Few things in the world look as bad (IMO and on me) as hairy boobs, and ESPECIALLY hairy areolas so I got an IPL hair remover. Overall I'm satisfied with the results. My skin color is olive, hair brown and graying in spots. 

The more frequently it's used hair gets progressively lighter, thinner and it covers a given area less densely.

Hair that previously hurt when plucked often just pulls out with no effort. 

Reviews that mention one IPL brand exaggerate results. 

Brands that have replaceable flash heads seem to be a better value especially those with a 300,000+ flash bank.

Shaving, pulling and IPL will leave red marks from the evacuated follicle holes, if you slather them with a thin film of triple antibiotic and sleep with it on, it makes them look better faster.

After every few uses cleaning the lens, and sensor using a Q-tip dampened with alcohol will make its proximity detection work much better. They will NOT work in open air! The sensor detects the skin and will only flash when on the body. An oily, dirty sensor will not work well. 

Finally, few recommend the frequency you should use it. I wound up settling on 1x per week and I'm happy with the results so far.  

Here's something I read that explains about the hairs being pulled easily:

After each treatment, patients can observe stubbles on the skin that was subjected to this procedure. It’s important to understand that these stubbles are not a sign of hair growth. Rather, it is a sign of our body eliminating the hair follicle and root

so how well does it work...  tired of needing to shave my chest every other day but cant wait long enough in between to use nair and the idea of using an epilator and having hundreds of hairs yanked out by the root sounds immensely painful

I’ve had great success with a Braun Sulk-Épil epilator. I had a moderately hairy chest. My breasts are now permanently silky smooth. Now and then the odd hair appears, and is easily plucked out.

so .... how much pain with the epilator ....

so .... how much pain with the epilator ....

The key is to shave before so that the hair is very short, about 1/8 inch. If you pull the skin tight and it is dry there should be little or no pain. A coat of talcum powder helps with the dryness. The pubic area is more challenging, although thanks to my epilator I am now 95% permanently hairless there, too. Over time the epilator pulls out the roots.

I have tried all hair removals and IPL is by far the best
Shaving or waxing legs only last a short time and stubbles feel like sand paper
IPL removes almost all hair and the onws left are like a peach fuzz. My legs are smooth with no visible pores. Very feminine.  Also used on chest, belly, bikini line, underarm and any place where there was hair….

I have tried all hair removals and IPL is by far the best
Shaving or waxing legs only last a short time and stubbles feel like sand paper
IPL removes almost all hair and the onws left are like a peach fuzz. My legs are smooth with no visible pores. Very feminine.  Also used on chest, belly, bikini line, underarm and any place where there was hair….

I didn't have good results with IPL, probably because my hair is quite light. I believe combination black hair, fair skin works best for it.

Then I bought an epilator, and it works better. There's some pain, but not too much, and after several epilations the pain has reduced to nearly nothing, while the hair is growing less and less.

You are right
iPL does not work as well with light hair. For that you would need laser and that is too expensive
I have light brown and it worked pretty well. Now only have some very light and fine hair behind.
It also does not work on gray hair. I have few of them left on my chest.
Epilation is the best you can use if IPL does not work. Hair gets weaker and thinner and it does not hurt much

I've use a IPL and started this last month using a braun epilator. I did shave about 4 days before using the epilator. I must admit it was painful. And yes the chest is smoother for longer. What i've been doing is using the IPL a couple of days after using the epilator and must admit very little hair growth. And the 2nd time i used the epilator the pain was no where near as bad as the first time i used it. So if you do use an epilator expect pain the first time you use it but easier the more its used.

Wish i had used the eplilator sooner.

I've use a IPL and started this last month using a braun epilator. I did shave about 4 days before using the epilator. I must admit it was painful. And yes the chest is smoother for longer. What i've been doing is using the IPL a couple of days after using the epilator and must admit very little hair growth. And the 2nd time i used the epilator the pain was no where near as bad as the first time i used it. So if you do use an epilator expect pain the first time you use it but easier the more its used.

Wish i had used the eplilator sooner.

I tried out a Braun Epilator after shaving my chest and waiting several days.  The pain was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting but wow, I ended up with a whole lot of red spots all over my chest.  It looked like a somewhat sparse rash.  It's been a few days since I used it and the red spots are fading.  I'm hoping that future uses will result in fewer red marks.  I definitely like the smooth feel I have right now.

I didn't have a lot of chest hair to begin with but several days after shaving there was definitely stubble.