First of all, Happy New Year to all of my lovely readers. After a food-filled festive season and approx 87 portions of chocolate yule log, I’ve rolled into a new year with a few extra pounds sewn into my clothes. *cries* In case you haven’t seen my bursts of excitement on Twitter, I’m getting married in under eight months and in true ‘New Year New Me’ form, I’m writing this while sipping an insanely green juice. FYI from now until the wedding I’ll probably have a green juice within sipping distance at all times. Until now, the wedding has been a flurry of pretty Pinterest pictures and exciting chats with my wedding planner. Most of the big decisions have been made regarding the ceremony and the reception but the time has come to start thinking about bridal beauty prep. January brings with it a sprinkling of all things beautiful, my first hair trial, makeup trials and a course of laser hair removal. Unlike the other things I’m currently doing to prepare for the big day such as refusing that second biscuit and dragging my ass to the gym at ungodly hours of the morning, laser hair removal is a comparably easy feat. All I have to do is toddle down to the Sk:n clinic (green juice in hand) every six weeks and have it all zapped away. I had my first laser hair removal session last week at the Sk:n clinic in Leeds so I thought I’d share my experience with you.
Why So Many Treatments?
Life is too short to spend half of it shaving, waxing and plucking so I’ve taken the plunge and opted for a treatment that promises a hair free future. However, laser hair removal isn’t a quick fix. The Sk:n team recommend that you have six to eight laser hair treatment sessions for the best results and so in order to be hair free for my wedding and more importantly my honeymoon, I started my course of treatments in December. Now, the price goes up depending on how many sessions you have but this isn’t just a way of making you spend more. The reason for this is that the laser targets the hair follicle and destroys it which prevents future hair growth but in order for the follicle to be destroyed your hair has to be in a certain place within the follicle. It is impossible for all of your hairs to be in this exact place in the follicle at the exact time of the first treatment but over the course of eight sessions, it is possible to catch all of the hairs in this stage of growth.
When Is the Best Time to Start?
If you are thinking of trying laser hair removal, it is wise to start in the autumn/winter season. You aren’t allowed to expose your skin to the sun or use sunbeds during your course of laser treatment as having a suntan when the laser makes contact can cause pigmentation of the skin. You can use instant tan in-between sessions as long as you make sure every trace is removed before the session so you don’t have to to worry about being pale all the time. Phew!
How Do I Prepare for Laser Hair Removal?
Preparing for laser hair removal treatments is simple. I had a consultation with a member of the Sk:n team and this gave me an idea of what was to follow as well as a test patch to see how my skin would respond to the laser. I was given a starter pack with some skincare essentials including soothing aloe vera, cooling water spray and sunscreen. Before sessions you simply make sure that the skin is clean and free from deodorant and moisturisers and shave the areas that you are having lasered. (I’m having underarms, bikini line and lower legs for those who are interested).
Does It Hurt?
So, how did it feel? I’m not going to lie, at times it felt like my skin was on fire but throughout the treatment there is a constant supply of cool air that relieves much of the discomfort so for most of it I felt only a mild tingling sensation. The underarms were relatively pain free as they only took around four minutes to do while the bikini line and the leg area was slightly more intense. The saying no pain no gain definitely comes to mind and I wouldn’t be giving a honest review if I said it was completely pain free. However, out of all of the hair removal methods I’ve tried, it isn’t the most painful. To all of those ladies out there who use an epilady, I salute you. The best bit? It’s super quick. It took less that 45 minutes to have all three areas lasered and there was little discomfort afterwards. The pain is intense but it disappears almost immediately after so it is almost like a rubber band pinging your skin. I’m a total wimp when it comes to pain so trust me, if I can make it through a session, you can too.
Test patch in progress…
What to Do After your Treatment
You aren’t allowed to wear deodorant, go to the gym and sweat (bonus) or take a hot bath on the day of your treatment but this is a small price to pay for fuzz free pins.
Where’s the Best Place to Get it?
My advice to all of you out there who are curious about laser hair removal, is to choose a trusted clinic. I was looked after from the moment I stepped into the Sk:n clinic and the staff were happy to answer my very long list of questions about the treatment and made me feel at ease before, during and after.
How Much Is It?
The price for all three areas is around £1500 which may sound jaw-droppingly expensive compared with your monthly wax but it’s no more expensive that years worth of razors, shaving gel and waxing treatments. I’ll be updating you all on my progress over the next eight months but in the meantime I want to give you all an exclusive 20% discount code to use on laser hair removal and any other treatment you may fancy at your local Sk:n clinic. They do all kinds of wonderful treatments including skin peels, microdermabrasion, acne scar treatments and more. You can find a full list of treatments here. Call 0844 669 7541 to book a treatment.
Have you ever tried laser hair removal? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
*This post was created in partnership with Sk:n.
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