So
I left you last time following doing my patch test which worked out fine no issues.
I was prepped (meaning I had shaved my legs and arm pits!) and ready to go for my first use :)
To protect you the IPL has 2 sensors either side - these have to be in contact with your skin for it to work - no contact no laser (you can see these in the pic above with the bluish tinge)
Once you have those sensors connected to your skin the IPL adjusts the intensity of the light based on your skin tone - as you can see in the pic above my pasty pale skin registers for full on top level zapping! EEK
Now I acknowledge my cowardliness and for week one I used the IPL on sensitive mode.
I used it on both legs - it was completely pain free - I used it on the glide setting meaning I just held the power button down and it flashed out a pulse of light every 30 seconds or so. It's a bit like shaving but without the razor. The video below (links to youtube) shows how easy it is to use - yes I apologise for my pasty white tree trunk legs - they arent actually that big in real life its the angle honest!
Youtube Video
Both legs took around 10 minutes.
I did have some difficulty around the ankle and the knee area. To overcome this I did top of ankle to just under the knee in strips around the leg and then I turned the IPL on the side and and went around the ankle in a circle and did the same by going across the knee - problem solved and all bits done!
Armpits - again used it on the glide setting - slightly more awkward to do and to manoeuvre due to the fact the IPL has a large head and a large handle which I struggled with.
Each armpit took a mere 2 swiped with the IPL and were done.
Following day:
Legs fine no issues
Armpits - itching like I had an infestation of armpit nits! Seriously itch itch itch it drove me NUTS and it lasted for around 3 days. Whether due to the IPL, the sensitive underarm skin or my scratching I ended up with some rather ugly red splodges on my pits which didn't look great,
I was going to take a photo but taking a selfie of my armpits proved to be quite difficult! So just imagine a lot of red blotches no spots, no cuts, no grazes just like a red stain on the skin.
Apart from the arm pit issue there were no other issues and this resolved after a few days
Fast forward 1 week and I am ready for round 2.
To prep I go to shave - but my legs are still pretty much hair free not much stubble at all - however I shave the little hair that is there.
On checking out my armpits there seems to be slower growth than usual - for some reason the hair on my under arm grows quicker than hair on any other part of my body. I shave and within 24 hours I have stubble nd its not that light soft downy looking hair either we are talking thick black stubble! Within a couple of days its practically long enough to plait! So I was quite pleased to see it was only around 3mm in length - SCORE!
I shaved my underarms in prep for their second shot of lasering.
I did all this on a friday evening around 7pm (your probably wondering why this is significant - it is and I'll tell you in a few lines why!)
Saturday morning I was up at the crack of dawn and off out for the day - I didn't get home til gone 10pm d I was wayyyyy too tired to do anything other than feed the cats and clean my teeth and crawl into bed.
Sunday morning I got up showered and thought okay I am a day late but lets get our IPL on!
Did my legs with ease no probs no pain just a quick and easy up down and around whilst catching up on Britain's Got Talent.
Checked my arm pits they were a little stubbly as it had been over 24 hours since I shaved but thought thts fine its not like I have dreadlocks there...well it was most deffo NOT fine. The first blinding flash was followed by a searing pain and a smell of burning hair. I was shocked - surely my lovely IPL machine had not just given me the equivalent of a nipple tweek on my arm pit? No it couldn't be so I carried on and the searing pain came again and again and again. Followed by the stench of burning hair - gross and painful.
I carried on though - bravely did both armpits (in fairness it literally was 2 glides on each but damn they were the longest few minutes ever!)
So what did I learn from this? You need to shave no more than 12 hours before using the IPL any longer if your me and that bugger is gonna sting like mad! See and now you know why my shaving my armpits at 7pm on a friday is significant!
Anyways it is now Monday evening and unlike last week I have no itching or after effects from using the IPL.
Next week will be my 3rd time using it. According to the literature you start seeing results in 3-4 weeks so I should hopefully start seeing some real results then
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