Philips Lumea SC2001/00 IPL Hair Removal System for Body

I was so excited to receive this product as I am a prime candidate - white(ish) skinned with dark hair - and I have also experienced Intense Pulsed Light treatment at my local salon where I was treated with the Aculight system of IPL. You will be thinking if I have already had treatment why do I still need it and does it really work ? Well the salon IPL treatment certainly does work but because of their strict usage guidelines I was unable to complete the treatment over the three years I attended as far as I would have liked. The salon only treats at eight week intervals and there must be little or no tan to the skin. This is very limiting when I spend a lot of time in Spain and therefore I could only really benefit in the winter months and because of not completing the treatment I have patches of virtually no hair on my legs and other areas which may have been missed are as they used to be - quite hairy.

The package when it arrives is boxed with a full instruction book and a smaller leaflet with a quick guide of instructions, do's and don't's and general usage. There is also a DVD to give you a step by step guide of what to expect - all totally helpful and reassuring. The machine itself has a seal which you have to break before use giving you the chance to return the product unused if you find that it is not suitable for you. There is also a neat zip pouch to keep the machine in once the box is disposed of. The do's and don'ts are scary at first sight but if you understand that the process works by blasting the melanin in the hair follicle with pulsed light you will also understand that it shouldn't be used on suntanned skin because the light will be attracted to the melanin in the skin rather than the hair and therefore burning tanned skin and almost useless on blonde, white or grey hair as there is no melanin for the light to be attracted to.

Two of the limitations of use in the instruction booklet is that it is not to be used on the face (the salons do use on the face but it's maybe best left to the professionals for that delicate area) and that it is not suitable for use by men !

The piece of kit is of good quality as you would expect from Philips and is comfortable to hold and use. All the relevant buttons are on the inside edge of the handle and only once, whilst using awkwardly on underarms looking in the mirror, have I inadvertently altered settings without intending to. There are five settings to choose from by matching your skin and hair colour to the chart on the instruction booklet (also shown above on the Amazon page). When you are ready with clean, dry, shaved skin the device should be placed gently but firmly on the area you wish to treat. There is a green `ready' light which lights up when the skin is covered by the sensor so you know exactly when to press the trigger. Because the sensor has to be completely flat to the skin it can make it a bit awkward for some areas i.e. towards the ankles and around the knee area. When using the machine there should be no pain unlike at salons who, I assume, must use a much more aggressive light, hence them having to ice-pack the body before and after treatment and the strict limitations of sunshine before and after treatments and a minimum re-treatment time of eight weeks.

I have tried to find other models to compare this Philips one with and I can only find the Remington iLight IPL500, also sold by Amazon Remington IPL5000 i-LIGHT Hair Removal System The Remington is a little cheaper than this Philips but after reading that the Remington is supplied with a bulb fitted and only two spares at a cost of £25 each which each only have a life of approx 1,500 flashes then the Philips without the fiddle of changing bulbs with a lifespan of around 40,000 flashes seems much more attractive. Also a big plus for the Philips is that it charges from the mains and is used cordless rather than with a wire to the mains like the Remington. Have a look at the Remington page and compare for yourself but I think this one is worth a few pounds more for the appearance and quality.

Does it work ? For me, being dark haired, it certainly does.

I would strongly urge you to read all the instructions and information on the product page above and also read as many reviews as you can find. Reviewers are there to give their honest opinion and with a product of this fairly high cost you don't want to get it wrong. Also, why not google Aculight to get another explanation of how IPL works. If you have any specific questions or queries I am happy to answer you if you would like to contact me at the email address on my profile page.

EDIT - 23 MARCH 2010 - I am now at four full weeks after first using the Lumea and I am very happy with the results. After around 8 to 10 days after the first use hairs started to drop out and at 14 to 16 days you can easily see that there is a big reduction in hair - about 70% gone. On the areas I have used it a second time the hair dropping occurred at a similar interval afterwards, and at 4 weeks after first using it I would say that 80 - 90% of hair is gone. The hair will only react to the Lumea treatment if it is in one of the 3 stages of hair growth therefore not all hairs will respond to each treatment and this is probably one of the reasons that there are a few hairs left. The other reason is that it is incredibly difficult to be absolutely methodical in moving up and down the leg or other treated area because it doesn't look any different during the treatment like shaving or waxing does and therefore there will be one or two areas I have missed. I have bought a white cosmetic pencil to draw sections on the skin and this does help to keep track of what has been zapped. It also helps to have a partner or friend to do the backs of legs as being a contortionist is also an added problem.

I really am very impressed with the results at four weeks and as I will continue to use this during the summer, probably only at four week intervals rather than the initial two, I would expect to be free of unsightly darker hairs. It doesn't treat the almost invisible fine blonde hair so if you are after absolute smooth and hairless skin for the summer then there may be a bit of fluff left.

JULY EDIT - Well I used the Lumea during the week before I went away for seven weeks and I didn't need to do anything until five weeks later. Four weeks after last using the Lumea I had plenty of thin, soft blonde hairs and noticed that some of the usual darker ones were starting to grow. By week five I had to get the old epilator out. For me that is really good as I have very vigorous hair growth and normally have to shave five days after professional waxing as so many hairs seem to be broken off at the skin when waxed and end up with regrowth just like I'd only shaved. Ten days after waxing I usually have loads of ingrown hairs that I have to poke out with a needle and start epilating every five days from then on, so five weeks with the Lumea is fantastic for me. HOWEVER - I was interested to read one of the comments on my review about the new Boots Smooth Skin iPulse. I have only had a very quick look at it online but it appears to be fairly similar to the Lumea in that it uses intense pulsed light but seems to give PERMANENT results, can be used on the face and is a little cheaper than the Lumea. It is certainly worth having a Google and comparing with the Lumea before deciding on making a purchase.

NEW FOR FACE : Anyone wanting to use the Lumea on the face - from the spring of 2012 Philips have brought out an updated model Philips SC2002/01 Lumea Precision IPL Hair Removal System which has a separate detachable head with an integrated filter for safe use on the face and other delicate areas of the body.

As someone who has been having laser hair removal in a salon for several years, I am impressed with the quality of the Philips Lumea. The instructions are very simple and helpful so even if you're a bit of a technophobe you'll have the machine ready to use in no time. I used it first on my bikini area with very satisfactory results. At first I had some difficulty in activating the Lumea as the bursts of pulsed light are trigged by depressing small segments positioned around the head of the machine against one's skin. The bikini line is a curvy area and presented a problem at first. However, I discovered that, by rolling the machine from front to back over the skin, the mechanism fired. That problem overcome, I found that it took very little time to treat the bikini-line and there was no great discomfort of excessive heat when using the machine. I would imagine the Lumea is less cumbersome to use on legs and underarms, but it can apparently take an hour to treat both legs.

After a couple of treatments, I can attest that the Lumea does seem to repress normal hair growth. Having used no other methods of hair removal over the past month, my regrowth is very slow which is remarkable for someone like me with very thick fast-growing hair. However, although the Lumea is a very useful device to use in the home it is not a substitute for salon laser hair removal. First of all the Lumea uses Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) which is generally considered to be less effective than laser. Second, no home device, whether laser or IPL, can be as powerful or effective as a salon laser. I have had numerous laser salon treatments on my legs, underarms and stomach and, yes, it is painful and expensive but the results are excellent and hair reduction is permanent. If you are very hairy and are desperate, like I was, to truly eliminate your hair problem, treatment in a salon with a laser is the way to go. You'll save yourself some pain and money with the Lumea but the results are not permanent and you'll have to treat areas every two to four weeks to remain smooth, as the manufacturers admit themselves.

Compared to other home methods of hair removal, however, the Lumea definitely has the advantage. It is quicker, longer-lasting and less painful than waxing or epilating and is miles better than shaving. If you're a regular shaver but find, like me, that shaving irritates the skin and only keeps you smooth for one day, you'll probably find the Lumea a lifesaver. As for other home laser/IPL devices, I have used the Tria home laser before, which tends to be a bit more expensive and takes longer to use than the Lumea but does give superior results since it uses laser and not IPL.

So, whether or not I recommend the Lumea really depends on the sort of results you're looking for. If you're a waxer or shaver and are just wanting something a bit longer lasting and less of a hassle, I couldn't recommend the Lumea strongly enough. If, however, you have serious hair problems and want it sorted out for good I'm afraid there's yet to be a home laser/IPL device that can compare to a salon one. You also need to consider whether your skin and hair type is suitable. I'm an ideal candidate, having very pale skin and very dark, thick hair, which is why the Lumea works well on me. If you have dark skin or pale or fine hair, you may find the Lumea a disappointment.

This product is a seriously good investment, as long as you match the requirements. That is to say, there are many people listed as not being suitable. The product is not suitable for men, dark skin tones, light hair, etc. This is because the system uses what is termed as Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), 'which works best on dark hair as it attaches itself to the pigment'.

To help you identify if this product is suitable for you there is an easy to understand grid. On one side of the grid is your skin colouring and characteristics, and on the other side is your body hair colouring. You can then read across to the point where your two specific colourings meet and it will have a cross if you are not suitable to use this product. This grid is on the product information above and also on the box.

The Lumea arrives in a box with a dvd and full instructions. It is important to follow these instructions to the letter. Misuse of the product could cause you problems. It is also important to note that just because you are suitable for using the product now (in winter) does not mean you can use it (in the summer) if you have acquired a nice tan! Plan your usage well to maximise the effects and refer to the guidance regarding tanned skin.

To prepare for your first usage of the Lumea system you must first shave the area. This is fabulous, as someone who has previously tried (and given up on) using an epilator, one of the most irritating factors is having to allow the hair to regrow enough to do the treatment again. This also applies to waxing. After shaving, you must select the correct light intensity, as guided by the instructions, and press against the area as you apply the light pulses. Using this product over time encourages the hair follicle to go into a 'resting' phase, which gradually inhibits the regrowth. If you follow the treatment plan, and apply it according to the time schedules, the effects will be maximised.

I found that the product was pain free to use, although it did produce a slightly warm feeling on the area. It flashes a bright light and is immediately ready for you to move it to the next section of skin. Thus far, I have used the product once on my legs, and twice on my underarm area. The results are actually fairly impressive, even though I am not in the 'maintenance' phase the hair regrowth appears to be much less. It is also worth noting that I have very dark hair, and very pale skin, and this combination can mean that when I have no tan at all it is possible to see the hair inside the skin before it even emerges (ok, only if you really look closely, but enough to bother me!). No amount of shaving can prevent this, and only by getting a tan could this previously be resolved. This is no longer the case. I presume that the regrowth has already started to be minimised, thus giving me this impressive result.

Overall, I have to highly recommend this product, as long as you are in the optimum colouring range. It is ideal as a way to manage hair removal, and minimise regrowth in the comfort of your own home. It costs much less than the same type of treatment in a salon, and you can do it at a time most suitable for you, not just during salon opening hours. It is a professional and good quality product, allowing the user to never have to experience having hair stubble on their legs and underarms again, which is a unique selling point in regards to other types of hair removal such as shaving and waxing.