Home Laser Hair Removal Machine

Written by on July 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Things change over the years and I have had to update this site concerning home laser hair removal to cover advances in technology in recent years. First, laser hair removal treatment could only be carried out by medical practitioners. Then it was allowed by trained technicians in beauty clinics and spas. And now a home laser hair removal machine or two such as the Silk’n have been approved by the FDA as safe for you and me to operate – and buyers are having good things to say at last!

This means that you no longer need to use an expensive clinic if you don’t have the budget or the time to attend. However you still need to use caution when considering purchasing laser equipment to remove hair.

Save money on laser hair removal

Save money with a machine you use at home

These portable laser hair removal machines use more or less the same technology as those used in many clinics so you need to consider the same factors before embarking on treatment.

Most of all be aware of the type of skin you have – the more contrast between skin and hair the better you will get on with one of these systems and if you have dark skin then it is best to consult a professional rather than risk using home laser equipment. Some clinics have particular equipment which is better for use on dark skin – see previous post Laser Hair Removal Machines. If you have any doubt at all contact a medical practitioner before you treat yourself.

Read and follow the instructions carefully and start off with a small area to be treated on a non-sensitive area of the body such as your legs or arms. If you’re unsure book one professional laser treatment at a clinic so that you know what to expect before you start. Also see our articles on what to expect before, during and after laser treatment – you’ll find them in the Laser Hair Removal section.

For your safety always wear goggles when operating a laser and stop using the laser hair removal machine immediately if you notice adverse side effects on your skin.

Advantages of Using a Home Laser Hair Removal Machine

One advantage is that you can carry out treatment for a significantly lower cost than that involved in going to a specialist clinic. This is especially significant if you are going to treat large areas of your body considering that whether you use a home or professional treatment you will need a number of sessions and often top up treatments every few months (reducing over time). See Cost of Laser Hair Removal for typical costs.

A second advantage is the sheer flexibility of when you carry out your treatment. There is no need for an appointment – you can fit in your treatment at any time in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Another advantage is that you will probably decide to treat areas of your body that are not so “hairy” that you would have considered paying large sums of money for professional treatment. You will end up with beautiful, smoother, more hair-free skin as a result of owning a home machine.

Finally in favor of these machine is that as you perform your treatment you can regulate the intensity yourself so that you get the right balance between your threshold for discomfort and the efficiency of the hair removing process. And you can increase the intensity of the treatment as you get used to it entirely at your own pace.

Disadvantages of Home Laser Hair Removal

The machines currently on the market for home use are not for everyone – if you don’t have a good contrast between your (dark) hair and (fair) skin you need a professional opinion on whether laser treatment is for you and potentially a more specialist laser hair removal machine only available in salons.

If you are not confident in your ability to withstand a little discomfort for the sake of beauty, visit a professional laser hair removal clinic where you will feel better in the hands of a technician trained to deal with pain reduction and nervous clients.

If you want to perform hair removal on your face you are advised to use a professional clinic. (Actually I would advise electrolysis anyway for permanent hair removal on a small area such as the face).

A laser hair removal machine may not be sold unless it has received the approval of the FDA so you know they are safe however you do need to follow the instructions – so if you are the type of person that doesn’t do that – use a clinic!

Once You Decide

If you do decide to go ahead then read what independent buyers thought (good and bad – though generally favorable) about the most popular home laser hair removal machine : Silkn Reviews

Categories: Laser Hair Removal - Tags: , , , , ,

Home Laser Hair Removal System

Written by on August 27, 2009 · Leave a Comment

If you prefer to remove hair yourself you have probably longed for an effective home laser hair removal system to remove your unwanted hair permanently and without fuss. It’s very appealing to zap your hair at home and not to have to make tedious appointments at a hair removal clinic.

As there are several laser systems for home use on the market you may think it’s just a case of choosing one and you’re done. But unfortunately most of them are not great so it’s a case of buyer beware.

We have already talked about a few systems in our reviews such as the Silk’n, the Epila and the Rio hair removal system but you may come across others (and we will eventually get around to reviewing them too.

Use a home laser hair removal system for smooth legs

Use a home laser hair removal system for smooth legs

Let us know if you have a particular one you would like us to look at). The problem with this kind of product is that you may find reviews online but many of them are from companies selling the systems rather than from those who bought a particular system doing a genuine consumer review. So don’t believe everything you read.

If you want to see genuine reviews of buyers here’s a link that will take you to the range of laser hair removal products available at Amazon. There you can look at the individual systems and get a feel for which are the good ones.

Be aware however that results will vary and opinions differ with EVERY system and that it is often (although not always) as much to do with the person operating the equipment as the laser hair removal system itself.

Remember

  1. Results won’t be instantaneous. Yes, the machine should remove hair with each laser pulse but it may come back if it was not at the right stage of growth to be destroyed. You can’t tell if that it the case by looking at your hair so you just have to keep carrying out the treatment so that you catch hair at the right time until it does not return.
  2. You need to take care with your skin and start at low levels and less sensitive areas until you are used to the process on YOUR skin. You may see a few reviews from those who have hurt their skin a bit so you need to take care. These machines are not toys. It’s a case of getting the balance right between destroying as much hair as possible and leaving your skin as unaffected as possible so go easy with this until you get the right level for you (although I know how tempting it is to want to zap that hair RIGHT NOW!
  3. You also need to have the right type of skin for these machines. Don’t buy a laser hair removal system unless you have the easiest type of hair and skin to treat – fair skin and dark hair. Anything else and you need to go for professional laser treatment instead.

Categories: Laser Hair Removal - Tags: , , , , , ,

Best Selling Laser Hair Removal Machines

Written by on March 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment

There are quite a lot of laser hair removal machines on the market these days and of course, some sell better than others. The problem is that best selling is not so much a factor of which are the best home laser machines but a factor of which manufacturers are best at marketing.

And when it comes to marketing and advertisements, try not to get too carried away, because you cannot believe everything you read.

Although there are rules about false advertising and disclosure, all manufacturers and distributors do their best to present their laser machines in the best possible light and you will not see anything negative about any machine in the ads. Just because a lot of others have bought a particular model does not mean that they have not been disappointed and feel that they wasted their money. Just because a particular system is “As seen on TV” does not mean that it worked when a lot of consumers paid good money.

rio laser hair removal system

Does best selling always mean the best system?

If you are looking for a home laser hair removal machine the only way you should let others sway you is by reading the comments from genuine buyers you can find on the web. Don’t use the manufacturers’ sites except to get a list of features of a product and details like that. Go to sites like Amazon which publish proper customer reviews, both positive and negative, to get a balance of opinion.

An example of such a page on Amazon would be this one. This page about the Silk’n system has over 15 reviews and there are some buyers who have given an initial impression and then updated their review later as they have continued their laser hair treatment.

Not all reviews are positive!

You will always find with laser machines that some people have a false expectation of instant results, so expect some negatives in any group of more than a few customer reviews. With professional laser treatment, you must spend over a thousand dollars and attend about 6 to 8 sessions over a number of months as hair which was not in the right growth phase always grows back so a home laser machine which is necessarily weaker than that used in professional laser hair removal clinics where equipment costs tens of thousands of dollars is bound to take longer and result in some regrowth until the hair is finally destroyed. Also you might find if you have coarser hair, home laser hair removal is not suitable for you and you need the strength of professional laser equipment to deal with it, whereas the equipment might work perfectly on someone with finer hair.

Categories: Laser Hair Removal - Tags: , , , , , , , ,