The Philips Lumea IPL 9000 Series with SenseIQ uses SmartPulse light technology for clinically proven, long-lasting smoothness. Reviewers noted the 4 dedicated attachments for different body areas and the SmartSkin sensors that keep treatment gentle. You have to shave or wax before each session, and it does nothing for fine hair colors. It's built for long-term hair reduction, with a personalized Lumea app to track your treatments.
Full review
SmartSkin reads skin tone and picks the intensity
The sensor that scans skin tone and recommends one of five intensity levels is the feature that most separates this from cheaper IPL devices, because the commonest way to get a bad result at home is to guess the setting. The Telegraph's Annabel Fenwick Elliott, who used the 9000 Series for six months, credits it with keeping treatments comfortable and effective without the trial and error older devices demanded. SmartPulse handles the light itself, balancing energy, colour and pulse duration.
Nearly 5 cm of window, and four heads
The body attachment covers nearly 5 cm² per flash against roughly 3 cm² on typical rivals, which is the difference between treating both lower legs in about ten minutes and treating them in twenty. Four attachments cover body, face, underarm and bikini, each shaped for the contour it sits against, and the handset switches between stamp-and-flash for small areas and slide-and-flash for large ones. Note that the three-attachment variant of this series combines underarm and bikini into one head.
Results build over months, not sessions
Philips claims substantial reduction after two sessions; the honest picture from long-term use is slower. The Telegraph reviewer put her own result at roughly 80% reduction across legs, bikini and underarms after six months of following the schedule — fortnightly at first, then monthly for maintenance. Nomipalony has used the same series for close to three years and reports the effect holding. Compliance is the variable that matters most: skipping the maintenance flashes lets regrowth return, and missing a patch leaves a visible stripe.
Shaving first is not optional
Every session has to be preceded by shaving or waxing, which means the device does not replace the routine it is meant to end until the reduction actually arrives. It adds real time to each treatment, and it is the single most cited reason owners drift away from IPL before finishing the course. The handset itself is virtually painless — a warm tingle, sharper in the bikini area — which is a genuine advantage over waxing.
Nothing for blonde, grey or red hair
IPL works by heating melanin, so blonde, ginger and white or grey hair are outside what this device can treat, and no setting changes that. It also cannot be used over freckles, tattoos, cuts or eczema, or on lips, nipples, areolas and the other areas the manual lists; there are waiting periods after tanning and after AHAs, BHAs or isotretinoin. That is a longer list of exclusions than most buyers expect, and it is worth reading before spending this much.
It gets hot, and the battery will not do a body
The handset warms up noticeably over a long session, to the point that the Telegraph reviewer recommends pausing rather than pushing through. Cordless operation is convenient for touch-ups and awkward angles but will not survive a full-body treatment, so the mains lead comes out for anything substantial — which makes the cordless capability less of a selling point than the price difference suggests. The lamp is rated at 450,000 flashes, far more than a single owner will use.
Strengths
- +Clinically proven to achieve years of salon-like smoothness
- +4 dedicated attachments for face, body, armpits, and bikini areas
- +SmartSkin sensors provide gentle and effective treatment
- +Powered by SmartPulse light technology for long-lasting hair reduction
Watch-outs
- −Requires regular hair removal (shaving or waxing) before treatment
- −Not effective on blonde, ginger, or white/grey hair
How it compares
The Philips Lumea IPL 9000 offers 4 dedicated attachments and SmartSkin sensors, which are more versatile than the basic features of the Braun Silk Expert Pro 5 or Nood The Flasher 2.0. However, it lacks the smart app integration of the Braun Skin i-expert and doesn't provide the ice-cooling comfort of the Ulike Air+.
Rating sources
“It’s a robust, effective and advanced solution that’s taken me from very furry to almost completely and permanently hairless.”
Our 4.3 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
