Hi Laura,
Just to be sure we’re on the same page – my hair removal journey has been an evolution. I went from shaving to epilating to laser to intense pulsed light (IPL). I’m on IPL now. The goal is to spend less time on hair removal. I see it as a chore. The less I have to do it the better. Read on for the answer to your questions and more info than you bargained for, LOL!
We all know about shaving. I shaved everything from the neck down. That took a LONG time and I had to do it every 2-3 days. It was impossible to keep up. I got sick of the ordeal after a couple of weeks and started looking for something better.
I switched to a Braun Silk Epil epilator and got good results. When I started, my hair was very thick and coarse. I had to epilate every week. I won’t sugar coat it – the first couple of times were really intense. I needed to take breaks every 5-10 minutes. TIP: have a couple of stiff drinks before you start! My hair gradually became finer and grew slower. After a couple of months I hardly noticed any sting at all. I settled into a routine of epilating every 3 weeks. My skin was fairly smooth and felt great. No need for shaving or anything else. I did that for almost 3 years. But it took about 90 minutes to do my entire body. Over the course of a year that was still too much time. I started searching again.
I started doing laser last November. I had 4 treatments before the pandemic forced my clinic to close. It works. I was smooth and hair free in many places. The hair that remained was thin and growing very slowly. When you’re doing laser, you shouldn’t epilate or wax between treatments. This keeps your hair growth cycle normal and the laser is most effective. I shaved about once a week between treatments.
Eventually I got sick of waiting for my clinic to reopen and started researching home IPL devices. I decided to buy a Philips Lumea Prestige IPL unit from the UK. They aren’t sold in the US. It cost about $500. Expensive but still cheaper than 1 laser treatment. Considering I needed at least 2 more laser treatments, the IPL was a bargain.
IPL and laser work on similar principles. They both use light to force your hair to shed. Each hair has a different growth cycle, so multiple treatments several weeks apart are needed to remove most of your hair. Laser and IPL are long-term hair removal methods. Most people need a touch up about once a year.
I’ve used the Philips IPL 4 times so far. It works better than expected. My first treatment I noticed a lot less hair and what remained was hardly growing at all. Every treatment since has been just as effective. I’d estimate I’m about 95% smooth and hair free. My skin has never felt or looked this good. I’m not sure I can improve on that but I want it to last as long as possible. I’ll finish my program. I have 1 more treatment in 2 weeks followed by 5 treatments spaced every 4-8 weeks. After that I should be done except for yearly touch ups.
Sorry for the long response. Hope it helps.
Emily
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