The Hairy Truth

You know, being a woman is hard. There’s the wage gap, there’s the discrimination over our nipples, we have periods, we give birth and we shave, A LOT! Well there may finally be a cure for this last one and I have been trying it out.

So you know when you think of relaxing in the bath? Well for me that never happens, once the water is cool enough to dip in, the intense ‘beauty regime’ begins. Now it’s Autumn/Fall, a hair mask for my overly dry hair, a face mask for my overly dry skin and then begins the ultimate tedious Sisyphean (To do the same task over and over again only to be sent back to the beginning and restart) task, hair removal.

I have over the years tried every single hair removal product that you could possibly imagine. Shaving, Waxing, Hard Wax, Soft Wax, Sugar Wax, Veet, Other hair removal creams, Epilating and even plucking individual hairs out with a pair of tweezers. No matter what I did the hair didn’t relent.

I feel I am somewhat of a walking knowledge bank in regards to all the different types of removals now. In comparing the various methods I found a noticeable length between one removal to another.

With shaving I noticed I had the beginning of stubble once again appearing after a day or two, especially if it wasn’t a close shave. Honestly don’t bother with female razors, they don’t do a thing! I stuck with the male versions but after I became enlightened about how much plastic I was using in my beauty products, I ended up buying a safety razor and am glad I did, it is possibly the closest shave I have ever had.

The Hair Removal creams did absolutely nothing, then again I couldn’t and cannot tolerate the thought of having to grow my hair out even the tiniest of bits, if it’s more than a brief feel of stubble it has to go! Immediately!

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Waxing again didn’t last more than 3/4 days at most and wasn’t worth the prep which I couldn’t complete as you have to grow your hair out….

Epilators are just a pure torture machine, I normally like pain or can at least tolerate it but this …. Hell no!

Plucking was a joke, 3 hours and you will have barely made a dent in your leg and honestly it doesn’t last long.

After resigning myself to this perpetual torture, I saw an article on IPL a revolutionary hair removal device. I looked at all the various home versions, I watched reviews and read and read. This couldn’t be true!

You can save money in the long run.
The IPL ‘Intense Pulsed Light’ Kills the root of the hairs – Therefore stopping the regrowth.
Easy to use.
Longer lasting results
No fuss

If all the claims were true then this could be the answer to some of my problems!

I settled on looking for the highest rated – Philips Lumea Prestige IPL Cordless version.

So I looked up the price! £550!!!!

Eventually after searching for ages and debating the pros and cons of buying this machine, I managed to find it for £420 on amazon, Still expensive but not the £550 I initially thought so I relented and bought it.

I unboxed it, and was eager to get started! I charged it for a couple of hours but it was taking too long, so for the first use it was plugged in the wall socket.

My first thought was how much it looks like a sticker machine that you get at the shops, you know the ones that reduce the prices.

It has three attachments each designed for specialist places (Legs, Face and Bikini) and a smart scanner that once you press the device to your skin, it scans and lets you know what level and setting to put the gun on.

I turned it on and began, its pretty loud and a little confusing to begin with, but once I got the hang of it, it sounds like you are in a studio doing flash photography and feels like someone is snapping you with hot elastic bands. There is some sections of skin that is more stingy than others but that is to be expected.

So what’s happened? Well I have been using it 3 months now and have done 4 sessions so far and have by far noticed a difference! My hair is still growing back sure, but it has slowed A LOT! On all the websites it says that it takes 12 treatments to have the 80% hair reduction and I can say I honestly believe that. The hair that is growing back is softer and easier to shave without any issues. Sure it’s a pain to still have to shave but if in another couple of sessions If I don’t then I will be overjoyed. I am without doubt glad I bought this product, I do feel a little freer knowing I can go a couple more days without fear of stubble and I have some free time in the bath now!