IPL not working ... facial hair

[Indecisivelurcher]

Hello! I'd heard good things about Philips lumea IPL for moustache and chin hairs, they were a bit too much money for me so I picked up a nearly new one second hand on vinted. Shaved off the offenders and merrily zapped, according to instructions. But it's all going a bit pear shaped.

I started off zapping every 2wks as per instruction but am doing it every week now and still not seeing any improvement.

I'm now having to shave them every morning because they're visible and spikey, which makes me feel pretty shit about my appearance.
Shaving has made them black and spikey.

My mum reckons the lumea runs out of zap! Is that a thing?!

I've wondered about epilating but I don't want to grow them, plus it'll hurt! I was plucking them previously but it was leading to in growing hairs, spots, generally making my face a mess.

Where do I go with this?! I don't want to be a bearded lady...

It is true that they can run out of flashes and need the bulb replacing (or replacing the entire thing if bulb not available). Lumea usually have a lifespan around 100000 I believe

Don't worry about shaving making the hairs darker, it's actually a myth. They may appear slightly darker at first as they have a blunt end, but it won't actually cause you to start growing darker hairs

I would just keep at it for a bit longer and see how you get on. Some people can take a while for it to work

I had laser hair removal and just use the lumea for a top up. I’m not sure lumea was strong enough for mind if you know what I mean!
The laser lasted for a good few years before I had a further ‘breakthrough’ hairs.

That's what I'm worried about, that the ipl just can't deal with them. But will keep it up beyond Christmas and see then. The light is defo flashing and hot, so it can't be out of zap.