I love the feeling of being smooth but shaving causes an itchy rash, creams burn my skin and my one experience of a rotary epilator was effective but very painful due to the difficulty of getting all the loose skin (I'm male) tight enough to avoid being trapped in the rotating discs.
Consequently I've decided to try an HPL (Home IPL) permanent hair removal system. I looked around and found a Silk'n Infinity 400,000 at a reasonable price. I've done the first treatment at Level 1 (of 5) and there was no pain or even slight discomfort so I'll wait and see how effective it is over the long term. 8 treatments at 2 week intervals seems to be the reccomendation for full hair removal.
I'll try to report back after each treatment as I've seen a couple of other queries about these appliances so it may be useful for other people.
Epilators should be used when skin is pulled tight, otherwise it hurts more. Did try epilator on my under arms and I do NOT recommend if lol, it hurts a lot lol
rockstar, i don`t get rash or ingrowing hair, and shave twice a week. Have you tried a non-foaming gel like King Of Shaves? I have used normal foams/gels on my face and got terrible rash/burn so wouldn`t risk them on my bits! You can see from my galleries, i`m rash free. I`m still interested in how you get on with the new mothod though!
Following with interest - been toying with the idea of buying an IPL machine for a while, but I don’t trust many of the Amazon reviews (all the reviews all seem to have reviewed the same products!!) BTW - nice avatar rockstar - I have a few PRS guitars - love them !!!
I have been using the Baybliss Connected IPL machine every 2 weeks for about the last 4 months. Still no concrete results either above (pubic area up o under my chest) or below (testicles down to anus).
i started on 1/5 much like you, no pain whatsoever, have moved up to 5/5 now, has quite a sharp sting but not painful as such. No adverse reaction even on delicate areas.
Hair regrowth seems to be pretty much the same for the most part. Sometimes I think it's less, but other times it seems no different. Still shave twice weekly.
I have been using the Baybliss Connected IPL machine every 2 weeks for about the last 4 months. Still no concrete results either above (pubic area up o under my chest) or below (testicles down to anus).
i started on 1/5 much like you, no pain whatsoever, have moved up to 5/5 now, has quite a sharp sting but not painful as such. No adverse reaction even on delicate areas.
Hair regrowth seems to be pretty much the same for the most part. Sometimes I think it's less, but other times it seems no different. Still shave twice weekly.
hope you have better luck
That's odd isn't it? You would have thought that if you could feel it stinging as it burned the hair root it would be effective in stopping the re-growth. I'll let you know how I get on.
With IPL you have to catch the hair during an active growing phase or it won't work. From memory there are three phases and not all hair is doing the same thing at the same time so you really need to keep at it for several months. Do you trim the hairs back first? They're easier to do that way.
I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a friend's Philips Lumea that worked well for all three of us using after 7/8 months.
For those who shave and get the rash try swiping a (clear if possible, though no idea why) anti-perspirant/deodorant stick over the shaved area IMMEDIATELY after shaving. I used a Gillette man's version and it miraculously stopped the rash developing.
IPL is a long process. It may not work or may need touch-ups frequently so don't get rid of the device once you're initially happy with the results. Also, there are now many different devices on the market but the strongest ones are salon versions. My friend had no luck with standard IPL so tried a NG-Yag device at a salon and was clear after six sessions.
I'm doing at home IPL all over, but in stages so at the moment I'm doing my downstairs and underarms.
Coming up to 20 treatments and nearly rid of the 5 o'clock shadow. The hair's much finer but still having to shave every other day. I have very stubborn hair though (tried to wax once; did everything by the book. ripped the strip off and there was no hair on the strip - it was all still firmly embedded in my skin). I estimate it might take me 60-100 treatments in total, which is fine but costs a fortune in numbing cream - couldn't do it without it.
So a lot of the home IPL lasers are actually the same product with different shells (OEM). I tried one for my face and chest at max strength for 10 weeks and did it every week as opposed to every other. It made no difference at all. I went to a single treatment using a real IPL device and hair was literally jumping out of my face. I hope you have better luck than I did, but in my experience, the home IPL stuff is garbage.
Since I only used level 1 last week I thought I'd have another go.
As per the instructions I shaved first (Using King of Shaves gel. Better but still a rash.).
I used level 3 this time and the heating effect was definitely more pronounced. To be expected I suppose. At the end I turned it up to level 5 and did a small patch. That was bordering on hot and there was a definite smell of burning hair so I guess it's doing something at least.
How close are you shaving? The IPL I've used (a few) have stated a mm or two so trimming close is better than shaving close.
If you shave close then leave it until the next day rather than trimming, try the anti-perspirant trick to avoid the rash.
It's always worked for my friends and me but we're female. I don't see why it wouldn't work for men, though (yet the anti-p stick is supposed to be a man's for some reason - I've never used a woman's to try).
I did wonder about the completely shaved results. In the last two sessions, I have done it the day after shaving, so a little bit of regrowth, don't think "a mm or 2" but certainly a bit of stubble. Will see how things progress