The Fourth IPL Session

Week four, boys and girls! Now, I have some good news! My hair this week has grown back patchy! In some places, it hasn't grown back at all. This could just be due to some hair being in the anagen state and other hair not, but I'd like to be positive and think that this machine is finally working.

Sadly, it still takes me about two hours to laser everything. I haven't seen any difference to my bikini line, but hair is pretty coarse there so I'd expect results to take longer. My arms and legs, on the other hand, are definitely showing some results. I decided to 'double zap' my bikini line to see if that'd make any difference. Only time will tell!

Here are the pictures. Prepare eye bleach. Top to bottom, bikini, arm and leg.

The Third IPL Session

Okay guys, for someone who NEVER SHAVES, the hair growth in-between sessions absolutely sucks. I swear, there was so much friction between my legs you could've started a small forest fire. Instead, I just got horrific razor rash. All the bumps...ALL the short little stubby hairs stabbing me like little needles. Kill me.

Now, a quick note. I had to MISS my third session because life got in the way, so my third session took place two weeks later on a Monday. I know, I know, you're supposed to be consistent, but between working a new job (which makes 14+ work hours a day) and the shit life throws at you, it couldn't be helped. The good news? I'm sparing you the picture of my razor rash covered bikini.

So how does everything look so far? Well, I see no difference yet. My hairs are still growing back in short and spiky. No patchy bits as of yet, as other bloggers have stated. I'm hoping by session four we will see some results...

The Second IPL Session

Heyyyy, we made it to week two! Shaving went a whole lot more quickly this time. Probably because I had less hair to shave off, and also because I'm growing more confident with the razor. I left about an hour between shaving and using the SmoothSkin machine this time. I haven't noticed any visible thinning of the hairs yet, but given that I've only used the machine once, it's still too early to tell.

So, I drew my lines with the white eyeliner as usual, and got a family member to draw lines on the back of my thighs where I couldn't reach. I also put a mirror down on the floor so I could see the backs of my legs as I did them, rather than playing at being some sort of super contortionist.

Here's what the hair looks like a week post my first laser session.

What lovely leg hair one has..SPIKY

Here's an arm. Also with little cactus-y spikes

BONUS BIKINI LINE SHOT, complete with razor burn. Sigh

As you can see, no changes. I'm still hairy, but now I'm also spiky and hairy. I think I'm going to work in (gently) exfoliating at least twice or thrice a week because my hair is really thick, and my skin seems to hate me enough to want to turn every hair into an ingrown one. The IPL session itself went fairly smoothly and took me about an hour and a half. Until next time, folks.

The Morning After

Had my first IPL session yesterday...just a quick update post-procedure. Woke up this morning and man, I am itchy. Stubble sucks. My skin seems slightly sensitive, but only because the stubble catches on my sweater and it's like having pins and needles up my arms and legs. Also, an itchy bikini line so I'm walking slightly funny. FML I hope this passes. Now I know why I pick waxing over shaving...coarse hair and shaving go very badly together. Hoping this IPL will slowly thin my hair out.

The First IPL Session

I DID IT!

Okay. Not sure where the pride comes from, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Now, to answer the burning questions that I haven't found answers for elsewhere...(well, not all of them, anyway)

Did it hurt? (Okay, this is asked everywhere, but still...)

Nah. didn't hurt too badly. A little bit of a sting here and there, especially on the inner thighs, but it was tolerable. It feels like the sting of a rubber band snapped on your skin, as everyone says. To me, it feels more like...when you get a speck of burning oil on your skin while frying something, followed by a warm sensation as the heat spreads. I feel a little bit tingly now, but I've also applied aloe gel straight from the fridge, so that might be causing it. I didn't need to use any EMLA (lidocaine) cream and there's no redness.

How long did it take?

Well, because I'm a hairy Mary, I'd magically managed to grow hair overnight even though I shaved yesterday. There was visible stubble. I went ahead and used a foil razor head that came with my old epilator and dry-shaved any bits of stubble I could see before going ahead with the treatment. It took an hour and a half, maybe slightly longer for my full arms, full legs and nether regions. I have also found a NEW AWESOME WEAPON TO ADD TO MY ARSENAL!

What is this weapon you speak of?

Well, the internetz keep going on about the importance of NOT overlapping when doing any type of laser treatment. Plenty of people say otherwise, but seeing as it was my first time, I decided to err on the side of caution. I bought a...WHITE EYELINER PENCIL!

How is that a weapon?

Well, I could mark off sections as I did them, which was pretty nifty. They do say a pencil is mightier than a sword...definitely proved itself right in this respect. Totally worth the USD $3, though now I need to buy a sharpener...Also, the 30cm/12 inch ruler was excellent. About as wide as the head of the SmoothSkin Gold, so it marked off sections that were just wide enough.

Any other tips?

Don't let your cat sit there and watch the laser. I don't know how crappy his eyesight is because he's old, but it definitely has not improved after today. Also, when you're sitting around naked on your floor with the brightest lamp you have dangling above your head so you can see through those darned dark protective goggles, it doesn't help to know that the cat is just sitting there, silently judging you.

I just hope that this works. I'm so tired of being hairy. Also, BONUS PICTURE TIME! Check out the lines on my legs. I hated having to go sideways because of the lack of surface area...much easier to go up and down, like the smug people in the advertisements who roll these things up their leg like they're having the time of their life.

The First Shave...

So, I exfoliated my whole body yesterday (the 17th), and today, I prepared to razor my arms, legs and lady bits. Something I haven’t done in about 10 years (I’ve waxed or epilated most of my life).

Granted, I was pretty nervous. I don’t think I got all the hairs down there, but I tried. It looks like I’ve missed the odd patch, especially on the back of my arms because I am no contortionist. Also, I shave both with and against the grain, but try only to go over each area once or twice with very light strokes. I find sometimes I need to go with, sometimes I need to go against because my hair grows weirdly in some places.

For the first timers, and the hairy ones like me, this will take a lot of patience. I’m sure lasering everywhere will take just as much time tomorrow, but I put on some banging tunes and got on with it.

Woohoo for no cuts, but surprisingly, the sensitive gel was still kind of stingy down there. Next time, I’m going to use hair conditioner or something…I’m alright now that I’m out of the shower, but it really didn’t do me any favours while I was frantically trying to get all the stubble.

Step two, complete! Looking forward to seeing how crappy (or awesome) the process is tomorrow.

Edit: Just caught a look at my left leg in the light of my room lamp…definitely missed an entire section. Sigh. Maybe I need like, zoning tape or something. You’d think shaving cream would be enough to tell you where you need to shave, but nooo…

Here's a hairy arm

Here's a hairy vs shaved leg.

SmoothSkin Gold - Intro

So, welcome to the blog guys. I’m going to be doing a 12 week trial of the SmoothSkin Gold, which is a home IPL machine. I’ll be using it on my legs, my arms and my…lady nether region. Why this machine? Because it got awesome reviews way before newer ones came out and it was what I could afford at the time.

I aim to exfoliate on Friday evenings, shave on Saturday nights and use the machine on Sunday afternoons for twelve weeks straight as is recommended. Just so you know, I have an Indian/Spanish background, have medium-toned skin and very thick, dark hair. I am one hairy mofo. Pictures will surface at some point for posterity, and to see if this device actually makes a difference (cringe).

I really hope this works, as I live in Hong Kong and they currently quote me about USD $10,000 for 6 treatments and a years’ worth of follow ups if I want to do this in a salon. If I had money to burn, I’d pay these people to shave me and laser me…but I don’t.

Now, I understand that IPL does not work as well as laser hair removal. I’m currently having laser hair removal on my upper-lip and under-arms, so that’s been about 2 years (!) and it’s going well. Growth has thinned, but the hairs are still dark. I also have a low, low pain tolerance, so I reckon that’s why it’s taking so long.

Here’s how I’ve prepared for these twelve weeks.

1. SmoothSkin Gold IPL Machine (bought it from Boots on my last trip into London)
2. EMLA cream (5%) – it’s basically topical lidocaine. Apply a thin layer, cover in cling film, remove an hour later and laser away. I don’t expect to use this but you never know. Also, holy shit this stuff is expensive. Cost me about USD $130 for 25g. Hong Kong seriously sucks sometimes.
3. A Gillette Fusion razor. I need to be as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Also, my dad uses the same model, so I can just steal replacement heads from him when I need them.
4. Schick Hydro Sensitive Shaving Gel. Because baby bottoms don’t like razor burn.
5. A pair of laser goggles. I believe the one I bought off of Amazon is a pair of dark green ones by the brand/seller laserpair. I feel like this is overkill, but with my shitty eyesight, better safe than sorry.
6. Some exfoliatey stuff from the Body Shop. Use whatever you like. I think mine is mojito scented.

Just so you know, I’m not sponsored by any of the brands above. I’m just a very hairy Mary and I’ve decided it’s time I do something about it before I fork over $10,000 for a professional to do it for me. Plus I bought the machine, so I might as well use it, right?