I have been
self-conscious about my body hair ever since I can remember.
As ridiculous as that
may sound to some, particularly as we are currently being swept along in wave
of body positivity movements encouraging people to accept and embrace their
bodies, which by the way I think is brilliant and well overdue, I still cannot
help but have this insecurity.
I naturally have very
dark hair and for 90% of the year I sport porcelain white skin, so as you can
imagine, this is a combination which means that my body hair is usually very
obvious.
Just to add insult to
injury, I also suffer with eczema prone, sensitive skin which means that hair
removal methods such as shaving, epilating and waxing frequently results in
razor grazes, bumps, ingrowing hairs and localised skin reactions to waxing
which causes redness, burning and itching.
All in all, not great
if you are someone who has chosen to remove their body hair.
I’ve spent years
temped by the idea of booking myself in for Salon IPL hair removal laser
treatments but have always been put off by the hefty price tag and while not a
prude, felt slightly awkward about asking a complete stranger to zap my lady
bits.
After spending last
summer dealing with sore, razor grazed skin or tender, bruised feeling skin due
to waxing, I decided enough was enough and I put my faith in Tria Beauty.
Why Tria?
Well dear reader, I
did a LOT of research because there are now a plethora of at home laser hair
removal devices on the market, the majority of which feature a technology that you
may be familiar with called IPL.
Not so the Tria device.
The Tria 4X Hair
Removal Laser features diode laser technology, not IPL.
What is the
difference? I hear you ask, well, allow me to explain.
IPL (Intense
Pulsed Light) hair removal devices produce a range of different wavelengths
and colours that are dispersed at various levels of depths (making it impossible to focus the light energy as a concentrated beam)
meaning that the diffused energy does not only target the melanin in your hair
follicle, but also the surrounding skin.
Only a small
percentage of the IPL energy is effectively absorbed by the hair follicle,
meaning that more and regular treatments are required as thicker, deeper hair
follicles may not be reached and disabled effectively.
Also, (and I didn’t know this) but IPL does
not permanently remove hair. You will always need regular treatments on an
on-going basis with regular top ups, plus if your treatments gets interrupted,
the hair follicles will re-activate and your hair will grow back.
I’m not here to
discredit IPL devices and they certainly will reduce and slow down hair
regrowth, but they will never permanently remove your hair.
I’m here for long
lasting, nay, PERMANENT hair removal, so I knew that IPL wasn’t going to be for
me.
So, step forward
Tria.
The Tria 4X Hair Removal Laser is the first clinically-proven laser available for home use.
It boasts the same
diode laser technology preferred by dermatologists and unlike IPL, it offers
targeted results by disabling your hair follicles to stop hair growth for
permanent results.
The laser’s single
spectrum, pure light energy in one single red colour and wavelength is targeted
directly to the hair follicle, achieving accurate and permanent results.
The laser’s specific
wavelength and beam precisely targets the dark pigment (melanin) in your hair follicle in order to heat the follicle,
disabling its ability to regrow hair, without heating or damaging the
surrounding skin.
Unlike IPL which will
require on-going treatments, users of the Tria Hair Removal Laser 4X may find that
they can stop regular treatments altogether after three to six months, though
an occasional top-up may be required.
I was sold.
Before I go any
further, it’s important to note that the Tria laser is not suitable for all
skin tones.
Those with darker,
deeper skin tones have a higher risk of skin injury with the Tria Laser 4X
because of higher levels of melanin in the skin, while those with lighter hair
colours such as white, blonde, red or grey will not benefit from this device as
the follicles will not absorb enough of the lasers energy to disable the
follicle as the laser is designed to target dark pigment in the hair.
Once I’d established
that my skin tone and hair colour made me the perfect candidate for this
treatment, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.
Available in two
aesthetically pleasing shades of hot pink or soft green, the laser itself comes
in a box with a charger and detailed set of instructions.
There’s no long
winded, complicated set up, simply plug the charger into the base at the back
of the laser and plug in to power up.
There is an easy to
decipher display screen on the top of the device which displays the battery
indicator, treatment level, pulse counter and a special ‘lock’ safety feature.
There is a large,
pink power button at the base of the screen, and that’s it.
To begin, ensure that
you have charged your laser for at least 2 hours before you intend to use it,
or anytime the battery indicator is ‘empty’ and blinking.
It’s also worth
noting that 6 weeks before you plan to start your treatment you need to stop
waxing, plucking hairs or having skin peels.
Immediately prior to
your treatment, cleanse the intended treatment areas, moving all cosmetics,
lotions and creams.
Shave the treatment
area to remove surface hair as this improves comfort and allows the light to
better reach the hair deep within the follicle.
In order to use the
laser you must ‘unlock’ it.
This safety feature
is in place to ensure that only suitable skin tones use the device.
To unlock, simply
press the power on button. The screen will reveal the lock and skin sensor
icons. Hold the laser against the skin you wish to treat, at which point the
laser will automatically check your skin from its sensor on the base of the
device.
Once it has processed
your tone and providing it is suitable for you, it will emit a series of beeps
and unlock.
Next, you can set
your own treatment level.
You can select from
level 1-5 by pressing the power button to increase or decrease the energy
level, though unsurprisingly for best results Tria recommend using the highest
setting that you can tolerate.
Once ready and set to
go, its actually exceptionally easy to use.
Hold the treatment
window on your skin until you hear two beeps, then lift the laser and place it
back on the skin so that it overlaps the previous spot.
Every time you
reposition the treatment window, move it about half the distance of the window (about ¼ inch). This overlapping pattern
ensures that you’ve covered all of the hair follicles in the treatment area and
the pulse counter (on the display)
will equate to roughly 25 laser pulses per square inch of skin.
The pulse counter
guide included within the instruction manual provides really helpful
information about how many pulses you should expect to see for optimum results
on various parts of your body.
For example, if you
were treating your underarms you should expect to see a tally of 100 pulses per
side which would roughly take 4-5 minutes each side.
For your bikini,
expect 200 pulses per side, taking about 8-10 minutes each and if you’re
treating your legs it’ll be roughly 600 pulses for your lower leg, 600 for your
upper and can take between 25-30 minutes per side.
For me, the skin on
my legs is unsurprisingly more hardy than the delicate skin under my arms and
on my bikini area, so I decided I’d be happy to stick with shaving them for the
time being, but I was desperate to zap away my under arm hair and bikini hair.
As I have sensitive
skin, I opted to begin my treatment at level 3 to test my pain tolerance,
though to be honest I think ‘pain’ is too strong a word for the sensation
experienced when using the device.
A better description
would be that it feels more like a quick shot of a hotness, or like the feeling
of an elastic band repeatedly snapping against your skin type of experience
rather than pain.
It can be
uncomfortable as opposed to painful, but if you’ve ever had a bikini/underarm
wax then it’s the type of discomfort that you’ll have no problem in tolerating,
trust me.
I sat on the edge of
bed, put some music on and zapped away until I had treated the entire area.
Surprisingly, my skin
felt perfectly calm and not at all tender after use, well, bar the usual razor
burns from shaving the area first!
After your initial
treatment there will be no visible change to your hair- it does not cause it to
immediately fall out so don’t get your hopes up, after all, Rome wasn’t built
in a day!
However, as your hair grows in cycles, with
multiple, regular, targeted treatment (which
is suggested as every two weeks for up to 3 months) you will eventually
notice things changing.
Within about 4 weeks
I noticed that the hair was beginning to grow patchy.
It was at this point
I decided that as I could tolerate level 3, it was time to ramp it up to level
5.
Naturally, the
uncomfortable sensation increased, however by now I could begin to see real
improvement and was spurred on!
Within 8 weeks I
noticed that unlike shaving where you can still see the hair beneath the
surface of the skin, in certain patches I couldn’t see any hair at all.
Within 3 months I was
all but hair free.
To say that I’m over
the moon is the understatement of the century.
Not only am I hair
free, but I no longer suffer with the pain of grazed skin, nicks, ingrowing
hairs or angry looking razor lumps and bumps which is a big deal for someone like
me with sensitive, reactive skin.
I no longer have to
time my hair removal with holidays, occasions, nights out etc- I’m already
ready and raring to go!
Now as you may
expect, the Tria Hair Removal Laser X4 is more expensive that your shaving or
waxing paraphernalia, however unlike those this will be an one-off purchase and
when you consider how much money you have spent in the past on at-home hair
removal or salon waxing etc, you’ll find that its very likely more financially
economical than you thought.
Priced at £375 (though it is currently on offer for the
bargainous price of £299) It is actually one of the more reasonably priced
laser products on the market, more reasonable even than some of the
non-permanent IPL devices, which is awesome.
That £375 works out
as just over £31 a month for a year (or
just over £24 per month if bought at £299), which let’s be honest is
probably less than you’d spend on a monthly in-salon waxing treatment.
I have literally
nothing but positive things to say about this device.
Deciding if or how to
remove your body hair is a deeply personal choice, but thanks to the Tria Hair Removal Laser 4X it has helped me achieve silky, smooth, hair-free skin in
areas which had bothered me for such a long time and for that I am extremely
grateful.
