Research

Tom Nuijs

“It’s not just about finding the right technology, the right parameters or the right piece of hardware. It’s also about finding a way to communicate with consumers.”

 

Philips Research Fellow Dr. Tom Nuijs recently celebrated the end of a long-term research project with the successful launch of a promising new product: the Lumea IPL, a hair-removal system with important advantages over existing solutions.

“With traditional hair-removal methods, there’s always an awkward intermediate stage when hair begins to grow again. Lumea offers women a way to stay hair-free in between treatments. The technique we used in Lumea is known as photoepilation, and it involves flashing intense pulsed light (IPL) onto the skin. This makes follicles release their hairs and go into a dormant stage for up to several weeks. The method doesn’t destroy the follicles: when people stop using Lumea, hair naturally grows back.


The technology has been in development for many years. We first started by actually using a laser to flash the roots of individual hairs, and then we made adjustments and innovations leading to increasingly intuitive and consumer-friendly models. But the key to Lumea’s success was more than a particular technological breakthrough. It was also the close cooperation between Philips Research and Philips Consumer Lifestyle.


In my view, this project has always been a joint effort. It’s not just about finding the right technology, the right parameters or the right piece of hardware. It’s also about finding a way to communicate with consumers. We want to create an appliance that perfectly meets their needs. Lumea is the direct result of that consumer perspective – and the first of an exciting new category of products!”

Dr. Tom Nuijs

  • Research Fellow Lifestyle Program
  • Lumea Project

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