, or naturally darker skin - amongst many other things).

But I can't help but think that this sort of treatment might be better left to the professionals?

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

Expensive system, and expensive parts., 9^th February 2010

Review By Mel - London

This is going to have to be an interim review, because the product needs to be evaluated on a long term basis to do it justice. The IPL5000 is certainly a neat system, and the name Remington certainly instills some faith. It comes with one bulb fitted, and two spares in the box. Each bulb has a lifespan of 1500 flashes, which compared to other similar models is pretty poor, and at £25 per bulb it is certainly not that cheap. Using the IPL5000 is dead simple, just hold it firmly against the skin, and push the button to activate the flash. This is not entirely painless, and the sensation is akin to receiving a small, and rather unpleasant electric shock. Still, its a lot less painful than waxing, and even my old epilator. So, most important does it work. Well, I've only used it three times, and to be fair it is designed to be used long term for best results. I haven't noticed any difference at this stage, but I will add to this review as and when the results become more apparent. So, this is not a quick fix that you can use a couple of weeks before giong on holiday, and you will have to persevere for a fair time. I base my 4 star review on a friend having used this system for nearly two months. She is absolutely delighted with the results, and rates this product very highly indeed. I hope my own experience will be as positive. So, a high price to pay, and expensive replacement parts too. However, if it works as well as I expect it to, it's going to work out a whole lot cheaper than regular visits to a salon. I'll keep you posted......

25 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

Looks great, but not suitable for me, 23^rd January 2010

Review By Ratstails "ratstails" (North Shields, UK)

I received my i-Light today and keen to get started, I read the instructions before use, to realise that it wasn't suitable for me. This was very disappointing, as I had read the product description on the Amazon page before I ordered. So I have included these precautions in my review so that others aren't caught out too.

2 pages of safety cautions include, among many others things...

Skin Type:-

Do not use on naturally dark skin (may result in burns, blisters and changes to skin colour), tanned skin or after recent sun exposure (may cause burns or skin injury)

i-Light is not effective on naturally white, grey, blond or red body hair

Areas not to be treated:-

Face, neck, nipples, areola, genitals, tattoos, moles, birthmarks, freckles, areas of recent surgery, scars or damaged skin

When not to use/avoid using:-

When pregnant/breastfeeding, if exposed to sun or artificial tanning in the last 4 weeks, on dry or fragile skin caused by chemical peels, if already undertaking permanent hair removal treatments, if you have skin cancer, epilepsy, collagen disorder, eczema, burns, inflamed follicles, vascular disorder, diabetes, bleeding disorder, immunosuppressive disease etc. or near anything artificial (silicon implants, contraceptive implants, injection ports or piercings)

Post-Treatment Care

Avoid sun exposure for 24 hours and prolonged exposure to sunbathing for 2 weeks (includes tanning bed and self-tan), do not swim, take part in contact sports, or take hot baths/showers, use steam rooms/saunas for 24 hours after treatment

It looks really great, well packaged and with replacement bulbs, but I have blond hair and sensitive skin, so I think I might just stick with a razor.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

It hurts, but it works, 29^th March 2010

Review By R. F. Stevens "richard23491" (Ickenham UK)

The Remington IPL5000 i-Light arrived back in January, and we were very much put off by the comprehensive list of Don'ts in the manual. Eventually, my pair of brave young volunteers tried the Dos and after a couple of months, they have agreed that, yes, it does exactly what it claims. But it is not painless.

The effect when zapped is like receiving an instant hot sunburn, almost (but not quite) like an electric shock; this is on light skin, between 1 and 2 on the Fitzpatrick scale. However the unpleasant sensation and red mark soon fades and the skin looks normal again a few minutes later. One gets used to the burning hair smell. After a few weeks of trying to recover and re-grow, the cooked hair is significantly less strong than before, and is easily shaved back to prepare for the next treatment. Two months have passed, and for two of our family, the brave young volunteers, three sessions later there is very little hair still trying to show in the areas zapped.

It requires care and expertise to make sure one does not double-zap the same place in a session, or miss a bit, since it is hard to see what one is doing. It is a toss-up whether to move steadily along in the auto-zap mode or use manual single-step. My volunteer couple found that it was easier to work on each other than on themselves, and the rest of us heard sounds of much laughter from behind closed doors, so perhaps it was not as painful as they claimed. And they have persisted with it.

The Amazon product description is accurate, and the numerous warnings about dark skin colour, moles, any blemishes, any thin skin, the eyes, all MUST be heeded very carefully. It will be less effective on fair hair, since the pigment is required to absorb the heat from the flash before it can be effective. If you are in any doubt about using it, do not buy it. If you are confident it really is for you, then by all means give it ago.

It arrived in a neat and compact package, with a total of three flash-bulbs, which are necessary since the expected life is only 1500 flashes and they are expensive to replace, see Remington SIPL i-LIGHT Bulb for i-LIGHT Hair Removal System. However after three treatments each on two people we are still on the first bulb. Replacement of the bulb is very easy. Unlike the current offering there was no DVD included, so we cannot comment on that. The whole unit is very well made, and has a comfortably reassuring solid feel to it.

In summary. It is less painful than waxing or an epilator, but still not pleasant. It is not suitable for all people, and requires skill and patience in operation. However, it does work well, and after three treatments in two months, the hair growth is much weaker than before. Hence it gets four stars.