Philips Lumea Prestige IPL – Hair Removal Device + Satin
Philips Lumea Prestige IPL – Hair Removal Device + Satin Compact Pen Trimmer, Alternative for Laser Hair Removal (Model BRI949/00)
What is IPL and how does it work?
Intense Pulsed Light uses warm gentle light to break the cycle of hair regrowth and put the hair to sleep. Gentle, pain-free pulses of light are applied at the root and, after several treatments, hair is prevented from growing back for up to 6 months, leaving you feeling more confident.*
*Median hair reductions after 12 treatments: 78% on legs, 64% on bikini, 65% on armpits
Suitable hair and skin types
Philips Lumea Prestige works effectively, easily and safely on a wide variety of hair and skin types. It works on naturally dark blonde, brown and black colored hairs and on skin tones from very white to dark brown.
6 months* of hair-free smoothness
Proven effectiveness
Up to 92% hair reduction in just 3 treatments**. The first 4 treatments must be carried out every 2 weeks. Touch up every 4 weeks. After 8 touch up treatments you can be hair-free for 6 months.*
Step 1
Remove hair by shaving, epilating or waxing.
Step 2
Detect your skin tone and choose the comfortable light setting.
Step 3
Start your treatment holding Lumea at 90 degrees.
Step 4
Press the flash button as you move over your body area.
FREE Lumea App
The Lumea App is free to download and offers a unique and personalised IPL experience. The App helps you create your personalised treatment schedule per body area, with tips and advice.
Philips IPL Hair Removal devices
  Lumea Prestige, BRI955/00 | ||
|---|---|---|
Skin tone suitabilityWhite to dark brown | Skin tone suitabilityWhite to dark brown | Skin tone suitabilityWhite to dark brown |
SmartSkin sensor✓ | SmartSkin sensor✓ | SmartSkin sensor✓ |
Cordless / Corded useCorded only | Cordless / Corded useBoth | Cordless / Corded useBoth |
Intelligent curved attachments4 Attachments: Body, Face, Bikini, Armpits | Intelligent curved attachments4 Attachments: Body, Face, Bikini, Armpits | Intelligent curved attachments3 Attachments: Body, Face, Precision Areas |
AccessoriesStorage pouch, Satin Compact pen trimmer | AccessoriesStorage pouch | AccessoriesStorage pouch |
| Brand: | Philips |
| Origin: | Slovenia |
I am a male buyer and I’ve noticed that there aren’t many previews out there for the male audience!
I have got a hairy chest and a slightly hairy back. I got tired of it and I wanted to get rid of that hair, thus I decided to give this machine a go. I was rather annoyed to see that the instructions and the app are always referring to the female audience, something that I find a bit outdated nowadays, as I’m pretty sure there are lots of men out there who try this product too.
It’s been a month since I started the treatment and I can already notice the difference. The hair grows a lot slower and my skin is becoming a lot smoother. At the moment, I can still see patches of hair in different areas of my chest, which grow a lot quicker than the rest, but the treatment isn’t over yet.
The machine is definitely a bit pricey, but it’s worth its money. It’s made of strong materials, it looks sturdy and of great quality. It performs great and the intervals between flashes are pretty quick, getting the job done quicker.
Is it painful?!
It can be! It really depends on what area you’re treating, the intensity you use and, of course, your pain tolerance!
It arrives with a nice carry on bag, so you can store it and take it with you when you travel. Keep in mind, whenever you go through airport security, you might need to remove it from your bag, because the airport security might need to perform some extra checks on the item.
After all, it is a nice product and any men or women are thinking of buying this product, I’d recommend to give it a go!
I’ve been using this for the past 6 months and I can say that I’m pleased with it, of course it doesn’t do miracles but it is a very good improvement especially for the skin – since I’ve been using this my skin looks so much better, strawberry skin has improved and also the texture of my skin. Hairs are still growing on my legs and the bikini zone but in patches only so consider myself happy with this product.
I have only did one treatment so far and I can already see a huge difference in the speed of growth and the length I am not coming in the hope that it will disappear completely but it is enough from me that it barely grows and if it does in a very slow speed .
I am hoping it will come to a point that will need touch ups ones a month and won’t fell the need to check my face every morning and evening like I did before using it .
So yes I found my miracle and finger crossed it will keep staying like that
I will update after a few more treatments to let you know what difference it made
So far I am over the moon for buy it even though it has a high price tag for me it is all worth it .
I went for the corded version as anything with a battery in it has a limited lifespan dependent on the battery (ultimately this does too but it will run out when the flashes run out instead of when the battery has gone through all of its possible charge-recharge cycles). Although I did go for corded, it was easier to wield than the Braun ones as I just have to move the actual head instead of having a base unit as well which it’s wired into.
The different attachments work well. I didn’t quite understand why I needed them so wasn’t willing to pay more for them but I read this was to get optimal contact in the areas they are meant to treat and ensure the flash goes off and I can say they definitely do their job well. I haven’t had anywhere near the kind of nightmare I had with Braun devices not flashing because it wasn’t happy with the contact with the skin.
I am a wuss when it comes to pain so I want something as pain free as possible (otherwise I’d just wax or something). This doesn’t really hurt on most areas e.g. arm, face, etc. but it does hurt a bit where hair is thicker e.g. armpit/bikini. The pain is bearable and just like a snap with a rubber band and a quick flash of warmth, it’s a lot more comfortable than the Braun IPL so I prefer it; but, ideally I want zero pain.
This time I decided rather than focusing on an entire limb, to focus on small areas I knew I could stick to and keep up with the every 2-4 week routine so e.g. do half an arm instead of a whole one, don’t attempt arms and legs at the same time, don’t attempt the entire bikini region at the same time as it hurts a bit. This approach has worked well and I’ve stuck to the routine and now am hair free in many of the areas treated. Note that armpit and bikini areas will take a lot more treatments to become hair free because hair is thicker.
Another feature that helps is the slide and flash for quick and easy treatment of larger areas.
Overall whilst this is expensive, this is a great product that works well and is worth the time and effort to be hair free and the freedom and confidence that comes with that. It’s also a product where a lot more thought has gone into the design and features than Braun so I’d happily buy another Philips IPL machine if this one runs out of flashes before I’m finished with my treatments.
I cant believe it.
Even though, after reading all the good reviews about it I decided to take a leap of faith and bought it and I can’t be more satisfied!!! My hair stopped growing since my first session and after the second 80% of my hair on my face, legs, arms and armpit are are gone and they start to grow back after 4/5 weeks and significantly thinner!!! Can’t be happier as I always struggled been hairy but this product solved it all !!!!
It takes time to get used to it and it is a bit fiddly. The only downside is that it takes ages to do full legs and it might be painful in sensitive areas. It worked best on my legs and underarms. I have light yellow-ish skin and light brown hair.
I’ve had good results on my underarms, arms, bikini line and stomach (photos attached of my underarms after not shaving for 1 week and arm of 4 weeks not shaving) – on my stomach it’s stopped growing completely, the other places it’s mostly gone and doesn’t bother me to the point that I shave every fortnight or less. The manual does say that you shouldn’t remove hair between laser treatments once you are in the top-up phase, I’ve found that a fortnight is fine, but more often than that the hair growth increases.
It’s worked pretty well on my legs, but the hair growth hasn’t really stopped on my knees and some random spots. I can still leave it a fortnight between shaves though. It hasn’t worked on my face really but I didn’t have a lot of hair there anyway. I’m persevering with my chin but a few stubborn hairs are still coming through.
Overall I’m glad I invested in this – I don’t need to shave as often as I used to and I’m not concious of it being seen. I bought a Used – Like New condition one as well which was 50 cheaper and it’s been absolutely fine.
I had gotten increasingly frustrated with shaving my legs, as within a mere few hours I would have dark roots showing and 5’o’clock shadows. No matter how closely and carefully I shaved, I could always see the base of the hair follicles (I almost believe the top layer of my leg skin must be translucent?!) which annoyed me to no end. It also left me with awful strawberry legs whenever I fake tanned, and I tried every trick in the book (exfoliating, I’ve cubes to close pores, not shaving till after fake tan application) nothing worked and the tan would seep into my hair follicles. Hence another motivation for buying this!
Within 2 uses I already noticed a big improvement. I’ve now used it every 2 weeks for about 3 months and my leg hair growth has slowed down considerably and the visible hair follicles/pores are far less visible! I can now shave my legs and happily venture out in shorts for over a week without worrying about having to re-shave. They stay smooth for so long! Obviously some hairs get missed at each session so the hair loss isn’t consistent everywhere immediately, but practice and repeat treatments will get you there.
For reference I have light Caucasian skin and dark, almost black hairs on my legs, so I believe I’m the ‘perfect’ candidate for this.
The device itself is easy to use, I use in setting 5 and don’t feel any discomfort. It’s a slightly hot ping but completely bearable and you can change the settings to your preference (it also has a reader to select the best setting for your skin type!).
One important point to remember is to keep this far away from tattoos! I accidentally zapped the side of one I have on my ankle and it hurt like hell!
All in all I’d recommend this product if you have a hard time shaving and have dark hair and light skin. It really does work. It’s not 100% gotten rid of my leg hair but I’m more than happy with the outcome so far and look forward to it continuing with more treatments.
Also, to note, I’m not religious about doing the treatments on the timed schedule (every 2weeks), sometimes I’m off by several days, it hasn’t seemed to negatively effected my results though.
* Hair on the legs is about 90% gone.
* Hair on the stomach area is entirely gone.
* Arms – I started this one later because I wasn’t sure about shaving my arms and I wanted to see if the device really worked at first. Three treatments in and hair is about half gone. Will need additional 2-3 for full removal.
* Neck, chin, upper lip and underarms – surprisingly poor results, especially on the armpits. Seems to make no difference at all.
I’ll keep treating these areas for a while longer, as different areas respond differently, but I am a bit surprised at the lack of full results here.
Overall I’m still satisfied and I’d still recommend the device, but do keep these things in mind.
Original review below.
***
Three treatments in and I’m already noticing less hair everywhere I treated (legs, stomach, underarms, chin). It’s also coming back finer and is easier to remove in between sessions.
However, worth noting is that I’m the prime targeted audience for this device as I have very white skin with no “imperfections”, such as birthmarks, scars, freckles etc, and I have very dark hair.
I also follow all the instructions to a tee which seems to have paid off. It’s a bit of an effort to treat the entire body, but final results are worth it.
I found using higher settings also gave me faster results, but I did experience pain doing this in more sensitive areas and had to lower the settings. The treatment is basically painless, the device just gets a little hot, but occasionally you’ll feel a pinging sensation (like an elastic band). I find this usually happens if I missed a hair while shaving or hair in that area is thicker.
I used setting 4 for my legs and underarms and have very little re growth now, only in smaller patches I missed with the laser. It’s fantastic no longer having to constantly wax!
However I’m also doing a full “Hollywood” on my private area and found that the highest comfortable setting is 3. I would say I think I have a fairly high pain threshold as I do my own at home “Hollywood” waxes, for the most part it’s painless but the occasional ping in this area can be really intense in the higher settings so be careful! I’ve seen much less progress using the the lower setting here, but some areas are starting to show less re growth now and the hair is significantly thinner, so I’ve just added additional treatments instead of moving to touch ups. I can see the hair disappearing completely here with more time too!
If you find things painful I’d also recommend icing the area first! I found this very helpful, especially doing the “Hollywood” treatment as that area is much more sensitive. Overall however, it’s nothing compared to waxing and it really is a long term investment money wise!
Upper lip and chin was very hairy before, needing to pluck every other day and these hairs have completely stopped growing in 3 treatments !! Underarms have really reduced the speed of re-growth too and bikini line is a work In progress (there are areas that have stopped growing but its very patchy, nothing I’m sure a few more treatments won’t sort out!) Overall completely thrilled with it, I’ve wanted to buy this for 4+ years and I’m pleased I finally have. There are 5 settings, it has a handy function that tells you which one would be best for your skin (although you can choose any to suit yourself) mine mostly came out at 5, which is the highest setting and although it does get a bit warm after long usage, it’s mostly pain free (on the highest setting) lower setting would be even less so.
Don’t usually write reviews but feel compelled to tell you all about it, and my long life ambition of becoming hair free xx
Not as good as I had hoped, also not as bad as I suspected.
I now have almost hair free legs but other places such as under arms and bikini line are proving stubborn.
Quite a faff but decent results overall all things considered.
I will likely appreciate it more as summer is coming so having smooth legs with little continual effort will be fab
Update: the Lumia gets hot very quickly, if I do my underarms it is so hot that I have to cool it down before starting lower legs and then again cool it down by turning off / resting half way through each leg.
A faff and very uncomfortable. I wouldn’t really recommend this, I think they have some way to go before a good home model comes out and for now they don’t justify the price to be fair.
I bought this hoping to reduce the amount I have to shave ahead of the Summer. I have thick dark hair and pale skin which according to the usage leaflet is ideal. My hair growth is fast. If I shave my legs in the morning they are stubbly by teatime. I followed the instructions to the letter and have used it 5 times with about 10 days in between and my hair is growing so much more slowly now, my skin is smoother and it doesn’t have that shadow effect on my underarm anymore that you get shaving dark hair. The first time I used it I noticed that my hair took longer to grow through and now I can go a week or so without shaving. It takes about half an hour to do legs, underarms and bikini line and the continous pulse is great for larger areas. It does not hurt. If anything it feels like being lightly flicked with an elastic band. It is not suitable for all hair/skin types so read the suitability guidelines before buying. You have to commit to doing it at regular intervals so if you don’t want to do that you will be wasting your money. I am very happy with this purchase. Bring on the Summer skirts!
I knew before it arrived that I would need to commit to an initial 10 week cycle of treatment which I was prepared to do, especially if it really did deliver results. I also made sure that I read the instructions and tips carefully before I started the treatments, even a 24hour skin test (something that I often don’t). I was determined to do this right.
My commitment has paid off, I am so happy with the result. I have treated my legs, underarm, bikini line and upper lip and am about to complete the 10 week treatment. Bikini line and underarm hair all but gone (never been so neat and tidy) and, save a couple of patches which I have clearly missed during the treatment, my legs are hair free. My upper lip hair had gone after three treatments. I can not believe how successful this has been and would definitely recommend. Considering the price of professional treatment, there is no competition over what is the better value, if you are prepared to put in the work and ensure that you stick to the treatment regime.
The treatment itself is largely pain free, it feels like a sharp prick. When you do your first treatment you do a test to measure the recommended light level (1-5), and if it’s comfortable to do so you can increase this up to level 5. Different body parts can take different levels, on my legs I could crank it right up to 5 but my underarm could only take a 3.
There is also an App, which I have found really helpful to track my treatments, light levels and remind me when my next treatment is due. It also has videos offering tips, which I have only just watched but wish I had done earlier – if you can seek out the video giving tips on how not to miss spots on your legs, it would have been great if it had been part of the intro when you download it.
All I can add is, if you’re not sure whether to invest – DO IT. THIS WORKS!!! Really very impressed and delighted with the results and looking forward to finally having smooth legs this summer.
Hair started growing back and got worse and worse and so I decided to take the plunge and invest in this gadget. So far it has slowed hair growth right down so much so that my arm pits are pretty much smooth. I’ve had three treatments. I have broken the rules and used the lumea once a week instead of every two weeks but haven’t had any reactions to the device and I’ll continue to use it this way.
It will change your life particularly if you hate shaving and waxing doesn’t give the longer lasting results you want.
The thing to bear in mind when you use this is that the lamp has approximately 250,000 flashes and so this product most likely won’t last forever and you will need to keep up with treatments. I will definitely by another one when this lumea dies.
I didn’t have a top-up treatment from 2017 and so unsurprising the hair grew back. The lumea is definitely a more financially viable option that going to a salon for IPL.
Have used in on the face, this being the main reason I bought it, and have done my 4th treatment yesterday. Only 2nd treatment on lower legs so far.
I can see major improvements on my face. Was really becoming a burden to deal with the hair growth. It was even growing so fast that I had to pluck it every week. There are still some stubborn hairs, but I hope those will be gone too, and they are growing back a lot slower.
I love that you can set the intensity to match your skin and hair colour but also your resistance to pain. For example, I can do my shin area on level 4 but the calves with level 3.
Absolutely in love with the app! It’s as if I have my personal assistant guiding me through every treatment and reminding me when the next one is due. Also love that after the treatment, the app asks you a set of questions and offers advice depending on your experience.
Have not done upper legs as that area is better done with assistance. Would also have to avoid any tattoed areas to prevent any skin damage. But I am fine with that.
Overall, I am so happy that I bought Lumea. It really is an investment and is improving my life.
As an advice: read all the guides that the app offers. Once all the information sinks in, using it is a piece of cake.
Never injured myself, never got red skin, not even when I used high intensity on calves, which did hurt.
Week 1: I patch tested and had no reaction. The following day I did my legs, armpits, “moustache” and a small area of bikini line. I was filled with excitement, and looked for new areas to treat!
Week 3: second application on all of the above. Still really excited, but not seeing a huge difference. I felt I had slower leg hair growth but wasn’t sure if it was just wishful thinking. I’d realised by this stage that I wouldn’t be hair free by summer but I was prepared to commit to have a shaveless summer 2022!
Week 4: no treatment, but I realised my hair on my legs was not only growing back more slowly, but the hairs that I had were just falling out. I stopped shaving my legs as I realised the hair was so sparse that it wasn’t actually noticeable anymore. Added my “beard” to the list – maybe 6 scattered hairs.
Week 5: flashed all previously mentioned areas with the lumea. Started to find it somewhat time consuming, so watched telly whilst robotically using it.
Week 7: time of writing this review. I’ve just treated all the same areas again.
Legs: hairless
Moustache: hairless (I nearly forgot to do it as it’s such a non issue!)
Beard: still present but I’m a couple of sessions behind.
Bikini line: hairless
Armpits: still hairy. I have darker pigmented skin here, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it never worked but I shall keep going.
It turns out they weren’t naive hopes after all!!
I find it painless, but it can get a bit hot sometimes. When that happens I pull it away for a couple of seconds and then carry on. I find it awkward to use in certain areas – backs of legs for example. Maybe I’m not very flexible, but sitting on the sofa watching telly and contorting to get a large “travel hairdryer” sized machine into the nooks and crannies can be tricky. It also gets not heavy exactly, but slightly tiring to hold and press if you’re doing a large area. I tend to use it for about half an hour in total each session. Personally, I found all of these minor niggles were irrelevant compared to the benefit of never shaving again.
Conclusion: an amazing gadget! Definitely worth it, but you need to carefully consider hair colour and skin tone. You MUST be dedicated; don’t get one if you’re the sort of person who flakes and doesn’t have follow through and commitment.