Best: Overall

Rating: 9/10

• Machine type: IPL
• Power: Mains
• Cordless: Yes
• Features: Eight speed settings
• What’s in the box: Device, adapter, pouch, safety glasses, user guide
• Usage: For the face, neck and intimate areas, use once a week for 12 weeks; for legs, arms, underarms, stomach, chest and back, use twice a week for 12 weeks
• Flashes: 300,000

One of the more affordable models on the IPL market is this Bondi laser handset, created by Trish Coulton who has over two decades of experience in hair removal. The protective sunglasses are a nice touch, especially as the flash is quite bright, and many of the more expensive devices we tried didn’t include a pair.

It has eight intensity settings and a very simple setup process: simply plug it in, pick your setting, put the head flat on the skin and press the black button to zap the hairs. Suitable for sensitive skin, it’s also designed to target light brown, medium brown, dark brown and black hair, and while it’s completely painless, it emits a slight warmth.

This device is recommended for use once to twice a week for 12 weeks, and after three weeks, we began to see sparser hair regrowth on both our underarms and legs – the speediest we’ve ever experienced with an IPL machine. This is perfect if you’re keen to enjoy the long-lasting, painless results of IPL without the lengthy wait while also being great value for money.

Read the full Bondi laser hair removal handset review

Best: For first time users of IPL

Rating: 9/10

• Machine type: IPL
• Power: Mains
• Cordless: No
• Features: Skintone sensor
• What’s in the box: Device, instruction manual
• Usage: Once a week for 12 weeks and then top-up every two to four weeks
• Flashes: 100

This chic black and gold corded design won top marks for its compactness, fitting perfectly in the palm and being easy to store. The accompanying instruction booklet is easy to follow and perfect if you’re a first time user of IPL and are keen to get it right.

To use, you press the button on the centre of the device until it flashes white, then place it flat on the skin. It will flash red if it’s not laying flat, so you are always aware when it’s working or if you need to readjust the position. With each treatment it gets easier, and we loved using this while watching Netflix, as there was a little warmth but besides that, no painful sensation at all.

We found that when treating our underarms, the best way was to use a stamping motion rather than gliding it across the skin (the latter works better on the legs). After two treatments our hair was growing back thinner and, by week three, it grew back but seemed unable to get longer than an initial prickle. By the time week six rolled around, hair regrowth had dramatically dwindled.

Read the full SmoothSkin bare+ ultrafast IPL hair removal device review

Best: For fast results

Rating: 8/10

• Machine type: IPL
• Power: Mains
• Cordless: No
• Features: Skintone sensor, large treatment window
• What’s in the box: Device, attachments, Philips satin compact trimmer, storage pouch
• Usage: First four treatments carried out every two weeks, touch up every four weeks
• Flashes: 250,000

The set-up process for this machine is simple – just plug it in, press the on button on the head and take your pick from five intensity settings. It’s surprisingly lightweight and, despite being corded, being tethered doesn’t stop you reaching trickier areas, like the back of the legs. To efficiently treat each section, it needs to sit flat on the skin before it flashes, and there’s a handy white light on the back of the device which indicates when it’s working.

It’s almost painless, delivering a slight warm sensation between settings one to four, but by five there is a pinch, though it’s not so strong that we had to stop. The main head is perfect for gliding over larger areas like the upper and lower legs, but for underarms the precision head is ideal – to use, stamp it, wait for it to flash and lift. It’s efficient but not built for speed, so you’ll need approximately 30 minutes to treat your legs.

As the flash is very bright, we would have liked to have seen a pair of protective glasses included for the price. Lastly, it requires use every two weeks for the first four treatments, then a touch up every four weeks. That big gap in between means it can be easy to forget when you next need to treat your body hair, so we’d recommend setting a reminder in your calendar to stay on top of it.

That said, we saw our hair begin to decrease in density and thickness after three treatments, which is faster than most of the devices we tried.

Read the full Philips lumea BRI/923 review

Best: For legs

Rating: 7/10

• Machine type: IPL
• Power: Mains
• Cordless: Yes
• Features: Six intensity settings, five attachment heads, skintone sensor, two treatment modes
• What’s in the box: Device, treatment heads, charging cable, storage bag and instructions
• Usage: Every two weeks for the first four weeks, then once every four weeks afterwards for body hair. For facial hair, use it every two weeks for the first five weeks, then every four weeks
• Flashes: Unlimited

Sensica’s device is much larger than many on our list and a tad bulky, balanced out by its cordless design, which helps to target harder-to-reach areas, as well as the freedom to use it in any room, rather than having to sit by a plug socket.

As soon as it landed on our doorstep it was ready to be used straight away, with a skintone-detection option and six energy settings to choose from. There’s two heads to pick between, a large treatment window and a precise head, which combined can be used on legs, arms, stomach, back, shoulders, bikini area, underarms and face.

For the most effective treatment with every use, the machine head needs to be flat on the skin, and there’s a handy pulse and glide mode, which allows you to glide it across an area without needing to continuously press the button – perfect for legs. Simply press the button down for three consecutive pulses. For smaller sections, such as underarms, Sensica recommends using a stamp motion and pressing the button each time.

Despite its large size, it’s not difficult to use or manoeuvre around the thighs, shins or contours of your underarms, and within four weeks we saw our hair becoming less dense with slower regrowth, while each treatment remained painless.

Read the full Sensica sensilight pro IPL hair removal device review

Best: Corded IPL machine

Rating: 8/10

• Machine type: IPL
• Power: Mains
• Cordless: No
• Features: Skintone sensor
• What’s in the box: Device, adaptor cord, precision head, Venus razor, suede pouch
• Usage: Once a week for 4-12 weeks and then top-up every one to two months
• Flashes: 400,00

This is one of the chicest devices we tried, arriving in a soft suede, zipped, compartmentalised pouch, making it easy to store and less bulky than most. It’s incredibly lightweight with slick gold detailing and a lengthy cable so that, while it isn’t cordless, it’s not restrictive. It also has an accompanying blue and green Venus razor, which is ideal for ensuring your skin is smooth before use so that you achieve the best results.

It’s very easy to use, with just three settings, and while it’s a tad noisy, it’s extremely reactive, taking us only 15 minutes to glide it across the top and lower legs, underarms and face. There’s a precision head which you can switch out when treating smaller areas like the face or armpits, which clicks on and off with ease. As pleased as we were with it, we would have liked to have seen a pair of protective glasses included.

Progress was slow and subtle but if you stick with it, we found hair regrowth was sparser and thinner, particularly on our underarms by week five.

Best: For underarms

Rating: 7/10

• Machine type: IPL
• Power: Mains
• Cordless: No
• Features: Five intensity settings, skintone sensor, treatment plan on app
• What’s in the box: Device, storage case, cleaning cloth, adapter, user manuals, warranty booklet
• Usage: Every two weeks for the first two months, then every four weeks, and then top up treatments as needed
• Flashes: 400,000

This corded device comes in a padded protective box which makes it easy to store when not in use. The simple design is lightweight enough to operate using one hand, pressing continuously down on the large button.

There are five intensity settings and they can be customised using the Silk’n infinity app. It also allows you to set reminders for your next treatment, a feature we loved as it can be easy to forget.

Surprisingly, when placed flat on the skin the flash is not so bright, but if you have sensitive peepers, we’d recommend using it during the day. Silk’n uses eHPL – the brand says this mix of galvanic and optical energy, widens your pores and lets the light reach hair follicles without irritation.

By week four we saw underarm hair thinning and after treatment five, regrowth was minimal. It’s totally painless and reasonably priced for its fast results.

Read the full Silk'n infinity permanent hair remover review

Best: Cordless IPL machine

Rating: 8/10

• Machine type: IPL
• Power: Mains
• Cordless: Yes
• Features: Skintone sensor, five speed settings
• What’s in the box: Device, adaptor, four attachments for body, face, bikini and underarms,
• Usage: Every two weeks for the first four treatments, then top-ups every four weeks
• Flashes: 450,000

This newer IPL device from Philips is much larger than the lumea BRI/92, more expensive and comes with greater versatility. There are specific detachable heads for the device that are designed for the face, legs, bikini and body, each coming with a helpful diagram so you always use the right one. There’s also a quilted bag for easy storage included (although fitting it all in was a tight squeeze).

The biggest difference between this and the other Philips model is the size – this design is a third bigger, but not hugely heavier, with double the number of detachable heads. Secondly, this one can be used both corded and cordless: ideal if you want the best of both worlds. The skintone sensor is a clever feature, being able to detect your skintone and recommend the best intensity setting out of the five available. The interface was the most detailed we tried, but not overly complicated. At the back of the head of the device there’s a light strip that flashes white when it has full contact with skin, and orange if your skin is too dark to treat.

While we found this effective at reducing hair regrowth, it did take six treatments before we noticed a real difference – slightly longer than the other devices on our list. We did enjoy using the Lumea app to schedule treatments and set reminders, making it easy to stay on top of scheduling. As useful as the cordless offering is, we did find using it corded worked better as the flashes emitted faster, speeding up the treatments.

Best: For laser hair removal

Rating: 7/10

• Machine type: Laser
• Power: Mains
• Cordless: Yes
• Features: Skintone sensor, five intensity settings, LED display
• What’s in the box: Device, adaptor, charging pack, instructions
• Usage: Every two weeks 12 weeks
• Flashes: N/a

This cordless laser device is another big design with a fast setup, taking our reviewer less than 30 seconds to get zapping away. To start, you turn it on and hold the red light at the base (the skin sensor) on the area you want to treat. Once it has beeped twice, it’s safe for use. There’s five intensity settings, which can be adjusted by pressing the pink button, and Tria recommends placing the laser head across the skin in overlapping circles. The head is small, which does take some patience when treating your legs and underarms, and diligence is key to avoid varying hair growth.

In terms of sensation, this one was painful, delivering a hot feel on level three and by level five, it had increased to a pinching, sharp sting that hurt less than waxing, sure, but was painful nonetheless. This did subside slightly with frequent use, however, as there’s less hair to zap with each treatment.

You’ll know you’re using it correctly when it beeps (it needs to be sitting flat on the skin) and it emits a different sound if it’s not placed properly. The LED display will also tell you each time you’ve stamped each area and keep a tally. We began to see results by our sixth treatment, with fewer, thinner and sparser hairs. Our only gripe is that it recommends using it with Tria’s calm soothing gel (£35, Triabeauty.co.uk), which, despite the cost of the machine, doesn’t come included.

Read the full Tria hair removal laser 4X review