SO, DO I GO LASER OR NOT?
All the facts at a glance
If I could wish for something beauty-wise, I would have been born without body hair, but if there is one thing I find goddamn irritating, it is shaving. Yesterday in the shower I once again grazed my legs until they bled. Something to do with not thinking, wanting it too fast and getting a mosquito bite. Yikes.
Honestly, how chill would it be to kiss that razor goodbye for good and go through life as a smooth eel? Seems like a pretty cool plan. I see it happening more and more, women who are lasered from head to toe. No more misery, always smooth armpits. I am seriously considering it. But what does lasering mean for your skin? And what if a hairy poen suddenly becomes hip again in 10 years' time? And what does the little joke actually cost? So for all the women toying with the idea of permanent hair removal who, like me, are left with questions, time to get the facts straight. I delved into the bowels of the hair removal and sorted it out for us.
The first question I ask: what ís defintive hair removal exactly?
I come up with the following answer almost at all sites: permanent hair removal involves killing the hair follicle of all hairs present. Sounds a bit pathetic somewhere, but secretly quite satisfying. Basically, those hairs never come back.
Does everyone qualify?
No. If you are hypersensitive to light, have hormonal complaints or certain inflammations, it is not recommended. Also, if you have an autoimmune disease, rheumatism or a pacemaker, you should not be treated. In addition, it is a rule that body hair should always be darker than the skin. So get proper advice.
Is it dangerous?
No, if you take proper advice absolutely not. Modern lasers are specially designed for permanent hair removal and, in principle, give no side effects.
What does this joke cost?
Hair removal from the comfort of your own living room can be done with the Philips Lumea (€549). Just while you watch TV, grab your ‘hairy zones’. Four treatments (every fortnight) and then you're basically done. You bring the hair follicles into a resting state, causing you to lose the hair.
And at a salon?
Then take your wallet with you. For your armpits, you can usually get between 200 and 250 euros for six treatments. For your upper and lower legs, you often come to around a thousand euros and for your bikini line between 300 and 400 euros. Or as May would say: if you want to be hair-free from head to toe through the salon, you'll be a Chanel bag poorer in no time.
What is best time to start treatment?
Winter. After a treatment, you shouldn't actually expose your skin to the sun. Which is almost impossible for this summer I would say, but basically it is smarter to start in winter. For most people, six to eight treatments are enough for complete hair removal. There is a period of at least 48 hours between treatments, so you're in for a while. With the Philips Lumea, you'll be hair-free within 8 weeks, as long as you keep it up monthly.
Huh, but definitively, I immediately think, how come you sometimes hear that people have to do post-treatments because they get little hairs again?
Apparently, there are also ‘dormant’ hairs in the skin. Which may one day become active again due to hormone changes and medication, for example. So keep in mind that this could possibly happen which could make you need repeat treatments in the future. Small consolation: the total number of hair follicles has already been determined before you were born. So you no longer develop new hair follicles.
Good luck my friends. And on to that balderdash! OK, joke joke.
