The first six weeks of the laser hair removal process are both weird and wonderful.
There is nothing quite like an upcoming wedding (your own) to get your mind thinking about getting yourself in peak condition. Why weddings have that effect on people, I don't know but what I do know is that after my recent engagement I felt it was time to tick all the boxes (beauty related) I had been putting on the long finger.
Being hair free was high up there on my list and as I, unfortunately, inherited dark body hair, shaving never lasted very long for me. And as for waxing, well, you can read my feelings on that in my previous article.
I had my first (relatively) pain-free session of laser six weeks ago. After the session, my skin looked relatively normal, slightly red in patches, but nothing that would even be noticeable to other people. My skin felt totally normal. In the days after, my skin in the lasered area felt a bit like sandpaper. Even though I shaved my legs they wouldn't go smooth. It was really strange. At first, I thought my blade was blunt, but after changing it to a new one which also had zero effect, I figured it was normal.
For about two weeks, I didn't even bother to shave; even though my legs felt a bit rough, the hair wasn't growing and my legs were smooth. Also, I hadn't shaved my armpits for two weeks at this stage and there was no hair growth at all.
The hair only really started to grow back the week I was due back in for my next session. The therapist, Paula, said that keeping your six-week time slots is crucial to catch hairs in the anagen (active) growth stage.
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This, for me, is amazing. Honestly, I was a bit blown away to have that much time with smooth legs without re-growth.
The second session was slightly more painful. The lower legs were sore - but not in a waxing kind of way. I would take laser over waxing any day. My bikini area was less painful than my lower legs; Paula explained it was because the hair growth was thicker and darker in that area. She said that the second and third time would be the most painful, then it would get less painful as time goes by as the laser destroys the follicle.
Urbana also has been sending me loads of helpful e-mails along the way on safety precautions, tanning (while undergoing laser treatments), the quality of their machines, what I should do after my sessions, etc., which I will go into in another article.
If you are like me and you don't know what to expect, you might do something like take a Nurofen Plus before your treatment (which I used to do for waxing and to be 100% honest, it didn't work). But, with Laser, you can't take ibuprofen as it thins your blood and can lead to bruising. A laser hair clinic like Urbana would send you away if you had and then you would miss your appointment to schedule and the whole process wouldn't work as well. You get the gist!
Anyway, so far I'm impressed.
I know it's only been two sessions but I'm already a convert. The only issue I have is not doing this sooner. What was I thinking?! And for those of you wondering, this is not a promoted post, it is my own personal experience.
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Visit Urbana.ie to book your free consultation or call 01 6351616. And don't forget to quote Beaut.ie for an additional 10% off your first treatment.
