S/he is sick of shavers and waxes, opining the computer and searching about permanent hair removal effortlessly with lower cost… If you’re one of those, you’re probably searching now for a good hair remover that gives long lasting results in no time with no pain. One of the best ways to do so is Philips Lumea Essential IPL devices.
Nowadays, there are hundreds of permanent hair removal devices with different prices $100-$750 and different abilities and features. The best of them is the most expensive with better safety features and long durability. While a cheaper one has lower abilities and, may be, less durable. So many factors and specifications that make one confused and muddled. That’s why we made this article.
Table Of Contents
Why Philips Lumea Essential IPL Devices
After we’ve reviewed our most-viewed top-rated Philips Lumea Prestige IPL systems, this article is dedicated to the next line of Philips IPL which contains the fastest Philips IPL devices, Philips Lumea Essential IPL ones.
Philips Lumea Essential line contains 3 well-known devices sold worldwide with hundreds of good reviews on the internet. These are other leading IPL hair removal devices with great abilities and features. Moreover, they contain the fastest Philips Lumea IPL hair removal device, treating full body within 13 minutes! It’s Philips Essential BRI863. Only the famous SS Bare is faster.
The best common features between the 3 devices are:
- Long lasting durability thanks to their wide treatment window and huge number of flashes.
- They all have a 4cm2 window size and a 200,000 flash cartridge enough to cover around 800,000cm2. This means more than 15 years of regular use!
- Able to treat full body within 14-28 minutes
- Much cheaper than Philips Lumea Prestige IPL devices
On the other hand, the only problem you may face is their wide treatment window! While it was a great feature a moment ago, no it’s a bad thing as the device has no other attachments for face or sensitive areas.
However, any missing feature affects the price. Meaning that not containing any attachments makes them a lot cheaper than the Lumea Prestige Line.
So, they are very good and cost effective only if you know how to put a 4cm2 treatment window on your underarm area or your upper lip.
Anyway, let’s move on and have a deeper look onto those 3 amazing devices.
Philips Lumea Essential SC1983
A small, compact IPL device with huge abilities to permanently remove body and facial hair. Philips Lumea Essential SC1983 is a jump in the industry with its safety features, effectiveness, and durability.
Do not decide with the look! Although it’s the smallest and lightest one between all Philips Lumea IPL devices, it has a wide 2.7 cm2 treatment window and presents sliding mode for treating large areas such as legs and arms. Moreover, it’s able to treat your full body, body & face, in just 32.5 minutes.
Approval & Recommendations
Philips Lumea Essential SC1983 is FDA-cleared and clinically tested for safe, at-home personal use. It’s also recommended by doctors and dermatologists because of its safety features that make it easier and safer to be used be individuals.
Price
Unfortunately, Philips Lumea Essential SC1983 is not available on the official US website or on Amazon. However, you can find it on the official AU website for $549.95 and on Amazon UK for £191.99. Make sure to check regularly for any updates or discounts on these sites.
Features
This compact device promises with up to 75% hair reduction within 4 treatments. You only need to use 4 times at 2-week intervals then once every 4 weeks for the next 3 treatments. Then, you can top-up whenever you need to maintain your results.
Moreover, Philips Lumea SC1983 features slide & flash mode for quick use on large areas such as legs and arms. While you can use stamp & flash mode for use on smaller and more sensitive areas such as face, underarms, and bikini line.
The problem here is that it has no wider attachment, which makes it slower when treating large areas e.g. legs.
Also, unlike Philips Lumea Prestige BRI956 and the newer version Essential BRI863, this device has no automatic energy adjustment adviser.
Durability: Philips Lumea Essential SC1983 has a 2.7 cm2 treatment window in addition to its 200,000 flash cartridge. This means enough treatments for 10+ years of regular use.
This device presents 5 light energy levels from the lowest (1) to the highest (5). If you’re a beginner or it’s your first use on an area, use energy level 1 for now. Then, you can go higher to the level that makes you feel no pain.
Safety: Also, this small device has a complete safety system consists of:
- Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing
- Integrated UV filter
- Skin tone sensor detects if it’s safe on your skin or not
- Skin contact sensor prevent accidental flashes
Pros
- FDA-cleared & doctors-recommended
- Clinically tested for safe use on body & face
- 2 years global warranty
- 30 day money-back guarantee
- 75% hair reduction after 4 treatments
- Long lasting results in a very short time
- Unique compact design
- Great for sensitive, hard-to-reach areas
- 7cm2 treatment window and a 200,000 flash cartridge
- Enough for 10+ years of regular use
- Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing
- Integrated UV filter
- Skin tone sensor
- Skin contact sensor
- 5 energy levels
- Features gliding (slide&flash) mode for large areas
- Very good investment for your money
- Profressionally trained customer service
- Very informative website with valuable information
Cons
- Can be used only corded
- No attachments for large areas like legs or arms
- No automatic adjustment for energy levels according to your skin tone
- Not suitable for dark brown and brownish black skin tones or red, light blond, white or grey hairs colors
Skin & Hair Types
Philips Essential SC1983 is safe on I-IV Fitzpatrick skin types (white/light blond, ivory, beige, and mid brown ones). Also, it’s applicable on blond, light/mid/dark brown, and black hair colors.
It’s neither for use on V & VI Fitzpatrick skin types (dark brown and brownish black), nor red, light blond, white or grey hairs.
Customer Reviews
This device has lots of reviews on the internet on many websites, however, nearly half of them are not satisified! Although it’s small and convenient, many people said that it’s painful and not delivering the desired results.
Anyway, you need to know that when you read a customer review you have to search for some factores: What skin & hair typer they have, what intensity level they were using, and most important, for how long they’ve been using the device.
Most of the review on retailer websites and the official websites do not mention any of those. So, how would we be able to consider their review as a convincing one.
Also, 4.1 star rating on Amazon from 30 reviews is not a bad thing, is it?
Our Rate
Small, convenient for sensitive areas, relatively fast, and safe, Philips Lumea Essential SC1983 deserves from us a 3.8 star rating. What made this rating a little bit low is missing any attahcments for large areas and its semi durable flash cartridge. However, it’s still one of our favourits for small and sensitive areas!
Philips Lumea Essential BRI861
This one is the newer version of Lumea SC1983. So, you will find no big differences between them except for the speed and power. Mainly, this device is for face & full body use within shorter time than the previous one. It has a larger treatment window so it’s also more durable than SC1983. But, because of these differences between them, Philips Lumea Essential BRI861 is more expensive than Essential SC1983.
Approval & Recommendations
Philips Lumea Essential BRI861 is FDA-cleared and clinically tested for safe, at-home personal use. It’s also recommended by doctors and dermatologists because of its safety features that make it easier and safer to be used be individuals.
Price
Philips Lumea Essential BRI861 is not available on the official US website or on Amazon. However, you can find it on the official UK website for £170 after discount and on Amazon UK for £139.99 after discount. As you can see, it’s a lot cheaper than Essential SC1983. Make sure to check regularly for any updates or discounts on these sites.
Features
The device is a result of 10 years of extensive carried out consumer research and development with professional dermatologists. It promises with up to 75% hair reduction within 4 treatments at 2-week intervals. Also, use it once every 4 weeks for the sessions from 5 to 7. Then, you can top-up every 8 weeks or whenever you see hair regrowth.
Philips Lumea Essential BRI861 features the same slide & flash mode for quick use on large areas and stamp & flash mode for use on smaller and more sensitive areas.
Durability: Philips Lumea Essential BRI861 has a wide 3.2 cm2 treatment window and a 200,000 flash cartridge. This means enough treatments for 640,000cm2 and 12+ years of regular use.
However, it has no SmartSkin sensor for automatic energy level adjustment.
But the problem we talked about with SC1983 concerning the wider attachment can be condoned here. A 3.2 treatment window is a middle size, not so wide or so narrow, so it’s suitable for face and body. However, it’s important to include attachments for each areas just like the Philips Lumea Prestige line.
Also, it featrures 5 light energy levels from the lowest (1) to the highest (5). If you’re a beginner or it’s your first time to treat, use energy level 1. Then, you can go higher to the level that makes you feel no pain.
Also, it’s 25% faster than previous model, treating full body (lower legs, underarms, bikini area, face) within 26 minutes. Also, it nearly treats full body including upper legs and arms within 45 minutes!
Safety: This device has the same complete safety system which consists of:
- Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing
- Integrated UV filter
- Skin tone sensor detects if it’s safe on your skin or not
- Skin contact sensor prevent accidental flashes
Pros
- FDA-cleared & doctors-recommended
- Clinically tested for safe use on body & face
- 2 years global warranty
- 30 day money-back guarantee
- 75% hair reduction after 4 treatments
- Up to 8 weeks of hairfree skin in a very short time
- Suitable for use on face & full body
- 2 cm2 treatment window and a 200,000 flash cartridge
- Enough for 12+ years of regular use
- 25% faster than previous model, treating full body within 26 minutes
- Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing
- Integrated UV filter
- Skin tone sensor
- Skin contact sensor
- 5 energy levels
- Features gliding & stamping mode for large and small areas
- Better investment for your money than the previous model SC1983
- Profressionally trained customer service
- Very informative website with valuable information
Cons
- Can be used only corded
- No attachments for sensitive or curved areas
- No automatic adjustment for energy levels according to your skin tone
- Not suitable for dark brown and brownish black skin tones or red, light blond, white or grey hairs colors
Skin & Hair Types
Philips Lumea Essential BRI861 is suitable for I-IV Fitzpatrick skin types (white/light blond, ivory, beige, and mid brown ones).
It’s also suitable for blond, light/mid/dark brown, and black hair colors.
Like the previous one, it’s neither for use on V & VI Fitzpatrick skin types (dark brown and brownish black), nor red, light blond, white or grey hairs.
Customer Reviews
Philips Essential BRI861 has a 3.6 star rating from 187 customer reviews with 57% giving it 5 stars. This is not a small number!
Actually, compared to some other devices, having a 5 star rating from 57% of customers and 4 stars from 13% is a good thing. This means more than 70% of customers are satisfied.
However, the same problem here which we’ve discussed about Philips Lumea Essential SC1983 and customer reviews. Negative reviews giving 1 or 2 stars are not providing us with enough information to determine whether they are right or not.
Anyway, the main problem people are talking about is slow results and being painful. Note that you’re gling to find these 2 comments nearly on all devices in the industry!
Our Rate
This Philips Lumea device is pretty good and effective. Its wider treatments window makes it more suitable for body & face, faster to apply, and lasts for a longer period of time. So, it deserves a higher rate with 4 star rating.
Philips Lumea Essential BRI863
This is the last of the line, Philips Lumea Essential BRI863 is the most advanced of Essential devices. It’s really improved and developed to last more and provide more safety for personal at-home use.
Approval & Recommendations
Philips Lumea Essential BRI863 is cleared by the FDA and clinically tested for safe, at-home permanent hair removal. Also, it’s recommended by dermatologists and plastic sergeons because of its higher safety features that make it easier and safer to be used be individuals.
Price
Philips Lumea Essential BRI863 is not available on the official US website or on Amazon. However, you can find it on the official UK website for only £160 after discount and on Amazon UK for £154.95 after discount. It’s not just cheaper than Essential SC1983, it’s also cheaper than BRI861! So, it’s the best investment for money between the 3 devices. Make sure to check regularly for any updates or discounts on retailer and official websites.
Features
Philips Lumea Essential BRI863 is a result of 12+ years of extensive carried out consumer research and development with professional dermatologists. Also, it promises with up to 75% hair reduction within 4 treatments at 2-week intervals. Use it once every 4 weeks for the sessions from 5 to 7, then you can top-up every 8 weeks.
This device works using the same slide & flash mode for quick use on large areas and stamp & flash mode for use on smaller and more sensitive areas.
Durability: Philips Lumea Essential BRI863 has the same wide 3.2 cm2 treatment window and the 200,000 flash cartridge. This means enough treatments for 640,000cm2 and 12+ years of regular use.
However, an attachment for facial use is a great add that this device misses.
Moreover, it has 5 light energy levels from the lowest (1) to the highest (5). But the difference here is that this device uses automatic energy level adjustment just like Philips Lumea Prestige BRI956. When facing the device against your skin, it will check your skin tone with the skin tone sensor, then advise you the best suitable energy setting.
But, it’s 50% faster than Essential SC1983. It’s able to treat full body (lower legs, underarms, bikini area, face) within 16 minutes, making it the fastest Philips Lumea IPL hair removal device. We believe that it’s able to treat full body but including upper legs and arms within only 35 minutes!
Safety: This device has a better improved safety system that includes:
- Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing
- Integrated UV filter
- Skin tone sensor detects if it’s safe on your skin or not
- Skin contact sensor prevent accidental flashes
- SmartSkin sensor
Pros
- FDA-cleared & doctors-recommended
- Clinically tested for safe use on body & face
- 2 years global warranty
- 30 day money-back guarantee
- 75% hair reduction after 4 treatments
- Up to 8 weeks of hairfree skin in a very short time
- Suitable for use on face & full body
- 2 cm2 treatment window and a 200,000 flash cartridge
- Enough for 12+ years of regular use
- 50% faster than previous model, treating full body within 26 minutes
- Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing
- Integrated UV filter
- Skin tone sensor
- Skin contact sensor
- 5 energy levels
- SmartSkin sensor for automatic energy setting adjustment
- Features gliding & stamping mode for large and small areas
- The best investment for your money, better than the previous 2 models BRI861 and SC1983
- Profressionally trained customer service
- Very informative website with valuable information
Cons
- Can be used only corded
- No attachments for sensitive or curved areas
- Not suitable for dark brown and brownish black skin tones or red, light blond, white or grey hairs colors
Skin & Hair Types
Philips Lumea Essential BRI863 is applicable on the same skin & hair types: I-IV Fitzpatrick skin types (white/light blond, ivory, beige, and mid brown ones) and blond, light/mid/dark brown, and black hair colors.
Also like the previous 2 models, it’s neither for use on V & VI Fitzpatrick skin types (dark brown and brownish black), nor red, light blond, white or grey hairs.
Customer Reviews
There are not so many reviews for this product on retailer websites, but it has around 91 reviews on the official website with 4.2 star rating. With 45 votes giving it 5 stars and 36 rating with 4 stars, this is the highest rated one between all Philips Lumea Essential IPL devices.
Anyway, we do not count too much on those reviews, the most important factors we consider are safety features, durability, and effectiveness. Most customer reviews are satisfied of the product, even negative reviews are only complaining from slow results. This doesn’t mean it gives no results, but it’s just slow to show them.
Our Rate
After reviwing the 3 devices and collecting cutomer reviews, we can say that Philips Lumea Essential BRI863 is the best one in his line. Its wider treatments window faster application time, and automatically adjustable energy settings are making it a hair removal beast! However, it still lakes attachments and it has restrictions on dark skin tones. So, we see that it’s fair to give it a higher rate with 4.3 star.
Differences Between The 3 Models
To make it easier for you, this comparison collects the most important niches in the 3 devices, showing which is better in each niche.
Philips Lumea Essential BRI863
| Lumea Essential BRI861
| Lumea Essential SC1983
| |
| Price | £ Check on Amazon | £ Check on Amazon | ££ Check on Amazon |
| Hair Reduction | Up to 75% within 4 treatments | 75% in 4 treatments | 75% in 4 treatments |
| Attachments | No attachments | N | N |
Application Areas | For face, body, bikini, and underarms | Face, body, bikini, and underarms | Face, body, bikini, and underarms |
| Usage | Only corded Slide&flash or stamp&flash modes | Only corded Slide&flash or stamp&flash modes | Only corded Slide&flash or stamp&flash modes |
| Application Time | Treats full body within 16 minutes | Around 26 minutes | Around 32 minutes |
| Durability | 3.2cm2 × 200,000 flashes = 12+ years of use | 12+ years of use | 10+ years of use |
| Safety system | – 5 light energy settings adjustable to your skin type – Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing – Integrated UV filter protects skin from UV light – Skin tone sensor detects your skin tone – SmartSkin sensor | – 5 light energy settings adjustable to your skin type – Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing – Integrated UV filter protects skin from UV light – Skin tone sensor detects your skin tone | – 5 light energy settings adjustable to your skin type – Integrated safety system prevents unintentional flashing – Integrated UV filter protects skin from UV light – Skin tone sensor detects your skin tone |
| Skin tones & hair colors | White/light blond, ivory, beige, and mid brown skin tones. Blond, light/mid/dark brown, and black hair colors | White/light blond, ivory, beige, and mid brown skin tones. Blond, light/mid/dark brown, and black hair colors | White/light blond, ivory, beige, and mid brown skin tones. Blond, light/mid/dark brown, and black hair colors |
| Rating | 4.3/5
| 4/5
| 3.8/5
|
Conclusion
No doubt that Philips Lumea has launched many version of the best IPL devices on the market today. Moreover, you can find all abilities and prices you wish in the Philips Lumea IPL line.
This device, Philips Lumea Essential BRI863, is one of the best. The results it gives compared to the abilities and price, it’s really amazing!
However, there are devices that give better results, of course for higher prices, but why wouldn’t you pay more $50-$150 and get a better one for 15+ or 20+ years such as Braun Silk Expert 5 IPL!
