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5 x How safe is long-term hair removal

She didn't ask. I'm at the pedicure for a lovely feet spoiled treatment and where else the moment comes that it's asked ‘if the hairs on my toes can be waxed away’, it remains silent now. Reason: I don't have any hairs on my toes anymore. At least, they are as if they were put into a long sleep like Sleeping Beauty.

It's all due to the Philips Lumea that came my way about six weeks ago. The Lumea is a home version of the IPL technology that was previously only used in salons. From the moment I started using it, I received all kinds of questions thrown at me, with safety being a major point of concern. Rightly so.

Does it hurt?

Pain is a relative concept. I am, very rude to say about myself but it is what it is, quite a tough cookie. I gave birth to three children in a corner of the bedroom, that work. I find that little burst that the Lumea gives almost pleasant because it ‘blows’ a warm burst into your skin. My colleague Daan has an extremely low pain threshold (she's the first to admit it) and she screamed and jumped whenever the device came near, but when I finally flashed, she didn't even notice. So. Pain? I don't think so. In the worst case, it can feel like a rubber band snapping against your skin. And if you really don't like it, you can lower the intensity.

Is it safe?

The IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) technology has been used in salons for twelve years and Philips has tested it on 2000 women without any known harmful effects. So...

Can you use it on a mole?

You can use it on those little spots that lie in your skin, but for a 3D big one, you need to flash around it. And if there happens to be a terrible hair sticking out (which we of course never have), you need to pluck it out with tweezers. Fortunately, those hairs are usually nice and thick (all men really need to forget they ever read this), so you'll spot them quickly.

Will the hairs always stay away?

By treating your skin in the right way (just look here at how to do that), the hair follicles go into a resting state and your hair growth disappears. If you stop the treatment, the hairs will grow back over time. I find that in some way quite a comforting thought. Not that I expect the full bikini line or hairy calves to come into fashion, but still.

Is it bad if I treat a spot multiple times?

It can happen that you flash a spot twice during your session. Know that you do not speed up the process with this, but it can't hurt either.

One of our readers came to me with her questions and we captured them in a video. If you want to know more, don't hesitate. Annick@amayzine.com is where you need to be.