To address your concern, no one can guarantee no complication. Doctor-run clinic would,however, more careful as the doctor may loss his/her licence if he/she did not do the proper care. The doctor should also be the one doing the hair removal according to MOH/SMC's guideline. It may not be the same if the treatment is done by a non-doctor personnel. As for doing it in a salon, the risk will be on you. Let me explain.
There are many causes for excess hair. It might due just genetic in which some people are just more hairy. I have also diagnosed cases due to polycystic ovarian syndrome (some little cysts in the ovary) which requires ultrasound to diagnose, tumor of the pituitary gland ( we found it on Xray of the patient's skull), thyroid problem (from blood test),as well as other medical reasons that require further test to confirm. It will not be possible for a beauty salon to do any of the diagnosis. The underlying cause, if present, must be in order for the hair removal treatment to be effective and lasting.
Next, IPL sounds like a simple equipment to use. just hold and shoot. In reality, it is not. Depending on the skin colour and the hair colour, you must use the correct wavelength, pulse duration, pulse interval and the fluence. I have treated burnt from IPL done at beauty salon. It is not a pleasant sight.
Complication from hair removal is not restricted to beauty salon but a doctor would be in a better position with better knowledge to prevent and manage it, should it still occur despite taking all the precautions.
Regards,
Dr Elias Tam
