AIBU to ask if Philips Lumea IPL machines are worth buying?

[Emergencycake]

Are Phillips lumea IPL machines worth the money? I’ve read soo many different reviews, but want real people who haven’t been paid to review to say if they work as it feels like such an expense I want to be sure before I put down good money down which is a massive outlay for me. Thanks

I love mine, the best money I’ve ever spent on a beauty product. I do have really dark hair with pale skin so I’m the ideal candidate for it and as others have said you do have to be consistent especially in the beginning .

👎 from me. First off I found it really painful. Secondly I didn’t notice much improvement/impact. Did it for 6 months consistently and still had to either epilate or shave because of thick regrowth. I have dark thick leg hair and fair skin tone.

Love mine even though apart from an initial burst of enthusiasm when I bought it I've been really inconsistent with it.

It's made the most difference to my legs, I only have a few small bits which grow now, I'm 90% hair free.

Armpits a reasonable result but not as good as legs. I did hear some deodorants stop it working as well in this area which might be why.

Bikini line - the bit which started to migrate down my thighs in my 40s has totally gone & the rest is much sparser and the hair is thinner

Face - the neckbeard is much much better but I was the most consistent with this as it's the most visible area. Hardly any hair on my upper lip now either.

Thank you soo much! Sounds like a lot of you have had a good experience which is great to hear, but am conscious it doesn’t work for all. Thanks for your opinions 🙏

It took a year to work, I had (past tense!) very thick, long dark leg hair.
Been five years of smooth legs now. Never had an ingrowing hair since. I just do a half arsed 10 min zap every 3 weeks and run a razor over once a month to pick up the odd tiny hair. I've let my almost 18hr old start to use it and it's worked much more quickly for her.

I wear running shorts so often that I have a permanent tan line on my legs these days.

Sorry to jump on the thread but is it painful?
I notice one pp has mentioned pain

Sometimes it can feel a bit hot on the armpits. I do find the bikini line a bit hot and painful, the more sensitive the area, but not overly so. There are 5 settings and when turning on you hold it against the skin and it recommends which setting to use.

Not really. It does get hot if you're using it for a long time/ on the strongest setting though.

Love mine but im pale skinned with very dark hair.
You have to use it on a very set schedule to start with but now I literally zap once a month.
I got mine as I was so sick of peri menopause ingrown hairs

It's been brilliant for me and has completely solved a 40 year old problem of oh-so-hairy legs. Just a pity my legs are old lady legs now and not worth showing off. I am very consistent in doing it and find it takes around an hour to throughly do both full legs.
It's also worked on stomach and armpits but not on top lip / chin. I wish I could reach my upper back too, but I can't.

It was a game changer for me.
I’m pale with dark thick body hair and used to get awful shaving rash around my bikini line, it completely solved this problem.
Also fixed my strawberry legs. I wish i got one sooner!!
I used it regularly for 6 months approx 4 years ago and now just do it when I spot a straggler, every few months or so.