Hair Removal - The Soprano Way
I have always been pretty hairless compared to my other siblings, but it doesn't mean that I was hairless from the beginning. Playing around with light devices, I guess I have tried most hair removal devices (in terms of technology) in the market from the super painful IPL, the ND Yag long pulses and some others in between. The only ones I haven't tried were the electrolysis since being Asian, my hairs are typically dark pigmented thus laser and light devices would generally work for me.
The best device I had ever used would be definitely my Starlux, but unfortunately it broke down a few years back and I have yet decided to fix it. Not because of anything, but it is quite a painful experience for those with low pain threshold. Plus, the cost to fix it would be the same as getting a newer machine. So its quite a dilemma. But after 3 sessions for my armpits, it has completely gone hair free for the past 7 years. Not bad huh?
So the only place I did have hair was int he nether regions, which since these couple of years have been stripped bare thanks to my girlfriend Michelle who introduced me to the world of Brazilian Waxing. Yes, painful experience, but after awhile, I kind of gotten use to the bareness below it became irritating to have hair growing there. But there are few problems with waxing, besides the pain. First of all, if the waxer pulled the wrong direction, there will be higher chances of ingrown hairs and sometimes you will develop folliculitis which can be pretty painful. Folliculitis is that acne-like swelling you get around the hair root. Another problem I discovered, was that after awhile, the hair that grows is much thicker and stronger that at some point I felt like similar to shaving.
My usual wax girl in Strip has moved elsewhere and the new girl despite being friendly and nice, was not as good as the previous one. This time round I had more ingrown and it became too thick for comfort. Fussy me. So after giving it a thought, I decided to try out laser hair removal.
My girlfriend's medispa in Publika has a nice machine called Suprano Accord which is a diode laser at 810nm. Its FDA approved for hair removal for all skin types (i.e. even dark skinned and tanned) and it is pretty much next to painless. Honestly a lot more comfortable than a brazilian wax session with less time taken.
So how does it work?
Diode lasers shoot low frequency wavelengths with multiple passes done over the skin. Prior to the procedure, the area is shaved and cleaned and some conductive gel is applied to protect the dermis. You will be given a cool pair of shades to wear to protect your eyes from reflective laser beam (yes, this threat is real despite you not being able to see it). The therapist then moves the laser piece over the area required and based on the recommendations on the screen, the passes are made accordingly. Mostly the procedure is painless except for areas of ingrown hairs or sensitive areas like labia etc.
But this is definitely not a one time treatment. Studies have shown that the best results comes after 4-6 sessions depending on area with a 6 months satisfation hairless period of 100%. The interval between the sessions should be between 3 weeks to 6 weeks depending on how thick and how much hair present at the area.
So how did I fair? Well, it was literally painless with a few ouches at the ingrown areas. After the procedure, there was minimal swelling of the area. It wasn't tender as I expected. Less inflamed than doing a brazilian. However, because it takes time for the hair follicle to fall off, approximately between 1-2 weeks, I will have to bear with some hair growing post shave. Oh well, so far I'm okay. According to the therapist, it will take 1-2 weeks for the hair to fall off and the new hair that grows will be much thinner compared to before. However, she recommends I come back at 3 weeks for a repeat session, to soften it more. We'll see. I'm not decided whether I like to be completely bare. Although compared to other high energy device for hair removal, it doesn't promises permanent hair removal, but a more delayed growth. I think its pretty ideal for indecisive people who want a good solution, or those like me who just wants to trim of the thickness.
According to a comparative study between this device and another hair removal laser, Suprano delivers a much higher rate of satisfaction after 6 months completion of program with a 50% reduction in hair follicle width (i.e. thinner hair). For those really hairy people, you may need to come for maintenance every 6-12 months but I guess its okay than being a werewolf.
So what is it good for :
1. Any part of hair removal from the face to the hidden regions. Its quick so you can do a full body hair removal in over an hour or two. I did my brazilian in 15 minutes. Not bad yeah?
2. Men and women the same. For children, technically you can, but I always reserve doing procedures for children above 18, unless really required like acne etc. If your parent consents, then yeah, why not? In Brazil, every girl above the age of 15 is hairless neck down. (Minus perhaps patterns down under).
3. In grown hair issues. If you have this problem, definitely STOP shaving or shaving. Do laser. You can try IPL but it will hurt like a b***ch. Trust me, I've tried.
4. Any skin colour, any tan, anyone. In fact it lightens up the skin to a certain extent since 810nm does affect dark pigments. Although for a proper pigment removal an ND-YAG Q-switch 1064nm would be the ideal, but low energy diode lasers from 635nm to 890nm have shown pigment reduction.
5. Cost wise - it will really depend on which area, how many areas. From a few hundred to a few thousand for packages. But still, if you calculate waxing costs in a year it is pretty similar with less pain, hassle and longer lasting results.
However, it takes up to 2 weeks to fall off, so if you are in a hurry to strip the hair off, waxing would be a better alternative. You will however need to wait for the hair to regrow before you do laser since the purpose is to hit the hair follicle bulb, damage it, so that it doesn't regrow.
Interested to try? You can either contact us at 03-21106608 / 0123301585 / drmmclinic@gmail.com to sort out your appointments or you can go directly to Face Factors in Publika.
