The 8 Best At-Home Laser Hair Removal Devices, Tested

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Brides / Ruby Grais

How (if at all) you decide to remove body hair ahead of your wedding celebrations or honeymoon is your choice, but one aspect of it we can all agree on is that none of the options available are entirely pleasant. Luckily, a few tech advances in the past few years have made at-home laser hair removal a more appealing option. From the comfort of your home, you can prepare for your upcoming bachelorette or honeymoon trip by zapping away strands and stubble with a tool smaller than a water bottle. How, exactly? The laser targets pigmentation in the hair follicle by converting it to heat and breaking it down over time so that it becomes weaker and grows back slower. Many of these devices use intense pulsed light technology (IPL) to achieve this. It has proven safe for at-home use and effective if you stay committed to your treatments.

A dizzying array of options promises to deliver these effective, fast, and painless results. So, over 12 weeks, the team at Brides tested 13 at-home laser hair removal devices. We evaluated the performance of each one, taking into account how easy it was to use, how many settings and modes it offered, whether using it was painful, and if we found the treatment to noticeably limit hair growth by the end of the three months. Our research led us to several at-home laser hair removal devices that live up to their claims.

At its best, a top-notch laser hair removal device zaps away hair swiftly and efficiently, but this one also makes the process as painless and easy as possible. Additionally, its lightweight feel, intuitive setup, and ergonomic design sent it straight to the top of this list.

In under 15 minutes, our legs were hairless, which we credit to the wide treatment window that made it easy to target large patches of hair at once. We were especially overjoyed at how it took less than five strokes when we used it on smaller surface areas, like under our arms. Still, despite being slightly bulkier than other options, it fits nicely in our hands and allows us to target trickier regions effortlessly. Even more user-friendly features include a digital display that clearly showed which of the five intensity levels we were using and a convenient side button to notch the level up or down while we worked.

Moreover, we saw fewer signs of hair growth at six weeks, about halfway through our testing period. Plus, this pick is simply an incredible value—it already costs less than other options and offers a lifetime flash guarantee, so the brand will replace it for free if we run out.

Cordless: No | Intensity Levels: 5 | Flashes: 600,000

One the first brands to launch an at-home IPL hair removal tool, SmoothSkin then reinvented its device into an even more travel-friendly design. The slim, compact device can be stowed in a carry-on for quick touch-ups while on the honeymoon.

Although you can modify its three intensity levels manually, we appreciated how the smart technology took much of the guesswork out of the process for us by automatically adjusting the level of heat emitted based on skin tone. And, since it only flashes when it makes contact with the skin, it's an excellent choice for sensitive skin and eyes—just be sure the front panel is facing you because otherwise, it's hard to tell when the lasers are activated. Another feature differentiating this product from competitors is the internal fan, which kicked on when we plugged it in and kept our skin from feeling overheated.

Cordless: No | Intensity Levels: 3 | Flashes: Unlimited

This pick's chic minimal aesthetic and pleasing color options aren’t its only appeal; the handset also equipped us with everything we needed to achieve the smoothest skin, including exfoliating gloves and an easy-to-follow user manual.

We admired how, besides the six intensity levels, we could choose from three modes—stamp, glide, and auto—to target various body areas. We breezed through our lasering session as we could quickly stamp hair in smaller areas, like the bikini line and armpits, and seamlessly glide it over our arms without pressing a button. However, the auto mode may have been the most ingenious capability since it auto-detected when we touched the treatment window to our skin and only activated upon contact.

Our arm and leg hair started growing back slower and thinner after just a few weeks of use. Although we didn’t see quite as successful results around our bikini line, we’re pretty confident that with continued treatments, hair would be less patchy here, too.

For the most part, lasering our body with this tool was painless—though we recommend lowering the intensity to around 3 on your arms to avoid discomfort in this area.

Cordless: No | Intensity Levels: 6 | Flashes: 900,000

Brides / Daniela Galvez

Any type of hair removal is daunting for those with sensitive skin—one wayward nick or shaving with an old razor and you have irritation for days and red bumps making an appearance in all of your bachelorette beach trip photos. This device solves these woes with some pretty nifty tech, using a sapphire lamp head that cools our skin to 50 degrees and provides a pleasant, soothing experience (not typically what you’d expect while working with lasers).

We also tailored our treatment to suit our skin’s needs by selecting from one of the five intensity levels, each geared toward targeting a different part of the body. This helped ensure our pain threshold was never met.

In addition to seeing a noticeable reduction in hair growth after using it for less than a month, another aspect that knocked this pick out of the park is its compact design, which felt lighter than an empty water bottle and made navigating the device like a pro so simple.

Cordless: No | Intensity Levels: 5 | Flashes: Unlimited

Marrying luxury and utility, the JOVS hair remover’s sleek matte finish and wireless capabilities are only the baselines of what makes using it a truly opulent experience. From a self-cleaning charging dock to a skin-cooling setting, the brand thought of everything to make hair removal hassle-free (and, dare we say, fun?).

Whether you're wearing a mini wedding dress or opting for a backless style, we’d feel pretty confident about showing some skin during our nuptials since we were able to use this device on even the most hard-to-reach areas, like our back, thanks to its 330-degree rotating head and L-shape that conformed to different parts of our body and made the treatment fly by in around 20 minutes.

With 12 settings total—six modes curated for different body parts and six intensity levels—it also boasts more features than any other device we tested. The auto-flash mode was one setting we found particularly handy because it activated upon making contact with the skin, meaning we didn’t have to worry about simultaneously pressing a button.

Cordless: Yes | Intensity Levels: 6 | Flashes: Unlimited

When you need to cover large areas of your skin, this device makes it easy. With four contact points, it's designed to treat large areas quickly and efficiently, leading to smooth skin over time. And it's meant to work as a full-body treatment in just 10 minutes, making it a low time commitment each week. The brand recommends completing a 12-week regimen for best results.

Cordless: No | Intensity Levels: 10 | Flashes: Unlimited

Whether you're treating yourself or gifting a friend, this luxe set is a must-have. It includes the Lumi Hair Removal Device featured above as well as two gloves for prepping your skin and an aloe vera body lotion to soothe skin post-treatment. The Lumi can be used once or twice per week, and leaves skin soft and smooth. The brand also offers 90-day returns and a one-year warranty.

Cordless: Yes | Intensity Levels: 6 | Flashes: 900,000

This 2024 Brides Editors' Pick is meant for use on your entire body, which can be achieved in just 15 minutes, making it a fast, effective treatment. Since it's designed to help lessen hair growth over time, leading to softer, smoother skin, we recommend incorporating it into your hair removal routine several weeks to months before your wedding or bachelorette party. The large size of the device makes it easy to zap different areas of the face and body. The device also features ice cooling technology to help achieve a painless experience.

Note that this is a true laser device, not an IPL which works through light. The laser technology is intended to slow hair growth over time.

Cordless: No | Intensity Levels: 6 | Flashes: N/A

We began the testing process by spending hours researching the most famous at-home laser hair removal devices before carefully selecting 13 options to try. Next, we set up our devices at home and familiarized ourselves with each by reading the instructions and user manuals. We noted how complicated it was to assemble the device, turn it on, and use it on our legs, chest, backs, underarms, and bikini area.

We only used the device as recommended by the manufacturer, closely monitoring our results and recording how effective it was at removing unwanted body hair every week. We also considered other factors, like whether we experienced any pain, how many features the device came with, and whether it impacted the texture of our skin. By the end of the three-month testing period, we assessed the look and feel of our skin before compiling our results to land on this list of top-rated picks.

In short, lasers target hair and convert it to heat, thus breaking down the dark pigmentation and damaging it to the point where hair won’t grow back. Most of the options on this list target hair through IPL, which uses multiple light wavelengths instead of one long stream of light. Not only is this safe for non-professionals (hello, us), but IPL emits a larger footprint using less light, thereby covering more surface area and making the process go by quicker.

Dr. Rossi says that at-home laser hair removal can effectively reduce hair growth if you’re committed to sticking with a schedule. To make these devices safe for use by a nonprofessional, they emit much less energy than what you’d receive in a treatment center. However, staying consistent and keeping the tool handy for touch-ups should lead you to eventually only see the stray hair here and there. Remember that if you start using this device two weeks before your honeymoon, you may not see results in time, so add this to your wedding checklist and start treatments at least six weeks before your celebration.

It’s also essential to note effectiveness varies based on your hair’s pigmentation. “There are two types of melanin: Eumelanin, which makes up black and browns, and pheomelanin, which makes up reds and pinks,” explains Dr. Rossi. Since laser hair removal is targeted to pick up on darker pigmentations, these treatments probably won’t work super well on those with blonde or red hair.

Additionally, at-home laser hair removal devices work best on areas with a noticeable contrast between skin and hair. Those with darker skin tones may risk burning their skin if the device cannot differentiate between hair color and tone. Thankfully (and finally), technology has advanced so that people of color can take advantage of these products. For example, they can adjust their intensity based on their skin tone. Still, if you fall into this category, speaking with your doctor or dermatologist before using an at-home device never hurts.

Before you embark on your at-home laser hair removal journey, you must test the product to check for skin sensitivities. We recommend performing a patch test on a small, unnoticeable area of your skin and waiting a few days to see how your skin reacts to the device.

If you don’t notice any long-lasting irritation or changes in skin color after a few days, start with clean, dry skin free from any lotions, oils, or soap residue before using a laser hair removal device. “You don’t want anything that impedes the transfer of the laser energy from the device into the skin,” says Dr. Rossi.

And while your skin doesn’t need to be smooth ahead of time, you should shave your body free of any long hairs. Dr. Rossi doesn’t recommend plucking or waxing hair before treatment because “that pulls the follicle out, whereas shaving the follicle is still there, it’s just underneath the skin, so you can still target it with the laser,” says Dr. Rossi. Once finished, slather on a hydrating lotion or gel to calm the skin and prevent irritation.

Irene Richardson is a writer covering fashion and beauty trends for Brides, Byrdie, InStyle, and others. For this article, she drew on research from the Brides testing team, which scoured the market for the most effective at-home laser hair removal devices. She also tapped Dr. Anthony Rossi, M.D., FAAD, FACMS, for insights about what you should expect from an effective and safe at-home hair removal device.

Gold MH, Foster A, Biron JA. Low-energy intense pulsed light for hair removal at home. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2010;3(2):48-53.