2004; the year when I started on my quest for the perfect hair removal solution.
Janet Jacksons boob popped out at the Super Bowl.
Outkast were telling us to shake it like a polaroid picture.
We still typed lYk DiS oN MSN MeSsEnGer.
Myspace and Bebo were just around the corner.
I was desperately seeking the approval of everyone who I thought mattered at secondary school and in PE I was teased for my 'hairy' legs and I became obsessed with the need for them to be silky smooth. My mission had begun.
Throughout my mission I have tried a wide range of hair removal options
Hair removal cream was, and still is, not my friend. It's ridiculously messy and always requires twice as long as stated on the packaging to actually work.
Home wax strips helped me discover that I didn't have the balls to pull them off. I had to wait for 3 hours until my mum came home to save the day. Just like mum's always do.
Salon waxing left me with what looked like borderline burns and legs so sore that every time they touched something I squealed in agony.
Sugaring was something I had the best intentions of trying but bottled it after said above waxing experiences.
Buffing removed most of the available skin on my legs, i'm surprised it managed to grow back.
Epilating was overly painful for what were patchy results at best.
Laser Hair Removal didn't really work, was expensive at £500+, and took about 18 months to complete the treatment. Now armed with more knowledge and information about the procedure from trusted clinics and sources I highly suspect it was due to poorly-informed/trained staff carrying out the procedures and the fault of the one set clinic.
Shaving is not my friend but someone who I have accepted as my only acquaintance in the hair removal world, until now, kind of.
In steps Smooth Skin IPL to hopefully end my mission.
How it works...
Everybody's hair, and bodies, are different which means the effectiveness of the device changes which every user. If you have less melanin in the hair shaft, read: grey-white hairs, then it may not be right for you. It also isn't suitable for darker skin tones due to the increased melanin levels. What is really nice about the device though is that it has a built-in skin tone sensor which will regulate if the skin is suitable for treatment. If you head over to the SmoothSkin website it has a handy guide on which skin types will be most suited.
How to use it...
Preparation before using the device is simply shaving your legs. Hence why I'm still an acquaintance with my good old friend the razor blade. After shaving you just plug the device in and go. It has two options of a 'stamp', one press of the button, one flash, or a glide which is triggered by holding the button down and produces continuous flashes. I find that the single flash worked well for my bikini line and underarms and the continuous flash was much more efficient for my legs.
The device is really simple to use and is minimal on the pain scale. I'm not even sure I'd call it painful at all. It's just like having heat applied to the skin. I use it once or twice a week whilst I sit in front of the TV watching Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing. It's so simple and mess-free. The Bare device can do 100 flashes per minute and I find that I can do my underarms, legs and bikini line in about 10 minutes depending on how distracted I get by said TV shows. The flashes are also unlimited on the devices too so you can't max out. If only my credit card was like that too.
The Results
I started using the Bare device in early July and I have been using the device weekly or bi-weekly since. The device states that people have seen up to a 92% reduction in hair after 4 weeks of treatment. After 4 weeks I had seen a difference but not 92%. My hairs were reduced by about 25% after week 4 and the other hairs that were present were definitely finer and grew back slower. I'd gone from daily stubble to stubble every 2-3 days.
Now 12 weeks+ I still have hair growth but it is much slower growing, I'm now shaving bi-weekly, and the reduction is probably to 50%. I'm confident that if I keep going the device will keep reducing the hairs and reducing the growth rate until I reach my desired level. I mean even if I have to shave once a week that's a heavenly improvement on daily shaving. If it was taking me 10 minutes in the shower each day to shave then I've already saved 50 minutes of time each week. That's 50 minutes extra in bed. Or enough time to bake some yummy brownies.
If you fancy picking yourself up one of the SmoothSkin devices you can use the links below. I have the Bare skin device which is £199.99 or there is also the Gold device which has an increased intensity and power for £299.99. You can also pick up the devices in Boots where quite frankly the advantage points you would collect is just too tempting. If you buy the device from any authorised retailer you can head over to the SmoothSkin website to enter their competition to win a dream 7 night trip to holiday in a 5* resort in Mexico. The best part is you'll already be silky smooth and beach ready.
Mission Complete.
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Post in collaboration with Smooth Skin IPL. All thoughts and opinions, honest and my own.