Philips Support

Is Philips Lumea suitable for all skin and hair types?

Published on 2016-11-23

No, Philips Lumea is not suitable for all skin and hair types. Find out for which skin tones and hair types Philips Lumea is suitable.

Lumea Skin and hair suitability

IPL treatment works because the energy of the light is absorbed by the melanin (type of pigment) of the hair. Since blonde, grey and white hairs do not contain any or enough melanin, IPL treatment will never work on these hair colours. Red hair contains a different type of melanin which is not responsive to IPL.
Lumea is also not suitable for dark skin tones (Philips Lumea models BRI860, BRI861, BRI862, BRI863, BRI864, SC1981-SC1985, SC1991-SC1999) or very dark skin tones (all models), as it can cause skin damage such as burns, blisters or discolouring.

Skin tone/hair colour chart

Always check the skin tone/hair colour chart (see below)
Use the light intensity (setting 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) that is recommended for you. If the treatment feels uncomfortable, reduce the intensity. The treatment should not feel painful at any time.
Different areas of the body can be more sensitive than others. Simply adapt the intensity according to the sensation you experience.

Skin tone sensor

Philips Lumea comes with a skin tone/colour sensor (only models BRI860, BRI861, BRI862, BRI863, BRI864, SC1981-SC1985, SC1996, SC1997, SC1999); this sensor ensures that a pulse will be emitted only on suitable skin colours.

The information on this page applies to the following models: SC2001/00 .

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