Hair Removal Devices
Sliced Bread
BBC
4.6 • 695 Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Can Intense Pulsed Light devices really "zap" away your unwanted hair?
You may have seen IPL devices advertised on social media - that promise painless hair removal using light to "zap" away body hair.
Listener Karen got in touch to ask if these "Zappers" could possibly free her from having to shave her legs in the summer? How are they supposed to work, are they safe to use, and is it worth the investing in one?
To find out, Greg Foot is joined by Dr Gill Westgate, a skin and hair biologist and honorary visiting lecturer at the University of Bradford.
All of our episodes start with YOUR suggestions. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voice note to our WhatsApp number, 07543 306807.
RESEARCHER: PHIL SANSOM
PRODUCERS: KATE HOLDSWORTH AND GREG FOOT
Transcript
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| 0:40.9 | Hello. they wanted. Search History on BBC Sounds. Hello, I'm Greg Foote and welcome to sliced bread, the show that investigates the |
| 0:45.0 | wonder products promising to make you happier, healthier or greener. Each episode, we follow the |
| 0:49.7 | crumbs of evidence to find out if one of your suggested wonder products is indeed the best |
| 0:53.7 | things since sliced bread or marketing BS. Today's suggestion comes from Karen Jeffries from |
| 0:59.5 | Kent. Welcome to the studio Karen. Hello, thank you for having me. Thanks for coming. What wonder |
| 1:04.5 | product would you like us to investigate today? Hair removal devices. Where, if I may ask, do you |
| 1:10.0 | want to remove hair from? This feels quite interesting |
... |
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