The Lumea Prestige is Philips’ top of the line home IPL hair removal machine. It’s one of the best home hair removal devices around, though pricier than most alternatives.
Where to Buy
Pros
Cordless
Body, Face and “Precision” attachments
Claimed 92% effectiveness after three treatments (though see our notes, below)
No replacement parts, bulbs or gels needed
Cons
Cannot be used on very dark skin or very light hair
One of the pricier home IPL machines
As with most home “laser” hair removal devices, the Philips Prestige is in fact an IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) machine. This tech is safe for home use, and with regular sessions, can indeed lead to successful permanent hair reduction.
Unlike the cheaper Lumea Advance, the Prestige is cordless, making things that much easier when you’re trying to reach those trickier areas, or doing your hair removal away from a plug point.
Breaking Down the Manufacturer Claims
Philips claims that tests of the Prestige’s effectiveness show 92% hair reduction after three treatments. Let’s delve into that claim a little, here. The tests in question were conducted on 55 women, using Philips IPL on their legs. In fact, just half (27) of the test subjects reached this 92% or higher hair removal rate.
A further claim is that after 12 treatments, you can enjoy six months of hair-free skin (presumably, before regrowth prompts the need for further treatments). Again, let’s dig into this. According to its study, after 12 months Philips found a median hair reduction of 78% on legs, 64% on the bikini area, and 65% on armpits.
The stats are encouraging, though we’d advise against assuming the main headline claims will be true for you. For example, don’t assume that only three treatments with the Philips IPL machine will give you a 92% hair reduction – this wasn’t the case even for half of Philips’ own test subjects. Above all, it will be affected by factors such as your skin colour, hair colour, the life-cycle stages of your hairs at point of treatment, and your correct usage of the device.
Is Laser Hair Removal Permanent? See our full explainer guide
Features and Extras
The Prestige comes with three attachments for different body parts. The main head attachment has a large 4.1cm squared light window – that’s one of the largest around for any IPL device, and should help with faster sessions when doing both legs or other large body areas.
There’s also a “Precision” head attachment with a smaller 3cm squared light window – Philips recommends using this for armpits and bikini line. Finally, there’s a head attachment for Face treatments, with an extra small 2cm squared light window.
Whichever attachment you use, the Lumea Prestige takes advantage of Philips’ SenseIQ technology. Also known as its “SmartSkin” detector, this detects your skin tone and adjusts to the ideal settings as you go – though, you can opt to overrule this with your preferred setting.
To help you stick to a regular schedule of usage, Philips encourages you to use its Lumea IPL app for iOS or Android. This lets you set a calendar, itemised to the body parts you are targeting, and the app will give you prompts and reminders when you’re due an IPL session.
Skin and Hair Type Suitability
Like many home IPL machines, the Prestige cannot be used on white, grey, light blonde or red hair. Philips claims it will happily work on black, brown or “dark blonde” hair types.
Unfortunately, this product isn’t suitable for very dark skin. Philips claims it will be fine for “dark brown” skin tones, but we’d caution that even in such cases, you’ll be limited to the weaker settings and may not get as impactful a hair removal result.
Verdict - Should You Buy It?
If you’re after a home IPL machine, the Philips Prestige is one of the most generously-featured you can choose. It’s on the pricey side, but the Prestige has a great range of attachments, a handy app to track your progress and set reminders, and it’s cordless, for brilliant ease of use.
Where to Buy
