I have been doing Laser hair removal for the past year and finally feel ready to write my full review on the amazing Syneron Candela laser. The laser claims to only require 6 sessions every 6-8 weeks but I had a slightly different experience since I am the laziest monkey of them all – I hadn’t done my sessions as regularly as my therapist instructed.
Before I write about my laser experience I first need to give a massive shout out to my hair removal therapist, Rashmi. Rashmi is famous in my community for having a great talent for eyebrow threading, I have been seeing her for the past couple of years to shape my brows and thread my entire face – right to the neck. As you may presume, I am incredibly hairy with fast hair growth so I see Rashmi often. She had suggested I start laser hair removal because I am spending so much removing my hair – permanent hair reduction would really benefit my pocket in the long run but also be so much more convenient. I started with my underarm and then moved on to my face. This is totally not a sponsored blog post – I just love going to Rashmi so I have to give her a little shout out for introducing me to threading and laser hair reduction.
Pre Treatment
2 days before the treatment you will need to refrain from using any creams which may cause the laser to burn your skin. In my case that would be my facial night cream which contains salicylic acid and vitamin A – both of which can cause the laser to burn the skin and cause pigmentation. There is no need to shave before hand as this laser targets finer hairs really easily, so I have never had to shave my face or anything like that. However in between sessions you may want to shave (since you can’t wax or thread) in this case make sure you get a facial shaver for women available at stores like clicks – this is much gentler on the skin.
Be sure to cleanse each area before going the treatment (just out of kindness for your therapist). Make sure you are wearing no makeup at all and just a bit of sunscreen which she will cleanse off of your face (if you’re doing any areas on your face such as full face, lip etc)
For areas with coarse hair you will need to shave two days before. For areas like the face with finer hair you will not need to shave at all.
Procedure
This takes about 10 – 15 minutes per area. I usually wear a strappy top so that I don’t have to change or put any clothes on over the area that has been lasered (in this case of course my underarm). If you’re someone who is used to waxing and shaving the area you may have gotten some discoloring from the repeated in grown hairs caused by waxing and shaving. The most exciting part about laser is that discoloration is decreased within the first session. After about 3 sessions I had no more discoloration under my arms at all! I also loved the fact that after my first session my hair was significantly less and I had no ingrown hairs at all.
Pain
My very first session started at Rashmi’s beauty spa with the underarm – I wanted to test the pain level first before I began with the other areas on my body. A friend had suggested I apply Emla numbing cream on the area 90 mins before my session. I wanted to experience the full pain so I didn’t apply Emla until about my third session. The pain level from 0 – 10 is about an 8 but the pain subsides really quickly. Rashmi has a cooling system which works by blowing cold air out, this makes the pain reduce significantly to about a 2 out of 10.
To avoid the pain completely you can get Emla cream from the pharmacy over the counter, apply 90 minutes before and cover with regular kitchen cling film. This will ensure that you skin is numb before your session. The cooling system and Emla will totally eliminate the pain – the is particularly needed when doing your Bikini area.
Once your therapist increases your frequency the heat will be more and it will be more painful – but my frequency was only increased during my 4th session. This was a real YIKES moment – the pain was so intense I screamed. In my next session I applied Emla and felt nothing with the same frequency.
Post Laser Care
With areas that are exposed to the sun it is essential to apply lots of high SPF sunscreen before stepping out of the salon. My therapist, Rashmi, applies an Aloe Vera gel to my skin followed by sunscreen. I the apply an extra layer of my regular sunscreen on my face – Heliocare – I am not sure if this even helps but I am super paranoid about getting hyper pigmentation so better safe than sorry.
Initially your skin may be slightly red and bumpy, this last for about an hour and then subsides so you can go straight onto your normal day. Since my skin is acne prone I don’t apply any makeup to my face for about two days to make sure that my skin has time to heal.
Cost
In total my procedure cost for laser was R2650 and in my research this was the least expensive for bikini, underarm and full face collectively. I loved Rashmi’s speedy and caring service so even if I had to pay a little more I would. Lucky for me Rashmi prides herself in offering an affordable treatment without holding back on the technology used.
Win
Rashmi has agreed to treat 20 BakedTheBlog readers in Cape Town to 50% off their first laser hair removal treatment. All you need to do is subscribe to my youtube channel (here) and comment your full name and email address below this post. The first 20 people will receive a personal email from me containing a voucher code for the treatment.
Visit Rashmi’s website for a list of her available treatments and contact info here
Aisha Xo
