Cheapest Home Laser / IPL Machine – Cost Comparison Matrix

This post is an exclusive cost analysis of the home laser hair removal devices that are on the market.  This means that no other points such as efficacy, scientific research, suitability for large treatment areas, ergonomics or aesthetics are discussed here. If you want to see the full review taking into account all these aspects, then click here.

The Simple Version

If you don't really care for the more complex analysis:-

  • ​The cheapest device is the Philips Lumea (cheap up front cost, no cartridge refills and 100,000 flashes lifetime duration)
  • The most expensive is the Silk'n SensEpil by a long way (medium up front cost but expensive cartridge refills that have short duration)
  • The Remington I Light, Boots Smooth Skin and Tria 4X are all similar at the mid-range price point

Hair Removal Device

Type

Cost Rating (Including Refills)

Philips Lumea

Device only - no refillable cartridges

$

Boots Smooth Skin

Device only - no refillable cartridges

$$$

Tria 4X

Device only - no refillable cartridges

$$$

Remington I Light

Refillable cartridges

$$$

Silk'n SensEpil

Refillable cartridges

$$$$$

If you'd like the more complete and full analysis then read on...

How to Evaluate the Cost of Laser Hair Removal Devices

There are two types of home laser hair removal device:-

  1. Long duration, non replaceable - these devices generally come with a long lifetime (90,000 + light pulses) before they no longer work.  Once this happens, you have to buy a completely new device at full cost.
  2. Short duration, replaceable cartridges - these laser devices have light cartridges that typically emit from 750 to 2000 pulses before they expire.  When they expire, you can simply buy new cartridges rather than replacing the entire device.

Therefore, when evaluating the cost of a laser hair removal device, it's important to do it with respect to usage.  

The ​non replaceable devices are generally more expensive to buy, but over time as you use the device more and more, become more cost effective.  

The ​short duration ones cost less to begin with, but the expenses start to rack up when you need to purchase the cartridges when the number of pulses runs out.

Because of this, there is no simple answer to "which home laser hair removal device is the cheapest".

To help you understand which is device is likely to be the most cost effective for your usage amounts, I have put together a cost comparison chart:-

How Have We Calculated These Costs?

The data and charts provide a snapshot in time that is consistent with the following data

Please note also, that we have been unable to find how many full body sessions the Smooth Skin and the Lumea Comfort can provide before it needs replacing.  All the evidence we've found suggests that 120,000 and 100,000 flashes respectively should be ample for the 24 full body sessions. 

So What's the Cheapest Device for your Usage?

​Looking purely at cost (while taking into account the ongoing maintenance of cartridge refills etc.), the Philips Lumea Comfort is the cheapest device on the market.  

Not only is the Lumea Comfort the cheapest device to buy in the first place, but it's also the cheapest in the medium term - the 100,000 pulses of light, according to Philips, is enough for five full years of laser hair removal treatment.  Thus, If you use the device for 24 full body treatments you'll end up paying less than $10 for each full body session - that's quite a bargain.

It's also worth noting that the Silk'n SensEpil is gets comparatively worse over time in comparison to other devices simply because the cartridges are quite expensive and only have the capacity to deliver 1 full body session before expiring.  This is definitely a factor to consider when purchasing the product.

The three remaining devices (Tria 4X, Boots Smooth Skin and Remington I-Light) converge over time so that the difference in price per full body session between all of them is less than $2.

What About Longer Term Usage ?

Here's what the graph looks like if you use the home laser hair removal device for extended durations (all the way up to 80 full body sessions):

It should be noted that It's quite unlikely that most people will need more than 60 full body sessions of home laser hair removal - for most people this would take around 3 years at a higher than average usage rate.

The chart paints a similar story.  The SensEpil is still the most expensive device and the Philips Lumea Comfort is still the cheapest device.  

At 60 full body sessions, you can see that the Remington becomes quite a lot cheaper per session than the Tria and the Smooth Skin simply because a user would have to buy completely new Tria and Smooth Skin device after this amount of usage.

We Made a Few Assumptions Here...

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get confirmation of an important aspect:

  • I haven't been able to get clarification from the respective manufacturers how many full body sessions the Smooth Skin (120,000 flashes) and the Philips Lumea (100,000 flashes) can cover before they run out of flashes.  By looking at the spot size and doing a few calculations, I can make an educated guess that they will both last around 60 full body sessions (the same amount as the Tria). 

In Conclusion

  • ​The Philips Lumea is the most cost effective device in all usage amounts
  • For less than 7 full body sessions of usage then the Tria 4X and the Smooth Skin are the most expensive devices
  • For more than 7 full body sessions then the Silk'n SensEpil becomes the most expensive device
  • For extended duration, the Silk'n SensEpil is multiple times more expensive than the other devices

However when choosing a home laser hair removal device, cost is not the most important factor for most people.  Have a look at our full round up review to get the complete picture!

Check out the full and complete home laser
hair removal round up review

Paul
 

I'm a computer science graduate, have a passion for self development and created this site as a side project due to the lack of complete, understandable, helpful and truthful information about hair removal available online.

>