I am not exaggerating once I say I’ve tried each potential methodology to eliminate the thick, darkish hairs on my face (f***king hormones)—which is why I really feel assured saying that all of them sort of suck. Waxing and threading are painful, tweezing is tedious, shaving rips my dry pores and skin to shreds, Nair smells like rotten eggs, pro-grade lasers are so costly and time-consuming (and likewise painful) that I’ve discovered them to not be value it, and at-home IPL gadgets nearly by no means work.
However, as a result of my facial hair makes me so self-conscious (… I will always remember the time a boy in center college known as out my “goatee” in entrance of your entire class. To at the present time, I’ve by no means been so embarrassed), I’ve all the time simply kind of suffered via the elimination course of, which meant testing out all kinds of various choices within the hopes of discovering one which wasn’t actually horrible.
And at last—lastly!—my search is over due to the Rose Pores and skin Co Lumi IPL Hair Elimination Handset ($189).
Rose Pores and skin Co, Lumi IPL Hair Elimination Handset — $189.00
Initially $229, now $189
- Works shortly and successfully (actual outcomes!)
- Is cheaper than in-office therapy
- Stylish and discreet
- Painless
- Quick and simple to make use of
- Isn’t designed with all pores and skin tones in thoughts, which is disappointing
- Takes a pair/few weeks to see outcomes (vs. an answer that’s meant to be quick)
How the Lumi works
IPL—or “intense pulse gentle”—is likely one of the commonest types of at-home and in-office laser hair elimination tech. “It makes use of pulses of sunshine to destroy the hair all the way down to the foundation,” says Saime Demirovic, co-founder of Glo Spa in New York Metropolis. It does this by focusing on and destroying the pigment within the hair follicle. “These laser-light pulses create warmth which damages the hair follicle till it’s completely destroyed. You are exposing the focused hair follicle to a high-energy beam of sunshine with out injuring the encompassing pores and skin constructions.”
The Lumi packs all of this into an ergonomic, easy-to-hold machine that is mainly the dimensions of my hand. There are six totally different depth ranges (which you’ll regulate with the faucet of a button) and the model recommends beginning on the lowest and rising one step each week.
The one difficulty with IPL is that it really works greatest when there is a distinction between your pores and skin and your hair, so if in case you have gentle pores and skin and lightweight hair or darkish pores and skin and darkish hair, it seemingly will not be as efficient as it might be for somebody with a darkish pores and skin/gentle hair or gentle pores and skin/darkish hair combo. That is, understandably, one of many largest bones I’ve to choose with the machine—I actually want that it may work on all pores and skin tones, and it is irritating to see that the tech is not fairly there but.
The way to use the Rose Pores and skin Co Lumi
To get one of the best outcomes from the Rose Pores and skin Co Lumi, you may need to begin with clear, dry pores and skin, and make sure that no matter hair you need to take away is totally shaved (this may make it simpler for the IPL to hit it straight on the root).
While you flip the machine on—which you are able to do with the press of a button—you may hear it begin to whir. From there, you may select between three modes: Stamp (which requires you to press the button any time you need to zap a spot and is greatest for smaller, extra focused areas just like the bikini line, face, and underarms), Glide (during which you maintain down the button and the machine zaps each half-second, and is beneficial for bigger areas just like the legs and arms), and Auto (which is mainly the identical as Glide, besides you do not have to carry down the button).
How typically you utilize the machine is solely as much as you, however the model recommends choosing a once-a-week cadence. You need to begin to see outcomes after the primary 3-4 makes use of, and might anticipate to be bald in all the correct locations after 12 periods.
What occurred once I tried it
Given what number of instances I have been disenchanted by at-home hair elimination gadgets, my expectations for the Lumi had been very low when it confirmed up on my doorstep two months in the past. However once I pulled it out of the field, I used to be pleasantly stunned by how gosh-darn cute it was—and already determined that it had a leg-up on its rivals merely for the truth that it is sufficiently small to slot in my toilet cupboard (if I’ve to go digging for a tool, there’s a zero % likelihood that I am ever going to make use of it, and consistency is essential with laser hair elimination).
I went backwards and forwards over which space I wished to check the machine on, however in the end selected my face—I used to be slightly bit nervous that it was going to eff up my pores and skin or trigger discoloration (which may occur with IPL), however in the end I figured it might be the quickest space to deal with which meant I would be losing the least period of time if it did not work. Like I mentioned, I had basement-level hopes for the way properly this factor would work, regardless of understanding that my olive pores and skin and very darkish hair make me a super candidate.
For my first therapy, I cranked up the facility to a degree 3 (… solely as a result of I am impatient, and figured I would be fantastic as a result of I’ve gotten IPL earlier than), put the machine in stamp mode, and set to work. I moved it alongside my freshly-shaved chin, jawline, cheeks, and mustache (… I’ve acquired a lot of facial hair, you guys), and pressed the button each quarter-of-an-inch or so. It did not damage in any respect—it largely simply felt like a fast little zap and flash of sunshine—which was a welcome shock on condition that I needed to bail on a pro-grade program a couple of years in the past as a result of it was too painful.
On condition that I would had such dangerous experiences with at-home laser hair elimination gadgets prior to now, I truthfully thought I used to be imagining issues a couple of days later when my facial hair gave the impression to be rising in thinner—usually it takes weeks to see outcomes from this stuff (that’s in the event that they ever even occur in any respect). However I stored at it with once-a-week therapies at progressively increased energy ranges, and by my sixth session, the hair development had slowed to just about a halt. For context, I used to should shave my face each different day—now, after two months with the Lumi, I can get away with an IPL session each different week.
Although the outcomes are technically everlasting, you have nonetheless acquired to maintain them up (which is why I proceed to make use of the machine fairly commonly). Finally, it ought to get to the purpose the place I solely must do touch-ups each few months, however we’re nonetheless a methods away from that.
After seeing such success with my facial hair, I’ve began to make use of the Lumi on different elements of my physique (my legs, underarms, and bikini line), although it hasn’t been lengthy sufficient for any actual outcomes to set in.
For what it is value, I am not the one one who views the Lumi as such a game-changer. The machine has a stable five-star ranking on Rose Pores and skin Co’s web site, with a number of customers calling it an ideal funding (and although $189 could appear steep, it is actually lower than the price of a pro-grade therapy routine and can run you about the identical as 10 $20 mustache wax periods).
“I’ve used my handset 3 times to this point, and I already see an enormous distinction. I endure from PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and one of many signs is extra hair. I needed to shave my face each single day for years and I used to be completely fed up it (as any girl can be). The facial hair and shaving daily is a jab to my self worth and made me really feel manly to an extent,” writes one reviewer. “Obsessive about the comfort of utilizing this product! The Lumi adjustments the sport for at house hair elimination. It is so fast and simple to make use of and never painful in any respect. To this point I’ve seen a discount in how shortly my hair grows again! Actually impressed with this machine and I can not wait to see my outcomes after 12 weeks!'” says one other.
Contemplating I’ve spent a long time knuckling via costly, painful, and ineffective therapies for the sake of eliminating my facial hair, it makes me nearly emotional to suppose that I’ve lastly discovered one thing that does not simply *not* suck, however is de facto fairly dang wonderful.
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