The ULTIMATE Single Bulb IPL Hair Removal Device Comparison

​If you're wanting painless and potentially permanent at home hair removal, you've come to the right place. There are a TON of IPL (intense pulsed light) devices for at home use on the market these days, but which one is best? Which is the lightest? The cheapest? The most powerful? How do they compare!? Well - I got you!! In this post I'm going to be doing a head to head comparison of SIX single bulb IPL hair removal devices! Yes, SIX DEVICES: Salloot Nova P5, Nood Flasher 2.0, Natrsym 7XY, Louniya, Ulike Air 3, and Innza!!! Watch my video below to see them all in action, then read on for the details!
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Disclaimer, this post was sponsored by Salloot, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. All links in this post are Amazon affiliate links - you don't pay more but I earn a commission from qualified purchases made after clicking my links.

​For those who have no experience with IPL hair removal, a quick overview of how it works first!
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IPL 101:
How IPL works is that the device provides a flash of intense light that shoots down the hair shaft to destroy the follicle. Sounds simple enough! But to support it working as intended, it's quite a process...

• You need to SHAVE before treatment (longer hair could lead to pain or skin being burned, or irregular results). The hair needs to be at the skin surface to receive the light, so you cannot wax or pluck before treatment.
• You need to stick to a very specific rigorous schedule. That's because of IPL only works on hair follicles that are in the growth part of their cycle. Once that hair follicle switches to the "pause" or "falling out" part of the cycle, it's not going to be impacted by the IPL. So, most devices have you doing treatment of the entire area 2-4x a week for the first month, then weekly or biweekly for a few months, before backing off for maintenance. Don't worry though, you should notice the hair starting to get sparser within the first month.
• Best for people with a combination of lighter skin and darker hair. This contrast is essential for the IPL to find the hair shaft and treat it effectively. Light hair won't be effected. And darker skin might get burned. Hormone levels can impact hair growth and results. There are many factors at play here, unfortunately! It's both a science, and an art ;)
• MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: In my case, I'll notice the hair all goes away for several weeks at a time after a treatment (so if you time it right you can be completely hairless for a beach vacation LOL), then regrowth is sparser and finer hair each time. I haven't noticed 100% reduction, but am really happy with how rarely I need to shave or use IPL now, after having started almost 2 years ago. Honestly I have just a few hairs in my armpits that I can just pluck. And my leg hair is so much sparser and finer now, I can get away with not shaving it for daily life.

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SINGLE BULB IPL COMPARISON:

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FEATURES THEY ALL SHARE:
All 6 of these devices include a single bulb (as opposed to dual bulbs that some higher end IPL devices offer), work in both manual and auto-glide modes, and suggest that you will see hair reduction results within 12 weeks (some within 4 weeks). Do note, I've been reviewing IPL devices for about 2 years, so I unfortunately cannot evaluate how well a specific device worked on me personally, but can say I'm obsessed with these things in general and how well they work!!

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ICE COOLING TECHNOLOGY:
This is a very important feature that not all IPL devices have. Basically, ice cooling tech keeps the treatment window ice cold, often condensing over! The light flashing is quite hot, which can potentially be uncomfortable, so the ice cool window counters that for a really comfortable experience! Out of the 6 IPL I reviewed here, these 4 feature ice cooling technology:

• Salloot Nova P5 (product page says it cools the skin contact surface to 39°F and maintains 59°F ice-cooling touch for up to 35 minutes of continuous use)
• Ulike Air 3 (product page says  it sustains an ice-cooling sensation at 67°F on the skin)
• Innza (product page says it cools the skin as low as 8℃ i.e. 48°F)​
• Louniya​​

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DOUBLE PULSE:
​Of the six, only the Salloot Nova P5 has double pulse technology, which essentially gives you twice the treatment as a single pulse. So, this is kind of a BIG DEAL!! When you get into the higher end devices, some offer triple and even quadruple pulses (check out my comparison of Salloot Trinity i15 Pro and Ulike Air 10 for more on that), but even the double pulse is amazing!​

​MAXIMUM POWER:
The device's maximum power *should* correlate to effectiveness, but I cannot confirm nor deny... That said, here are the Joules reported for each of the devices (with Salloot Nova P5 being the winner, by a long shot!!):

• #1 Salloot Nova P5 : 22 Joules
• #2 Ulike Air 3 : 21 Joules
• #3 Innza : 16.5 Joules
• #4 Louniya : 12.7 Joules
• #5 Nood Flasher 2.0 : 4.5 Joules
• I can't find any information about how many Joules Natrsym 7XY provides

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FREE APP:
​As I mentioned, the schedule for using IPL effectively is quite rigorous and can be really hard to stay on schedule without help. Many users manually input the schedule on their phone calendar or physical calendar on the fridge! But Salloot is the only brand of IPL I have reviewed that helps you here, by having a FREE APP that does ALL. THE. THINGS! They have tutorials, skin and hair analysis that help make sure you're using the right power setting, they keep track of your treatments, send you treatment reminders, and provide effect analysis!! Just so helpful!!! Take a look at a few screen shots I took from Salloot's CTone App:

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SMALLEST, LIGHTEST, CHEAPEST, PRETTIEST:
To be fair, no IPL device is super heavy or clunky. They're all decently lightweight, and come in a ton of shapes and sizes, some cute, some "ergonomic", some simply GORGEOUS! So, let's compare these six along those lines:

• ​SMALLEST:  Salloot Nova P5
• LIGHTEST:  Salloot Nova P5 is the lightest if just comparing the device itself, but its power adapter is actually bigger and heavier than the device (which doesn't matter since it just sits on your desk or table), but if you are comparing device + power adapter (for example because you're packing it for vacation), then  Natrsym 7XY is the winner.
• CHEAPEST: Natrsym 7XY is the winner here, retailing for about $30! WOW! The others are around $50 - $200, still not bad at all, especially when comparing to regular waxings or professional treatments!
• PRETTIEST: This really shouldn't matter, but we like pretty things don't we? The clear winner here is the Louniya - a gorgeous blue with diamond patterns, just so beautiful!! Just look:

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WHATS INCLUDED:
All devices came with the device and power adapter / plug. All except the Nood came with a razor and protective eyewear (though I don't have a way to test  the effectiveness of each). However, to make up for it, the Nood did come with exfoliating cleansor and soothing aloe. And the Salloot Nova P5 came with a cleaning cloth and a gorgeous velour carry case! 

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MY TOP PICK:
The best bang for your buck, and winner over all the other single bulb IPL devices I tested in nearly every way, is the Salloot Nova P5. It packs the most power, both in Joules and in the double pulse. It has the coolest cooling window i.e. provides the most comfortable experience. It has the FREE app, which you don't have to use but it really does make it much easier to keep track of your treatment schedule (and much more). It comes with a razor and the most compact protective eyewear - which fold!! It's also the smallest, lightest, and has a very affordable price point!!