Well, I found this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4115894/. Notice it is from 2012. If it were that great, you would think it would be more common.
Comparison of SHR Mode IPL System with Alexandrite and Nd: YAG Lasers For Leg Hair Reduction
Şemsettin Karaca, Seval Doğruk Kaçar, and Pınar Ozuğuz
Multiple lasers and light sources are currently available for hair removal and many studies comparing efficacy and safety exist. SHR mode IPL is a technique that gives the total energy in divided doses with fewer side effects. We compared a SHR mode IPL system with alexandrite and Nd: YAG lasers for leg hair reduction
Material and Methods:
Twenty-five female participants with skin types II–IV, underwent treatment of unwanted hair on the cruris. Three selected areas were randomly treated with the SHR mode IPL system, Alexandrite laser and Nd: YAG laser in three sessions. Hair reduction was evaluated with digital photography by a blinded assessor every 6 weeks and 6 months after the last session. Pain severity, side effects and patient satisfaction analysis were also investigated.
Results:
Twenty-one participants completed the trial. The mean hair reductions in 6 weeks after the last treatment were 50% for the IPL system, 53% for Alexandrite and 39% for the Nd: YAG lasers. However after 6 months; 40%, 49% and 34% hair reduction was observed, respectively. The Alexandrite laser was the least painful system.
Conclusion:
Although there is no obvious advantage of the SHR mode IPL system over the others in terms of treatment outcome, the Alexandrate laser is still the most efficient and painless light source in comparison with the Nd: YAG and IPL of the SHR mode. Despite the continuous efforts for the development of new laser systems in permanent hair removal with a minimal number of session, we can state that there is as yet no developed safe and efficient light source that meets the expectations.
And this was buried in the conclusions:
Cold packs, the least effective type of cooling, are used in this study without any topical anesthesia, to objectively evaluate pain. The results were similar to literature findings, pointing to the Alexandrite laser as the most painless system, despite the contact cooling system attached to the IPL probe. Furthermore, pain scores with IPL were nearly equal to pain scores for the Nd: YAG laser. This is a conflicting result as the SHR mode IPL is thought to have the advantage of less pain and side effects.
The low number of participants and the treatment sessions can be accepted as our limitations as well as not determining the maximum tolerated dose. The usage of a device with three systems in one platform can also be regarded as a limitation.
~Terri
