Lumi Reviews | We tried this IPL device and its rivals [2024] (2024)

Hair removal methods are notoriously imperfect.1 Shaving is tedious, with expensive razor replacements and the risk of cuts and razor burn. Waxing is painful and potentially messy. Depilatory creams can burn the skin, and tweezing or epilating can be agonizing.2

This is where intense pulsed light (IPL) might make a difference. IPL utilizes a broad spectrum of light energy to penetrate beneath the skin and damage hair follicles, often sufficiently that they stop producing new hair, at least for a while.3 4

Unfortunately, not everyone is a suitable candidate for IPL, so our testing team got hands-on with the Lumi, a handheld IPL device from RoseSkinCo, to determine whether it works and if it might be a good choice for you.

The Lumi from RoseSkinCo has a lot to offer, not least of all a low price for at-home IPL treatment. It’s small and easy to handle when reaching most body parts, most notably the legs, underarms, and bathing suit areas. Its top power level doesn’t quite live up to the output seen in many competitors, but our testing team found it effective nonetheless. Ultimately, it works well, but it may take a little longer to be effective than some others.

Why you should trust us

At Innerbody Research, we thoroughly test the products and services we review, including the RoseSkinCo Lumi. For this review, our testing team ordered and tried the Lumi, pitting it directly against other top IPL devices in our possession. This process gives us the type of insights into the customer experience you may not find elsewhere, including everything from the ordering process to actually using the device.

Over the course of our research, our team read through dozens of scholarly articles pertaining to IPL for hair removal, anti-aging, and more. We also studied other hair removal methods and the underlying technologies that make at-home IPL treatments possible. Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions involving staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

How we evaluated the Lumi

Our testing team evaluated Lumi through hands-on experimentation and by comparing the device to its most direct competition. We also looked at how the device compared to IPL devices used in successful clinical studies. Throughout, we focused on the criteria of efficacy, safety, cost, and ease of use to see just how well the Lumi stacks up against the rest of the field.

Effectiveness

Rating: 8 / 10

In a vacuum, the Lumi would get a higher rating for effectiveness. That’s because it should work for just about anyone suitable for IPL hair removal, save those on the cusp of suitability whose skin or hair tone would do better with a higher-powered device. But it’s the existence of those higher-powered devices that may be suitable for more people — and potentially provide faster results — that put a ceiling on the Lumi’s potential.

An IPL device’s power is also called its fluence, a measure of an energy unit (joules) delivered over a given area (square centimeters in IPL devices). The Lumi’s highest output is 3.8 J/cm². That’s 1.2 J/cm² less powerful than the device used in one prominent study illustrating IPL’s success at removing hair.4 That said, 3.8 J/cm² should be strong enough to work, but it may not be strong enough for everyone or as fast as other models on the market. The Ulike Air 3, for example, tops out at 7.2 J/cm², well above the 5 J/cm² used in that study.

One thing the Lumi has going for it that some others do not is the combination of shape and coverage provided by its treatment window — the thin pane of glass through which the device emits its light. The Lumi’s window is the same size as that Ulike model we just mentioned, but it’s slightly longer and thinner. That makes the Lumi more suitable for small, sensitive areas like the upper lip or bathing suit regions.

Safety

Rating: 9.2 / 10

As long as your skin is light enough and your hair is dark enough, IPL is a pretty safe treatment option for hair removal.5 Dark hairs will naturally absorb most of the light energy coming out of the lamp and convert it to heat energy at the follicles — meaning that energy shouldn’t damage any surrounding tissue. It gets a little dicier when you start applying the technology to darker skin tones. But this is true of all IPL devices, so it didn't really impact our safety rating beyond keeping it from rising any higher than it did.

One big upside of the Lumi's lower power output is that it's likely the safest choice among our preferred IPL devices, at least regarding the risk of skin irritation resulting from the light energy interacting with the skin.

Like other products in its price range, the Lumi lacks a sapphire crystal cooling element, which you'll find on pricier products from JOVS and Ulike. These sapphire cooling crystals help dissipate heat created by a device’s lamp, which can make for a more comfortable process and potentially allow you to use higher energy levels than you would be able to comfortably without them.13 It would have been nice to see a sapphire crystal element on the Lumi, but it would likely have driven up the product’s price.

Cost

Rating: 8.9 / 10

Lumi and Nood’s Flasher 2.0 are both featured in our guide to the best IPL devices, but Nood’s device narrowly gets the nod as the best budget pick, even though it and the Lumi are both available for $169 from their respective companies. The reasoning behind this has less to do with the sticker prices and more to do with the ways you might save a little money investing in either company’s device alongside some of their ancillary products.

In addition to its IPL device, RoseSkinCo sells an electric razor, a body lotion, and a cleanser and moisturizer for the face. It also sells an exfoliating glove and a sonic facial cleansing brush. Like Nood, RoseSkinCo offers a few bundles that include multiple products, some of which are built around the Lumi. The problem is that there is no bundle that just combines the Lumi with the company’s body lotion, which would be a simple and effective pairing for IPL treatment.

You can get a bundle that includes the Lumi, the lotion, and a pair of exfoliating gloves, but that only saves you around $24 compared to buying those things separately.

Conversely, Nood offers just two bundles, but they each make a little more sense than RoseSkinCo’s. They both include the Flasher 2.0, an exfoliating cream, and a moisturizer, but the more expensive bundle also includes a moisturizing SPF 30 cream. When you compare the savings, Nood’s bundles save you $28 for the smaller kit or $43 for the larger kit.

So, if you want to get some useful products to use alongside your device, your final cost is a hair lower with Nood than it is with RoseSkinCo.

Ease of use

Rating: 8.5 / 10

Consistency is paramount to the success of any IPL treatment, and the easier a device is to use, the more likely you are to use it often enough and correctly enough to see results. The Lumi is not overly complicated; it's relatively easy to maneuver around the body, thanks to how its curved top fits in your hand. Our testers found its controls to be pretty intuitive, but some testers missed the placement of the power level indicator at first.

The one thing our testers found off-putting about the Lumi's ease of use is that its skin contact indicator blinks to tell you that the device is ready to fire. We felt it would be better for the light to go from off to solid instead of blinking for this indication, as the blinking can easily be misinterpreted as a partial reading. It's not an intuitive setup, and it can lead to misfires or frustration until you figure out how it works.

Nood and JOVS excelled in that department, with contact sensors that provided direct, understandable notification. Ulike’s system is similarly easy to understand, but its execution isn’t as smooth, with a sensor that can be overly sensitive and cause similar frustration.

What is the RoseSkinCo Lumi?

The RoseSkinCo Lumi is a handheld IPL device designed for consumers to use at home. It’s shaped a bit like a teardrop and is outfitted with a xenon arc lamp capable of producing a broad spectrum of intense light.10 That spectrum is refined with the help of a colored filter that keeps certain unnecessary and potentially harmful wavelengths from escaping the lamp.

The Lumi is one of several skin care products available from RoseSkinCo. Other products include:

• An electric razor
• Exfoliating gloves
• A sonic facial scrubber
• An aloe-based body lotion

Who is the RoseSkinCo Lumi for?

Because of the specific parameters of its application, the RoseSkinCo Lumi is fit for anyone interested in IPL hair removal, so long as they have light enough skin and dark enough hair.5 This includes men or women as assigned at birth and anyone at any point on the gender spectrum. There is nothing unique about male or female skin that makes the device more or less likely to work for one or the other.

There are no body parts on which the Lumi is unsafe for use, so it’s suitable for hair removal just about anywhere, from the legs and arms to the genitals and face. Women with PCOS often turn to IPL devices like the Lumi as a way to deal with hirsutism arising from the syndrome’s hallmark hormonal imbalances.6 And IPL has been used for various other skin conditions, ranging from varicose veins to freckle removal. However, we encourage you to speak with a dermatologist before using an IPL hair removal device for any other application.

Who might want to look elsewhere for hair removal solutions?

The biggest shortcoming of IPL treatments is that they don’t work if your skin is too dark or your hair is too light.4 The technology relies on the presence of melanin in the hairs to absorb light energy and convert it to heat. If your skin also contains a lot of melanin, it may do the same thing, which could lead to skin damage, burning, or irritation.7

The IPL industry relies on the Fitzpatrick scale to determine the skin tones for which its devices are safe.8 This scale is somewhat outdated, and it does a poor job covering the breadth of human skin tones worldwide, but it’s a useful starting point to see if you might want to talk to your dermatologist before using an IPL device or simply start looking elsewhere.

IPL may also be unsuitable for those with neuropathic conditions that might make it difficult for them to feel if the device is turned up too high or they’re having a bad reaction with their skin. And those with freckles who don’t want to lose them would want to seek alternative treatment, as IPL has been shown to reduce the appearance of freckles.9

RoseSkinCo company reputation

RoseSkinCo is not an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau, but it does have a page on the site where it has a B rating and 4.18 stars out of a potential five from 99 customer reviews. While that isn’t a large review pool, it’s educational to see what’s been written there. Negative reviews frequently mention issues with results or pain during treatment, while positive reviews are quick to praise the company's customer service.

On Trustpilot, the picture is similar. The company has a 4-star rating out of five from just under 3,000 reviews. Positive feedback mainly celebrates success with the device, while negative reviews express frustration with slow results.

How do IPL and the Lumi remove hair?

The Lumi is an intense pulsed light (IPL) device, which means that it puts out quick bursts of extremely bright light.12 Handheld IPL devices for hair removal use xenon gas arc lamps, which provide a broad frequency range of light energy, including visible light, UV radiation, and infrared light.10

Certain frequencies of light within that range can penetrate beneath the skin and will be absorbed by the melanin in hair.3 When those hairs are especially short (e.g., after shaving), all that absorbed light energy makes its way down to the follicle and is converted to heat energy. That heat damages the hair follicle, which prevents it from continuing to grow its hair strand.

The process is called selective photothermolysis, which effectively translates to “light and heat that kill something specific.”11 The melanin pigments in hair targeted by specific wavelengths experience the phenomenon, but pigments outside that range — like lighter skin tones — won’t incur any damage.

Because the hair growth cycle for body hair follicles runs for several weeks to a few months — depending on the individual and the body part in question — that follicle may not grow hair again until that cycle has passed. That’s why you only need maintenance sessions after establishing a firm base of hair removal on a given body part.

Results aren’t exactly permanent, but they are long-lasting. And some follicles won’t be able to recover from multiple exposure to this intense heat energy, which can cause them to die off and stop producing hair altogether.

Are IPL and the Lumi safe?

IPL is safe for people with lighter skin tones, but darker skin tones may become targets of the light energy intended to damage hair follicles. That puts those with darker skin tones at higher risk of irritation or even burns from the treatment.5

To know whether IPL would be safe for you, you can compare your skin tone to the Fitzpatrick scale, a system used by many IPL device manufacturers and in many IPL studies to classify skin tones into six types.8 Lighter tones (types I-IV) are usually safe candidates for IPL. Type V individuals may experience more burning and irritation, possibly enough to render treatment inadvisable. And type VI individuals (the darkest type in the system) should not attempt IPL treatment.

If you’re not sure where you fit on this scale, you can look to IPL manufacturers’ websites to review alternative scales. The scale on the Lumi page is actually more limiting than the Fitzpatrick scale, offering only five tones to choose from.

Similar to how IPL can damage skin that’s darkened by melanin, areas of skin with tattoos, freckles, birthmarks, and moles are all similar targets for the wavelengths of light an IPL device produces.9 Using a device over such an area can also result in irritation or burns.

Our Lumi testing experience

In testing, our team found the Lumi to be effective, but the consensus was that it might not be very effective at its lower power levels. That’s because its highest power output is 3.8 J/cm², which is around the middle range of most competitors, and its lowest output is only 1.6 J/cm². None of these power levels produced discomfort in any of our testers, regardless of the body part. That’s good news if you’re concerned IPL might be too intense for you, but it will also mean results will take longer to manifest. It is worth noting that, despite the lack of irritation, the device’s heat was noticeable, likely because it doesn’t employ sapphire cooling crystals like we saw in the Ulike and JOVS models.

Ergonomically, the Lumi was second only to the Ulike Air 3 in our testing, thanks to its teardrop shape that gives you a comfortable purchase on its broader end. It's also easy to reach the flash button from this position, so long sessions don't result in cramping or discomfort.

It was during testing that the benefit of the Lumi’s narrow treatment window became apparent. Accessing areas of the skin like the inner thigh and upper lip was noticeably easier, with less contorting to get the skin contact sensor to allow us to trigger the lamp. Between the device’s lower power levels and this treatment window feature, we concluded that the Lumi would be better for bathing suit areas and certain facial applications than other options.

The biggest drawback our testers revealed from actually using the product was related to the Lumi's skin contact verification light. This safety feature prevents the device from firing unless its contact sensor can tell the treatment window is pressed fully against your skin. On other products, like the Ulike Air 3, this indication light glows solid when contact is sufficient for the lamp to fire — but the Lumi's light blinks to indicate contact. The problem is that if you're using the device on an angular area where it's harder to activate that sensor, the light can look like it's blinking as contact is repeatedly made and lost, which gets confusing.

RoseSkinCo products and pricing

The Lumi is RoseSkinCo’s central product, but the company also sells a handful of skincare solutions, including tools and lotions. There are also bundles that the company calls “routines,” which you can use to save a little money on multiple-product purchases.

Here’s a quick breakdown of single products available from RoseSkinCo:

• The Lumi IPL Device: $169
• 4D Electric Shaver: $49
• Glow Glove Manual Exfoliator: $20 (or two for $30)
• Petal 2 Sonic Facial Cleansing Brush: $49
• Aloe Coco Body Lotion: $25
• Blossom Cream Facial Moisturizer: $20
• Blossom Dew Facial Cleanser: $20

The Lumi is tied with Nood for the lowest price among the IPL devices we recommend. It lacks the large LED display of Nood’s Flasher 2.0. In its favor, RoseSkinCo’s treatment window is a bit larger than Nood’s. And, like Nood, RoseSkinCo has some helpful bundles to bring costs down even more.

There are six available routines from RoseSkinCo that combine products to save you money, but only three of them contain the Lumi:

As you can see, the Silky Smooth+ Routine saves you the most money, but it’s only a smart buy if you intend to use the electric shaver, which you may not. If you prefer razors, the original Silky Smooth Routine is the way to go, as it gives you the tools you need to prepare a body part via exfoliation and soothe it afterward with the body lotion.

RoseSkinCo still sells its older IPL model, which it calls the OG, but we don’t recommend it due to its short lamp life. The Lumi should last about three times as long, with 900,000 flashes compared to the OG’s 300,000. It only costs $129, so you might consider it if that extra $40 for the Lumi simply isn’t feasible, but we highly recommend the Lumi above the OG.

Shipping and money-back guarantee from RoseSkinCo

As is the case with most IPL manufacturers, shipping is free from RoseSkinCo with the purchase of an IPL device. The company also provides you with a 90-day money-back guarantee. That’s certainly a long enough period for you to determine whether the device will work for your hair removal needs, but it’s not any longer than we’ve seen from the likes of Nood, Ulike, and JOVS, all of which also offer 90-day guarantees.

How to use the RoseSkinCo Lumi

Using an IPL device takes some getting used to. Our testers have tried hundreds of products and devices over the years, and it took our team a couple of weeks to get comfortable with all of the potential applications and modes. Fortunately, once you find what settings work for you and use the device a few more times, you’ll be able to perform treatments very quickly.

Before using any IPL device on the entirety of a body part (or somewhere especially sensitive), you need to perform a skin sensitivity test first. You’ll prepare a small patch of skin (typically shaving it) and flash the device at its lowest setting on that spot. Each IPL device’s instructions here are a little different, and Lumi’s are some of the easiest.

Once you’ve flashed the device at its lowest setting over the test area, you’ll wait two hours. If you have no adverse reaction, you can perform the same test on a new patch at the next level up and continue increasing the power in this fashion until you either hit the top level or begin to experience discomfort. If you feel any burning, tingling, or other unpleasant sensations, move back down to the next lowest level for your treatment sessions.

Full treatment sessions look like this:

1. Prepare the treatment area. Shave whatever body part you intend to treat. Don’t worry about applying any post-shave products like moisturizers between shaving and IPL treatment; you’ll use soothing lotions after treatment.
2. Plug in and power up your Lumi. Hold the power button for a few seconds, and you’ll see the Lumi light up and hear its fan start whirring.
3. Select a power level. This will correspond to the highest comfort level you discovered in testing.
4. Wear eye protection. While an optional step, we recommend wearing some form of eye protection, ideally a dark pair of sunglasses.
5. Place the device against your skin. When the skin contact sensor light blinks, you’ll know the lamp is ready to fire.
6. Flash the bulb. One press of the flash button will result in one flash in the standard manual mode.
7. Move the device along the treatment path. When you move from one spot to the next, try to adjust by roughly the size of the treatment window itself. If you move it too far, you might leave gaps. If you don’t move it far enough, you might over-treat an area.
8. Moisturize. Once your treatment is complete, you may wish to apply a moisturizer that can soothe the skin. Lumi’s Aloe Coco is a fine choice, but your preferred moisturizer should also do the trick.

RoseSkinCo recommends using the Lumi twice weekly, which seems overly cautious to us considering the fact that Ulike recommends three weekly treatments with its more powerful device. Still, we urge you to follow the instructions as written or speak to a dermatologist about increasing treatment frequency.

Lumi’s automated modes

The Lumi has a pair of automated modes called “automatic mode” and “glide mode.” The difference between the two is subtle and mostly amounts to the fact that, in automatic mode, you don’t need to hold down the flash button throughout treatment, but in glide mode, you do.

Automatic mode is good for experienced users who are familiar with the device’s flash rate and want to cover a large area quickly, like the legs or torso. Glide mode is a middle ground between manual mode and automatic mode, in which releasing the button will stop the flashing. This is a nice safety feature that allows you to access a faster mode while ensuring that simply releasing the button will cause the flashing to stop. In automatic mode, you have to press the button again to end treatment (though the bulb will not flash in either mode if the skin contact sensor detects you’ve moved it away from the skin).

Lumi hair removal FAQ

Alternatives to the Lumi for hair removal

While you’re likely familiar with alternatives to IPL, like shaving, waxing, tweezing, and even electrolysis or laser removal, you may not be as familiar with RoseSkinCo’s direct competition in the IPL space. Let’s take a quick look at other devices we often recommend for IPL: