The summer brings with it a sprinkling of all things beautiful, lazy days on the beach, floaty dresses and for me a course of laser hair removal. Unlike the other things I do to prepare for summer such as refusing that second biscuit and dragging my ass to the gym at ungodly hours of the morning, laser hair removal is a comparably easy feat. All I have to do is toddle down to a clinic every six weeks and have it all zapped away. If you’ve always wondered about laser hair removal, I thought I’d share my experience with you.
Why So Many Treatments?
Life is too short to spend half of it shaving, waxing and plucking so I’ve taken the plunge and opted for a treatment that promises a hair free future. However, laser hair removal isn’t a quick fix. You have six to eight laser hair treatment sessions for the best results and so in order to be hair free for the summer I started my course of treatments in December. Now, the price goes up depending on how many sessions you have but this isn’t just a way of making you spend more. The reason for this is that the laser targets the hair follicle and destroys it which prevents future hair growth but in order for the follicle to be destroyed your hair has to be in a certain place within the follicle. It is impossible for all of your hairs to be in this exact place in the follicle at the exact time of the first treatment but over the course of eight sessions, it is possible to catch all of the hairs in this stage of growth. You can find out more about the technical side of laser hair removal here.
When Is the Best Time to Start?
If you are thinking of trying laser hair removal, it is wise to start in the autumn/winter season. You aren’t allowed to expose your skin to the sun or use sunbeds during your course of laser treatment as having a suntan when the laser makes contact can cause pigmentation of the skin. You can use instant tan in-between sessions as long as you make sure every trace is removed before the session so you don’t have to to worry about being pale all the time. Phew!
How Do I Prepare for Laser Hair Removal?
Preparing for laser hair removal treatments is simple. You’ll have a test patch to see how your skin will respond to the laser. Before sessions you simply make sure that the skin is clean and free from deodorant and moisturisers and shave the areas that you are having lasered. (I’m having underarms, bikini line and lower legs for those who are interested).
Does It Hurt?
So, how did it feel? I’m not going to lie, at times it feels uncomfortable but throughout the treatment there is a constant supply of cool air that relieves much of the discomfort so for most of it you feel only a mild tingling sensation. The underarms are relatively pain free as they only took around four minutes to do while the bikini line and the leg area was slightly more intense. However, out of all of the hair removal methods I’ve tried, it isn’t the most painful. To all of those ladies out there who use an epilady, I salute you. The best bit? It’s super quick. It takes less that 45 minutes to have all three areas lasered and there was little discomfort afterwards. The pain is intense but it disappears almost immediately after so it is almost like a rubber band pinging your skin.
What to Do After your Treatment
You aren’t allowed to wear deodorant, go to the gym and sweat (bonus) or take a hot bath on the day of your treatment but this is a small price to pay for fuzz free pins.
Is it Expensive?
Yes. It is expensive compared with your monthly wax but it’s no more expensive that years worth of razors, shaving gel and waxing treatments.
Have you ever tried laser hair removal? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Interesting and informative x