Philips Lumea IPL - first impressions

Disclosure - this product was tested during supervised sessions provided free of charge by Philips.

As mentioned earlier in the week, I'm currently trying out Philips' new home-use IPL device, Lumea. Yesterday I had my first session, and came face to face with the Lumea handset for the first time.

My first impressions are very good - the Lumea is about the same shape and weight as a travel blowdryer, and feels very solid, smooth and well-made. It's cordless and has an intutive control system - there's a trigger button, an on-off switch and a range of intensity settings (1-5) which can be adjusted according to skin and hair type.

The window at the head of the device is quite large - it took me about 15 "flashes" to do each armpit and I'd done the whole of both sides in under 3 minutes. Much much quicker than expected.

Lumea has a few advantages over its competitors - it doesn't need a contact gel, it's a cordless all-in-one unit, and needs no bulb replacement within its 40,000-flash lifespan (estimated to last about 5-7 years with normal use). However it's not a "permanent" solution. Instead, it's something you need to use every 2 weeks to prevent hair growth. If you stop, the hair comes back. Unlike more intensive treatments, Lumea doesn't claim to kill the hair root - rather it forces the follicle into a resting phase so that it doesn't produce hair.

Lumea has the same limitations as all IPL devices - it can't be used by women with very dark skin, or by those with blond, red or grey hair. For Anglo-Irish types like me, it's great news, but its potential user base is demographically pretty narrow, especially as it's only recommended for women.

Using it is fairly simple. The only bit I found tricky was angling the head correctly; In order to work, the window bit needs to be in full contact with the skin. When it's ready to flash, a green light on the back of the "head" comes on. I needed a few contortions to get it properly aligned at first, although it's something that I think gets easier with practice.

Did it hurt? No - and it shouldn't if you're using it at the correct intensity for your skin and hair type. The flash sensation is warm, but not unpleasantly so. It's like a very quick exposure to bright sunlight. If it does sting, you can turn the intensity down a notch using the buttons on the handle.

I haven't seen any results yet, and probably won't for the next couple of sessions, but I will let you know how it performs in future posts. Again, feel free to ask any questions in the comments and I'll field them to the experts at my next session.

In summary - so far so good, and I'm feeling very positive about the product after the first session.